I watched both this version and the more famous Greta Garbo version one after the other. And, despite these being such famous films, I didn't particularly care for either of them. The film was a typical 1920s weepy and overly campy romance and this makes it a silent that does NOT age very well.
Nazimova stars as the courtesan, Camille ('courtesan' is an old fashioned and nice way of saying high-priced whore). This woman has definitely been around the block quite a few times--so to speak. And she has quite a bit of talent for seducing men--including a young and innocent Rudolph Valentino. However, despite it being obvious that she has slept with half the rich men in Paris, Rudy is so smitten that he cannot accept that she has a tarnished reputation. But, eventually after making Rudy pretty miserable, she does the right thing and rejects him--though the reason in this film seemed pretty flimsy compared to the 1936 film--which just made more sense.
As far as the acting goes, Valentino did an okay job and didn't seem as wimpy and stupid as the same character Robert Taylor played 15 years later. Regarding Camille, Nazimova (this was her full stage name--she was a one-namer like Cher), she was pretty bizarre to see due to her totally wacky hairstyle. It looked almost as if she took two or three wigs and stacked them on her head! I assume this was meant to look sexy and exotic, but I just thought she looked weird. Her acting was fair, though since she was playing Camille, there was a lot of wild gesticulating and posturing due to her unnamed illness (I assume it was supposed to be TB).
Interestingly enough, the film was different from the later and more famous version. First, it was set in the present day (1921) instead of the 1840s. Second, the ending was very different--the entire final scene of the 1936 version was missing in this film. I actually think this improved the film, somewhat, but overall the film seemed to be technically well-made but too over-the-top and melodramatic to elevate it much above mediocrity.
Nazimova stars as the courtesan, Camille ('courtesan' is an old fashioned and nice way of saying high-priced whore). This woman has definitely been around the block quite a few times--so to speak. And she has quite a bit of talent for seducing men--including a young and innocent Rudolph Valentino. However, despite it being obvious that she has slept with half the rich men in Paris, Rudy is so smitten that he cannot accept that she has a tarnished reputation. But, eventually after making Rudy pretty miserable, she does the right thing and rejects him--though the reason in this film seemed pretty flimsy compared to the 1936 film--which just made more sense.
As far as the acting goes, Valentino did an okay job and didn't seem as wimpy and stupid as the same character Robert Taylor played 15 years later. Regarding Camille, Nazimova (this was her full stage name--she was a one-namer like Cher), she was pretty bizarre to see due to her totally wacky hairstyle. It looked almost as if she took two or three wigs and stacked them on her head! I assume this was meant to look sexy and exotic, but I just thought she looked weird. Her acting was fair, though since she was playing Camille, there was a lot of wild gesticulating and posturing due to her unnamed illness (I assume it was supposed to be TB).
Interestingly enough, the film was different from the later and more famous version. First, it was set in the present day (1921) instead of the 1840s. Second, the ending was very different--the entire final scene of the 1936 version was missing in this film. I actually think this improved the film, somewhat, but overall the film seemed to be technically well-made but too over-the-top and melodramatic to elevate it much above mediocrity.