The Lover of Camille

1924 film by Harry Beaumont

November 16, 1924 (1924-11-16) (United States)

Running time

80 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The Lover of Camille is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by Harry Beaumont, and starring Monte Blue. The film was based on the French play Deburau by Sacha Guitry, which was also adapted into a Broadway play by Harley Granville-Barker.^[1]^[2]

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine,^[3] Jean Gaspard Deburau (Blue), the clown of a pantomime theatre in Paris, is the idol of the populace. In a box is an attractive woman who waits for him after the show. Immediately he falls in love with her. After a time he return to find his own wife has left him for his friend Robillard (Lewis). To the woman, Marie (Prevost), Deburau’s love has been but a passing thing, and returning to her he finds her in the arms of a wealthy fellow, Armand (Miller). Disillusioned, he quits the stage, finding a little happiness in his son Charles. Years pass, Deburau clings to the idea Marie will return, and finally she does, broken in health, telling him Armand has left her. She pleads that he return to the stage, 111 °F with fever, she becomes delirious and Deburau marries her while she thinks he is Armand. At the first performance he breaks down because of his sorrow, and Marie dies. Hiding his broken heart, he dresses his son as the clown and finds some happiness in seeing him acclaimed by the populace.

Cast

Monte Blue as Jean-Gaspard Deburau
Willard Louis as Robillard
Pat Moore as Charles Deburau, Age 10
Pierre Gendron as Charles Deburau, Age 17
Carl Miller as Armand Duval
Rosa Rosanova as Madame Rabouir
Marie Prevost as Marie Duplessis
Winifred Bryson as 'The Unknown'
Brandon Hurst as Bertrand
Rose Dione as Madame Deburau
Trilby Clark as Madame Rubard

Preservation

A print of The Lover of Camille is preserved at the Filmarchiv Austria (Wien).^[4]

References

^ Munden, Kenneth White, ed. (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog: Of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States : Feature Films, 1921-1930, Part 1. University of California Press. p. 461. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.
^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Lover of Camille at silentera.com
^ Sewell, Charles S. (November 29, 1924). "The Lover of Camille; Warner Brothers Offer Artistic and Well- Acted Adaptation of Guitry's Tragic Stage Play". The Moving Picture World. 71 (5). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 451. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Lover of Camille