Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

CAMILLE (1921)


CAMILLE (1921). Director: Ray C. Smallwood.
This silent version of Dumas' famous story of The Lady of the Camellias is a highly creditable silent film. When we first see Marguerite Gautier as performed by (Alla) Nazimova, she looks like a drag queen having a bad hair day. However, once you get used to her bizarre appearance, Nazimova gives a very good performance. Rudolph Valentino is also quite good as her lover Armand, although he has much less to do than his co-star. Zeffie Tilbury is Prudence and William Orlamond is Armand's father. The sets are theatrical and impressionistic. Not as good as the Garbo version, but quite interesting and well-done. A big difference between the two is that the lovers are not reunited in the silent version. This was shown with an excellent new score by Peter Vantine.
Verdict: Rudy and Alla in a fine romance. ***.

1 comment:

Classic Manuals said...

This movie is available on DVD I found the listings below they look ok. Thanks

www.dvdsentertainmentonline.com/product/1921-camille-dvd-rudolph-valentino-alla-nazimova

www.vendio.com/stores/OldTimeMoviesandTV/item/camille-dvd-rudolph-valentino-/lid=25076285