Camille **** (1921, Alla Nazimova, Rudolph Valentino) – Classic Movie Review 13,841

The famed 1921 silent film Camille stars Alla Nazimova as Alexandre Dumas Fils’s courtesan heroine Marguerite Gautier, who is dying of consumption and sacrifices herself to prove her true love of young Armand Duval (Rudolph Valentino).

Director Ray C Smallwood’s famed 1921 silent film version Camille of Alexandre Dumas Fils’s courtesan heroine Marguerite Gautier stars Alla Nazimova as the lady-of-the-night with a heart of gold, who is dying of consumption and sacrifices herself to prove her true love of young noble law student Armand Duval (Rudolph Valentino).

Giving their all, Valentino and Nazimova are really rather splendid and it is a great-looking film, thanks to brilliantly striking, incredibly lavish Art Deco sets and costumes by the art director Natacha Rambova, a riot of imagination beautifully captured in Rudolph J Bergquist’s luminous cinematography.  

Written for the screen by June Mathis, it is ‘a Camille of today’, set in 1920s Paris, instead of the 1840s of the original 1848 novel and 1852 play La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady of the Camellias) by Alexandre Dumas Fils.

The film has survived and it was restored in 2002, with a fine new score by Peter Vantine. It was shown on TCM and is available on VHS, DVD and streaming.

It is the third silent film version of La Dame aux Camélias entitled Camille. It follows Camille (1915), an American silent film adapted by Frances Marion, directed by Albert Capellani, starring Clara Kimball Young as Camille and Paul Capellani as Armand. And Camille (1917), an American silent film adapted by Adrian Johnson, directed by J. Gordon Edwards, starring Theda Bara as Camille and Alan Roscoe as Armand. This film is now considered lost.

The cast are Rudolph Valentino as Armand Duval, Alla Nazimova as Marguerite Gautier, Arthur Hoyt as Count de Varville, Zeffie Tilbury as Prudence, Rex Cherryman as Gaston Rieux, Patsy Ruth Miller as Nichette, Elinor Oliver as Nanine, William Orlamond as Monsieur Duval, Consuela Flowerton as Olympe, Edward Connelly as The Duke.

Rudolph Valentino later married Natacha Rambova.

Camille is directed by Ray C Smallwood, runs 70 minutes, is made by Nazimova Productions, is released by Metro Pictures Corporation, is written by June Mathis (scenario), based on the novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas Fils, is shot in black and white by Rudolph J Bergquist, and is designed by Natacha Rambova.

Release date: September 26, 1921.

Camille (1926)

Director Fred Niblo’s famed 1926 silent version Camille of Alexandre Dumas’s heroine Marguerite Gautier stars Norma Talmadge as the lady-of-the-night with a heart of gold, who’s dying of consumption and sacrifices herself to prove her true love of young noble Armand (Gilbert Roland). An incomplete 35mm positive print exists in the Raymond Rohauer collection of the Cohen Media Group.

La Dame aux Camélias (1934)

The first sound film adaptation was La Dame aux Camélias (1934), a French-language film co-adapted and directed by Abel Gance and starring Yvonne Printemps and Pierre Fresnay.

Camille 1936

Director George Cukor’s 1936 vintage tragic romance movie Camille stars Greta Garbo, perfectly cast and at her most luminously finest as beautiful Marguerite Gautier, a lovely, well-known courtesan, living in mid-19th century Paris.

La Dame aux Camélias (1981)

It was remade as the French-language film Lady of the Camelias [La Dame aux Camélias] in 1981 with Isabelle Huppert. It was adapted by Jean Aurenche, Enrico Medioli and Vladimir Pozner, and directed by Mauro Bolognini.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

And there is also the musical version Moulin Rouge! (2001), directed by Baz Luhrmann, and starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,841

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