Any time Max Ophüls needs to add a little dramatic urgency to The Earrings of Madame de . . . , his 1953 tale of doomed romance, Danielle Darrieux conveniently keels over. In early 19th-century Paris, she plays an idle, flirtatious countess unhappily married to Charles Boyer (go figure). Naturally, she falls for a handsome Italian diplomat (the great neorealist director Vittorio De Sica), and then there are these damn earrings that link everyone together in a chain of guilt. Some modern women may wonder how Darrieux’s character can be so stupid about her adultery, and Earrings does lock sexual passion in period amber. The countess’ ardor remains somewhat inscrutable and polite. Nobody ever takes off their white gloves long enough to have sex, let alone touch. “What are you suffering from?” Boyer asks Darrieux. “Humiliation,” she replies, which may well resonate with adulterers today. Not that we’re pointing fingers.

Fri., Sept. 14, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.