Camille (1926 feature film)

1926 film

Camille

Lobby poster

Directed by| Fred Niblo
Written by| Fred de Gresac (adaptation)
Olga Printzlau (scenario)
Chandler Sprague (scenario)
George Marion, Jr. (intertitles)
Based on| La Dame aux Camélias
1848 novel
by Alexandre Dumas, fils
Produced by| Norma Talmadge
Joseph Schenck
Starring| Norma Talmadge
Gilbert Roland
Lilyan Tashman
Cinematography| Oliver Marsh
Music by| William Axt
David Mendoza
Major Edward Bowes
Distributed by| First National Pictures

Release date

* December 18, 1926 (1926-12-18)

Running time

| 108 minutes
Country| United States
Languages| Silent
English intertitles

Camille is a 1926 American silent film based on the play adaptation of La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady of the Camellias) by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in French as a novel in 1848 and as a play in 1852. Adapted by Fred de Gresac, George Marion Jr., Olga Printzlau, and Chandler Sprague, Camille was a directed by Fred Niblo and starred Norma Talmadge as Camille and Gilbert Roland as her lover, Armand. It was produced by the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation and released by First National Pictures. The film's score was composed by William Axt.[1][2]

## Plot summary

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2023)

|

Marguerite Gautier (Norma Talmadge), known as "Camille" due to her fondness for camellia flowers, is a beautiful and popular courtesan in 1840s Paris. Despite her glamorous lifestyle supported by wealthy patrons, including the aging Baron de Varville (Harvey Clark) and the controlling Count de Varville (Oscar Beregi, Sr.), Marguerite suffers from tuberculosis and leads an empty existence beneath her façade of gaiety.

At a theater performance, Marguerite meets Armand Duval (Gilbert Roland), a young man from a respectable family who falls deeply in love with her. Unlike her other admirers, Armand offers genuine affection rather than merely seeking her company as a status symbol. Initially hesitant to abandon her luxurious lifestyle and skeptical of true love, Marguerite eventually returns Armand's feelings and the two begin a passionate romance.

Encouraged by her friend Prudence (Rose Dione), Marguerite abandons her life as a courtesan and moves with Armand to a peaceful country house outside Paris. For a brief period, they experience true happiness away from the corruption of Parisian high society. However, their idyllic existence is shattered when Armand's father (Maurice Costello) secretly visits Marguerite. He pleads with her to end the relationship, arguing that her notorious reputation will destroy his son's future and bring shame to their family.

Out of selfless love for Armand, Marguerite agrees to the painful sacrifice. Without revealing the true reason, she abruptly leaves Armand and returns to Paris, resuming her former life with the Count de Varville. A heartbroken and bitter Armand, believing Marguerite has betrayed him for wealth and luxury, publicly humiliates her at a gambling party by throwing money at her.

As her illness worsens, Marguerite becomes increasingly isolated. Her fair-weather friends, including the opportunistic Olympe (Lilyan Tashman), abandon her as her beauty fades and her finances dwindle. In the film's poignant conclusion, Armand discovers the truth about Marguerite's sacrifice and rushes to her side, but arrives only in time for a brief reconciliation before she dies in his arms, finding peace in the knowledge that her love was understood at last.

## Cast

[edit]

* Norma Talmadge – Marguerite Gautier, Camille
* Gilbert Roland – Armand
* Lilyan Tashman – Olympe
* Rose Dione – Prudence
* Oscar Beregi, Sr. – Count de Varville
* Harvey Clark – The Baron
* Helen Jerome Eddy – Camille's maid
* Alec B. Francis – the Duke
* Albert Conti – Henri
* Michael Visaroff – Camille's Father
* Evelyn Selbie – Camille's Mother
* Etta Lee – Mataloti
* Maurice Costello – Armand's father

## Preservation status

[edit]

An incomplete 35mm positive print exists in the Raymond Rohauer collection of the Cohen Media Group, according to silentera.com.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ AFI (c. 1971), The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921–30, American Film Institute
2. ^ a b Silent Era (January 26, 2016). "Progressive Silent Film List: Camille (1926)". SilentEra.com. Retrieved July 29, 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Camille at IMDb
* Camille at the TCM Movie Database
* Camille at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Film poster(Wayback)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Fred Niblo

* Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford (1916)
* Officer 666 (1916)
* The Marriage Ring (1918)
* When Do We Eat? (1918)
* Fuss and Feathers (1918)
* Happy Though Married (1919)
* Partners Three (1919)
* The Law of Men (1919)
* The Haunted Bedroom (1919)
* The Virtuous Thief (1919)
* Stepping Out (1919)
* What Every Woman Learns (1919)
* Dangerous Hours (1919)
* The Woman in the Suitcase (1920)
* Sex (1920)
* The False Road (1920)
* Hairpins (1920)
* Her Husband's Friend (1920)
* The Mark of Zorro (1920)
* Silk Hosiery (1920)
* Mother o' Mine (1921)
* Greater Than Love (1921)
* The Three Musketeers (1921)
* The Woman He Married (1922)
* Rose o' the Sea (1922)
* Blood and Sand (1922)
* The Famous Mrs. Fair (1923)
* Strangers of the Night (1923)
* Thy Name Is Woman (1924)
* The Red Lily (1924)
* Ben-Hur (1925)
* The Temptress (1926)
* Camille (1926)
* The Devil Dancer (1927)
* The Enemy (1927)
* The Mysterious Lady (1927)
* Two Lovers (1928)
* Dream of Love (1928)
* Redemption (1930)
* Young Donovan's Kid (1931)
* The Big Gamble (1931)
* Two White Arms (1932)
* Diamond Cut Diamond (1932)

* v
* t
* e

Alexandre Dumas fils' The Lady of the Camellias

Films|

* The Lady of the Camellias (1915, Negroni)
* The Lady of the Camellias (1915, Serena)
* Camille (1915)
* Camille (1917)
* Camille (1921)
* Camille (1926 short)
* Camille (1926 feature)
* Camille (1936)
* The Lady of the Camellias (1947)
* Camelia (1954)
* Camille 2000 (1969)
* The Lady of the Camellias (1981)
* La Traviata (1982)
* Camille (1984)

Stage|

* La traviata (opera)
* Marguerite (musical)
* Marguerite and Armand (ballet)

Related|

* Marie Duplessis
* Moulin Rouge! (2001 film)
* Moulin Rouge! (2018 musical)

This article about a silent drama film from the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template