Plot: The story of Lola Montès, her loves and life, all told in flashbacks from her current job as the star of a travelling circus. After a traditional upbringing, she is pressured by her mother to marry, but it's not a happy union. Montès rose to fame as a dancer and a courtesan. She had many famous lovers including Composer Franz Liszt, the King of Bavaria, and assorted noblemen. Scandal followed her across Europe with observers equally shocked and titillated by her activities.
Alternative Plot: Once, Lola Montes (Martine Carol) was a famous cabaret dancer and the lover of many of 19th-century Europe's most prominent men. Now she works in a seedy American circus, where a circus master (Peter Ustinov) tells her life story as the main attraction. After her mother's lover (Ivan Desny) marries Lola instead, she is abducted by Russian cossacks. Her many affairs end in marriage to King Ludwig I of Bavaria (Anton Walbrook). She then flees when revolution threatens his kingdom.
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