"Hallmark Hall of Fame" Camille (1984)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Desmond Davis

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas fils (novel) and
Blanche Hanalis (writer)

TV Series:

"Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1951)

Original Air Date:

11 December 1984 (Season 34, Episode 1)

Plot:

Camille is a courtesan in Paris. She falls deeply in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval...

Plot Keywords:

Paris France | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title | Anthology | Company Sponsor Name In Title

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Greta Scacchi	...	Marguerite Gautier
Colin Firth	...	Armand Duval
John Gielgud	...	Duke de Charles
Billie Whitelaw	...	Prudence Duvorney
Patrick Ryecart	...	Gaston Daudet
Denholm Elliott	...	Count de Noilly
Ben Kingsley	...	Duval
Lila Kaye	...	Nanine
Rachel Kempson	...	Hortense
Ronald Pickup	...	Jean
Julie Dawn Cole	...	Julie
Natalie Ogle	...	Blanche
Nicholas Hawtrey	...	Servant
Richard Beale	...	Farmer
Cazz Scattergood	...	Mimi

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of "Festival: The Lady of the Camellias (#1.16)" (1964)

Sudsy, but young Colin Firth and Greta Scacchi make it worth a look

Camille is a typical 80s period piece for television - lavish period costumes, sudsy script, somewhat cheesy music and perfunctory direction - but the real fascination here is in seeing the very young Colin Firth and Greta Scacchi, each in one of their first film roles. They are both gorgeous of course, and each shows glimpses of the more mature and developed actors they will later become.

Firth is young and skinny and perfect as the serious puppy dog lover obsessed with Marguerite, the beautiful courtesan played by Scacchi. She is quite good in her role - her combination of drop-dead beauty and calculating mind make her a fine choice.

The biggest problem with this film is the absolutely awful script. It is hackneyed and cliched, and you can predict every line and scene a mile off. The actors do their best (Ben Kingsley, who later won the Oscar for Ghandi, plays Firth's father), but they seem to know they are in a losing proposition. It is possible to take a classic novel or story and make it into a compelling, original film - think of Firth's later, much finer Pride & Prejudice, or Scorcese's Age of Innocence - but this film's cheap television budget shows. If the characters had been more developed, and less two-dimensional, it could have been a fascinating film.

Too bad Camille wasn't made in the age of cable, with more developed scripts and better production values. But as an artifact, it is worth a look the next time it pops up on WE Channel. Just don't pay a lot for it on ebay, because as a film, it's kind of a stinker!