Camille (1921)

A courtesan and an idealistic young man fall in love, only for her to give up the relationship at his status-conscious father's request.

Director:

Ray C. Smallwood

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas fils (by), June Mathis (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Rudolph Valentino, Rex Cherryman, Arthur Hoyt

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rudolph Valentino	...	Armand Duval
Rex Cherryman	...	Gaston Rieux
Arthur Hoyt	...	Count de Varville
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Prudence
Patsy Ruth Miller	...	Nichette
Elinor Oliver	...	Nanine
William Orlamond	...	Armand Duval's Father
Consuelo Flowerton	...	Olympe
Alla Nazimova	...	Marguerite Gautier (as Nazimova)

Storyline

Camille is a courtesan in Paris. She falls deeply in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval. When Armand's father begs her not to ruin his hope of a career and position by marrying Armand, she acquiesces and leaves her lover. However, when poverty and terminal illness overwhelm her, Camille discovers that Armand has not lost his love for her.

---

Plot Keywords:

courtesan | promise | illness | camelia | self sacrifice | 

---

Taglines:

Their love idyll among the spring blossoms

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

26 September 1921 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Dama das Camélias

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nazimova Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min (2002 alternate) 72 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Concerned about the all-seeing eye of the camera revealing her true age--which was, at the time, past 40--Nazimova saw to it that all of her closeups or near closeups were shot in heavily filtered soft focus, which makes even the best existing prints of the film difficult to watch.

---

Quotes

Gaston Rieux: Permit me to introduce a fellow law student.
Marguerite Gautier: A law student? He'd do better to study love!

---

Alternate Versions

On 14 February 2002, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) broadcast the television premiere of the film with a new score by , and a running time of 70 minutes. Vantine won the privilege of providing the score from a nationwide contest conducted by TCM, in which there were 375 entries. This version can be seen as a special feature on the Warner Bros. Home Video DVD for , released in 2005.

---

Connections

Version of Irthes arga (1962)

User Reviews

Interesting version of Camille

Nazimova truly is a creature like none other. Though born in the 1870's she is not of the nineteenth century nor of the roaring twenties. With her choppy afro and willowy—even anorexic—body, if she suggests any period at all, it is maybe the Andy Warhol disco seventies. But she's definitely watchable in this movie, even touching—she has a rather cherubic face under her bizarre hairstyle which makes her believable as Camille, the dying courtesan whose last chance at happiness is destroyed when the father of her lover Armand Duval demands that she give him up. Armand, played by Rudolph Valentino, allegedly had much of his role reduced by Nazimova who could recognize a fellow scene stealer when she saw one (he is replaced by a book in the deathbed scene!), but he manages to make his impassioned, surly presence felt. Falling as quickly into resentment as he earlier did into love when he believes Nazimova has tired of him, he comes across as both sympathetic and shallow (and quite funny in the casino scenes when he tries a bit too hard to make Camille jealous by flirting with an unworthy tootsie who resembles Mae West). The art deco set design that still looks contemporary almost constitutes a character in itself.