La Bohème

La Boheme is a notoriously unreleased film that sometimes broadcasts on TCM. Thanks to a great cast featuring Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, and Renee Adoree, it is no wonder why fans clamor to see it. The star power indeed makes the film a good one. The story is one of sadness and heartbreak; two people live struggling to make ends meet in a shabby town in France. He is working as a writer, succumbing to pieces for the newspaper for money while he can flesh out his play. She is a seamstress whose love for him leads her to working herself to death. The love story is tragic and beautiful.

I have never understood the appeal of Gilbert, so I was not as interested in his character or, in consequence, the romantic relationship between he and Gish than I could have been. He is not a bad actor; I simply do not gravitate to his type. Gish is wonderful, however, as a pathetic but beautiful woman. One bright spot of this film was the couple's scenes on a picnic running through the wilderness in the sunlight.

No one else but Lillian Gish would have starved herself for three days to make the final scene, and no one else would have done it so effectively. Would a modern actress have allowed herself to be dragged physically across the cobblestone streets?

Rodolphe (John Gilbert) is a wouldbe playwright struggling for that final bit of inspiration that will lead him to greatness. Mimi (Lillian Gish) is his upstairs neighbor, a seamstress and embroidery expert who works herself to the breaking point. Along with various painters, musicians and other poets, they all struggle to make ends meet until they finally have the success they all crave

The most famous bit of this one is the very ending, but I won't risk spoiling things, only to say that it's milked for all that it's worth. Gilbert looks even more like John Barrymore here, with his tousled hair and piercing eyes. Gish is her usual waifish, saintly self, although she was reportedly anything but offscreen during the making of this, her personal "love letter" to her European fans. I thought the film to be merely decent, with nothing beyond the ending to really recommend it.

It's difficult to imagine what going to the movies was like during the Silent Era. With no soundtracks, and a person in the theater simply accompanying the on-screen action on piano, dramas of the day must have suffered somewhat. But not 'La Boheme'.

As this wonderfully engaging tale of struggling actors and writers in France unfolds, it has a quality to its story telling that would have diminished had it been a talkie. Once you see the frail and beautiful (and quite haunting) Lillian Gish in her key scenes, you will never forget her.

Grab a few hankies and enjoy this singular silent screen treat!

I have seen hundreds of silent films by now, but I have never, ever yet seen a film in which pantomime was so wildly and dramatically used consistently throughout the entire story by the actors, particularly by John Gilbert. I hate to say it, but here as Rudolphe, although he was his usual fantastically handsome self, he reminds me most of Gene Kelly's antics in the silent film spoof musical "Singin' in the Rain." The film required more subtlety from Mr. Gilbert here, and then I think it would have been a genuine classic.

That said, there are moments where his pantomime is perfectly poignant, more genteel, and realistic. The romp through the woods on a spring day, where Mimi (Gish) confesses to Rudolphe (Gilbert) that she loves him, is sublime and unforgettable. He places his hand gently on his heart in surprise, and then kisses Mimi's golden ringlets first, before he kisses her face. A gesture so nineteenth century! John Gilbert certainly knew his history and researched his roles very well.

Lillian Gish is always a joy to watch, and her performance as Mimi is exceptional. Her death scene was very moving. If you are a fan of John Gilbert or Lillian Gish, don't miss La Boheme. TCM has a wonderful video clip from the film on its website. Just use their search engine to find it.