La dama de las Camelias

"Perhaps it ill be better if I live in your heart, where the world can't see me. If I'm dead, there will be no staying of our love."

The novel/play by Alexandre Dumas Fils LA DAME AUX CAMELIAS has attracted a lot of artists. Verdi wrote his opera LA TRAVIATA basing its content on this play. The film industry have also made a lot of adaptations of the play from the period of silent era up till modern times. However, if one hears a movie title CAMILLE, what usually comes to one's mind is the film by George Cukor with Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor. Why? There is something magical about this version that made it stand a test of time, something that helped it be appreciated for almost seven decades. Is it performances, cinematography, or Garbo's presence that make it so enchanting to watch? The answer is not so easy because the movie is a masterpiece of beauty at multiple levels.

The performances are absolutely outstanding. It is difficult to say if Garbo gives her best performance in CAMILLE or GRAND HOTEL. I think that it is more a matter of personal preferences. One thing is sure - she does something more than acting. She totally feels the role, every movement, every gesture is extremely natural as if you were watching reality not a movie. As a result, Garbo achieves something really outstanding in CAMILLE, some kind of the ultimate masterpiece of performance. Robert Taylor very well fits to the role of Armand Duvall. He manages to stress the most important feature of his role - delicacy and sincerity. Henry Daniell is a perfect choice for Baron De Varville - cruel, unemotional, cynical, and very selfish. I shall never forget the scene when Marguerite plays a lyrical piece on the piano expecting Armand's visit. However, it is Baron who comes unexpectedly. While Armand is trying to get to the house, Baron plays the piano and Marguerite has to behave as if she wasn't expecting anyone. The scene ends with hysterical laughter of them both and a magnificent acting. Laura Hope Crews also gives a lovely performance as Prudence Duvernoy stressing her frivolity and extravagance. Consider her performance at the party at the mansion. Yet, Lionel Barrymore, though not given much time on screen, is memorable, particularly in the scene of his meeting with Marguerite. What a lovely presentation of two different world views! Not a better or a worse view but DIFFERENT views - Marguerite attached to love and emotions and Monsieur Duval to social ties and reputation.

The cinematography is superb. Almost each scene has a "soul" which makes watching the movie a real admiration of beauty. The most memorable decorations are in the scene in a candle-lit boudoir filled with delicate lighting and shadows. Marguerite is looking at her reflection in the mirror and suddenly notices Armand from behind. A delicate classic musical piece is being played in the background. UNFORGETTABLE! The film's gorgeous imagery is a very strong point for the movie.

Perhaps, you will wonder why I praise this movie so much. But if you asked me if I can ever forget CAMILLE, my answer would be "never" because the imagery of this movie and the effect it has on a viewer is endless. How is it possible to forget a beautiful scene of Marguerite's first meeting with Armand? Is it also possible to skip a lovely idyllic pastoral sequence with sheep and flowering trees? How to forget a touching moment when Gaston, Marguerite's true friend, is putting a beautiful bunch of camellias at her side while she is lying ill in bed? Finally, the touching final shot and Marguerite's beautiful words that I entailed at the beginning of my review. These words, which purely refer to spiritual love, are the last words that Marguerite says.

Yes, CAMILLE is a masterpiece, one of the very few movies that promotes real beauty. It is not only a tearjerker. It is not only a story of love. It is a movie that teaches high respect for precious values in life. 10/10!

I noted that between the play and the opera La Traviata which is adopted from Camille, there are well over a dozen filmed versions around from all parts of the globe. Still this exquisite film from Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer with its brightest star stands as the best and best known.

Through a misinterpreted glance and a smile, society courtesan Marguerite Gauthier and young Armand Duval meet at the Paris Opera. Marguerite meant to get the attentions of the imperious Baron DeVarville, but got Armand's instead.

With the revival of tuberculosis as a byproduct of the AIDS virus, today's audiences have some idea of the death sentence that Marguerite was under. She's chosen to live for the present without care or worry for tomorrow and tomorrow's bills. Impetuous young Armand thinks he has found the love of his life and so does Marguerite, but she realizes at a certain level always that it is too late.

The characters as realized by Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor will stay indelibly with you long after viewing Camille. Garbo said the role was a favorite of her's. Her performance in her voice, her body, and face capture the zest for all the immediate living she has to do.

Robert Taylor was quoted as saying that he bettered himself as an actor by just being around Garbo, that one couldn't help doing that. As Armand he made such an impression in his period clothes and his romantic lines that he became probably the number one movie heart throb in the nation.

George Cukor directed this and said of Taylor that usually the role of Armand is played by middle-aged men who look ridiculous saying those same lines. Taylor represented callow romantic youth of the 19th century and the dialog rings true when he says it. Cukor and Taylor worked again together, but future teamings were less classical than this.

Camille also helped launch the career of British actor Henry Daniell in films as one imperious and snarling villain. The man with the built in disdain in his voice, Henry Daniell essayed so many roles as a bad guy his mere appearance on the screen told you who was the villain. DeVarville, cold, haughty, and imperious was THE Daniell part and set a high standard for Daniell that he met many times in his career.

Two other players in this you will enjoy, Jessie Ralph as Marguerite's maid Nanine and Laura Hope Crews as the world's oldest courtesan. Crews is best remembered as Aunt Pity Pat Hamilton in Gone With the Wind and in Camille it's as if Aunt Pity Pat decided to open a bordello, a chic one for the upper classes to be sure.

The luminous Greta Garbo in one of her best remembered roles. In this she is the tragic heroine who is dabbling with fate with Robert Taylor (who seems to be wearing more make-up than Greta!) while moving towards the inevitable weepie conclusion.

Certainly Garbo was best in these kind of other-worldly roles, in another place and time, than she was in the few contemporary features she attempted. Not a great actress, but a beautiful woman and a true star who the camera clearly loved. Taylor would move out of romances and musicals into more typically heroic roles by the end of the 1930s, but he's a good romantic lead here.

And I mustn't forget the pleasure of seeing Henry Daniell, one of Hollywood's greatest villains.

Filmed with the commonplace MGM gloss of the time, ‘Camille' delivers on all levels - if you're looking for an escapist, teary, film with lots of close-ups and a nice slow pace. It belongs square in that first decade of the talkies and this sort of thing fell out of fashion after the Second World War.

"Camille" is a tragic romantic drama based on the 1848 novel and the 1852 stage adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, fils.

The story takes us into 19th-century Paris, where the beautiful Marguerite Gautier, a famed courtesan, lives on the edge of polite society. Her companion arranges a meeting with the wealthy Baron de Varville, hoping to secure her future. But at the theatre, Marguerite mistakes the baron for a charming young man from a respectable family - Armand Duval - and a spark is ignited. Upon realizing her error, she accepts the baron's offer, leaving behind a heartbroken Armand who may have fallen in love at first sight...

Director George Cukor delivers a sumptuous romance, rich in emotion and aesthetic elegance. However, the plot at times drifts into melodrama, dealing heavily in the cards of unrequited love, rendering some of the climactic scenes predictable, though still deeply affecting.

The film's set design glows with opulence, as if trying to mask the sorrow woven through this tale of tragic love. Cukor skillfully uses silence and light in the final scenes, gently dimming the candle in Marguerite's eyes and stilling the breeze in her curls.

The story balances love's ideals against the weight of social expectation - without leaning into overt moralizing. This world does not forgive the past nor the burden of reputation. Cukor wraps this world in stark character contrasts: Marguerite may dazzle in ballrooms and champagne, but at her core, she is melancholic and achingly aware of her dreams - and of the cost they bear.

Greta Garbo plays Marguerite - a woman who can extinguish lights with a glance, drive away darkness with a smile, and provoke duels with a mere turn of the wrist. It is arguably one of the finest performances of her career. Unlike other directors, Cukor shapes her character with restraint, placing her in situations she causes herself, never allowing her to lapse into overwrought theatrics. She remains who she is - complex, composed, and quietly doomed - from first frame to last. This subtlety, I believe, saves the film from tumbling fully into soap opera.

Robert Taylor is Armand Duval - a young man who believes in love above all. His performance may be occasionally awkward, but it's honest, especially in moments of jealous frustration, when he battles the pain of a love he doesn't quite understand.

Lionel Barrymore plays Armand's father, a figure of moral gravitas. Torn between his affection for his son and the preservation of the family name, he recognizes Marguerite's genuine love, but also the social ruin their union might bring.

Henry Daniell as Baron de Varville is no simple antagonist. He is a gentleman who courts, caresses, honors and punishes - all with the elegance of gloved hands. He symbolizes the world Marguerite longs to escape, yet cannot deny - a shadow cast over what she dares to call happiness.

Love may be fleeting, and loss may sting - but it is still worth giving. Camille is, for that reason, a work of poetry for those who cherish the art of classic tragic romance.

When you think of the lavish 30s films of MGM, Camille is near the top of the list. Great story and flawless production here boasting perhaps the most shimmering of Greta Garbo's ethereal performances as Marguerita Gautier (Camille). Familiar and much filmed story, this is nevertheless the best of them all. Matching Garbor is the hopelessly romantic Robert Taylor in his best 30s role. Also good are Lionel Barrymore, Henry Daniell, and Jessie Ralph as the maid. Great comic relief is provided by Laura Hope Crews (Prudence)and Lenore Ulric (Olympe)--what a pair of vultures! But the center of this gorgeous film is Garbo. She is so frail looking, her voice so soft. Garbo plays Marguerite as a frailty incarnate. She never overacts the part as most do with the endless coughing and fainting. One of George Cukor's triumphs. Rex O'Malley and Elizabeth Allan are dull but have small parts. I also spotted Eily Malyon and Zeffie Tilbury, and Joan Leslie is listed in the credits. I think this is Garbo's best performance, but she lost the Oscar to Luise Rainer for The Good Earth. Also nominated that year: Irene Dunne (The Awful Truth), Barbara Stanwyck (Stella Dallas), and Janet Gaynor (A Star Is Born). Wow----how could you choose just one?