Camille is a 1936 American romantic drama film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer directed by George Cukor, and produced by Irving Thalberg and Bernard H. Hyman, from a screenplay by James Hilton, Zoë Akins, and Frances Marion. The picture is based on the 1848 novel and 1852 play La dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The film stars Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Jessie Ralph, Henry Daniell, and Laura Hope Crews. It grossed $2,842,000.
Camille was included in Time magazine's "All-Time 100 Movies" in 2005. It was also included at #33 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions. Garbo received her third Best Actress nomination for Camille at the 10th Academy Awards in 1938.
Plot[]
Beautiful Marguerite Gautier is a well-known courtesan, living in the demi-monde of mid-19th century Paris. Marguerite's dressmaker and procuress, Prudence Duvernoy, arranges an assignation at the theatre with a fabulously wealthy prospective patron, the Baron de Varville. Marguerite briefly mistakes Armand Duval, a handsome young man of good family but no great fortune, for the baron. She finds Armand charming, but when the mistake is explained, she accepts the baron without hesitation.
Marguerite spends money carelessly, sometimes out of generosity, as when she bids a fortune on a team of horses in order to give an old coachman employment, but more often because she loves her lavish lifestyle and the late nights of dancing and drinking—and because she knows her days are numbered. She has consumption, which is a death sentence for anyone who lives as she does. She has bouts of severe illness, and during one spell, the only person who come to see her is Armand, bearing flowers (the baron contriving to be in England). She finds this out after she recovers, and she invites him to her birthday party (the baron having just departed for a long stay in Russia). During the party, Marguerite retreats into the bedroom with a coughing spell, and Armand follows. He professes his love for her, which is something she has never known. She gives him a key and tells him to send everyone home and come back later. While she is waiting for him, the baron returns unexpectedly. She orders Nanine, her maid, to shoot the bolt on the door. The baron, who is clearly suspicious, plays the piano furiously, not quite masking the bell. He asks who might be at the door and, laughing, she says, "The great romance of my life—That might have been."
At Armand's family home in the country, he asks his father for money to travel to prepare for his career in the Foreign Service. He sends Marguerite a scathing letter (he saw the baron's carriage), but when she comes to his rooms, they reconcile immediately. She sees a miniature of his mother and is amazed to learn that his parents have loved each other for 30 years. "You'll never love me 30 years," she says, sadly. "I'll love you all my life," he replies. He wants to take her to the country for the summer to get well. She tells him to forget her, but agrees in the end. However, she owes 40,000 francs. The baron gives her the money as a parting gift, and slaps her in the face when she kisses him in thanks.
Armand takes her to a house in the country, where Marguerite thrives on fresh milk and eggs and country walks and love. A shadow is cast by the discovery that the baron's château is in the neighborhood. Marguerite tells him she has asked Prudence to sell everything, pay everything. Armand asks her to marry him, but she declines.
Armand's father, though he acknowledges Marguerite's love is real, begs her to turn away from his son, knowing her past will ruin his chances. When Armand returns to the house, she is cold and dismissive and tells him the baron is expecting her. He watches her walk over the hill.
Back in Paris, at a gambling club, Armand comes face to face with the baron and Marguerite, who is ill. Armand wins a fortune from the baron at baccarat and begs Marguerite to come with him. She lies and says she loves the baron. Armand wounds the baron in a duel and must leave the country for six months. When he returns, Marguerite's illness has worsened. "Perhaps it's better if I live in your heart, where the world can't see me," she says and then dies in his arms.
Cast[]
- Greta Garbo as Marguerite Gautier
- Robert Taylor as Armand Duval
- Lionel Barrymore as Monsieur Duval
- Elizabeth Allan as Nichette, the Bride
- Jessie Ralph as Nanine, Marguerite's Maid
- Henry Daniell as Baron de Varville
- Lenore Ulric as Olympe
- Laura Hope Crews as Prudence Duvernoy
- Rex O'Malley as Gaston
- Mabel Colcord as Madame Barjon (uncredited)
- Mariska Aldrich as Friend of Marguerite (uncredited)
- Wilson Benge as Attendant (uncredited)