Camille, 1936, is playing on Turner Classic Movies on Tuesday, July 24 at 5:45 p.m est. Closed captioning. This is the love story of all love stories and shouldn’t be missed.
This film further proves that the assembly-line system of Hollywood studios back then should also be taken seriously in terms of artistry. Just because movies were produced run-of-the-mill doesn’t mean that they weren’t paid critical attention to by their makers. The usual impression on studio-era Hollywood is: take a formulaic narrative style, maybe adapt a stage play for the screen, blend in a handful of stars from the stable and the films rake in the profit at the box office. Not quite, that’s the easy perception. George Cukor, another of those versatile directors, made it apparent with Camille that filmmaking as an art may still flourish despite (and even within) certain parameters. Camille is beautiful, in so many respects. And it’s not just because of Greta Garbo.
Sure, the acting is amazing, the casting is perfect. Garbo is luminous, mysterious, cruel, and weak at the same time. Robert Taylor surrenders himself to be the heartbreakingly young and vulnerable Armand. Henry Daniell’s coldness and sadism is utterly human and familiar. The others are just plain wonderful. The writing contains so much wit and humor, devotion and pain – but it never overstates anything. The rapport and tensions between lovers, friends, and enemies are palpable and consistent. The actions flow so naturally, just like every scene, that checking for historical inconsistencies seem far beside the point.
There is so much that I love about Camille that it’s hard to enumerate them all, but with every little discovery comes the realization that this is “but” a studio production, so it makes the experience more exquisite. Camille is a gentle, poignant romantic movie that, like Garbo, takes its place delicately and self-effacingly in the history of American cinema, but makes itself indelible in the heart and mind of the lovelorn individual viewer. Review by tsarevna for the IMDb.
Some behind-the scenes photos from Camille.
Making Marguerite’s Dresses:
d captioned.
Robert Taylor Actor 
So cool! 1) The trailer for Camille comes on TCM. 2) I think how stunning Ms. Garbo and Mr. Taylor are in this great film. 3) Open my Inbox. 4) First thing I see is your post!
Thanks for all the behind the scenes photos! Love how even with the heavy makeup, Robert Taylor looks so natural. Are there ANY bad photos of him!? I don’t think there could be such a thing! 🙂
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There are a few if the photographer catches him at exactly the wrong angle. But they are few and far between. Thanks for writing. Judith
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