User reviews

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.

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.

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?

Lillian Gish is the main reason to watch this film, as the subtlety and range of her expressiveness is on full display here. She is simply magnificent. The film shows signs of creakiness and yet still carries an emotional impact, though I have to say, director King Vidor elongates things as he tries to wring every last ounce of pathos out of it. The film is also hampered by being silent, when you consider how powerful the music from Puccini's opera is.

Gish and John Gilbert were huge stars when this film was made, Gish especially, and there are moments when they light up the screen. My favorite is when they're out on a picnic and she dances about while he chases her. Look for the moment when he catches her, then holds her hands from behind and whispers something in her ear; her look of surprise changing to a backward glance as her body sways forward is wonderful. It's in these types of scenes and when the Vidor puts Gish's face in a tight shot that the film is at its best, and for them, it's worth watching.

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.

In 19th century Bohemia, artistic residents in the "Latin Quarter" of Paris suffer and starve. Lillian Gish (as Mimi) is a seamstress who can't pay the rent. John Gilbert (as Rodolphe) is an playwright with money problems of his own. Gilbert has been watching Gish, who lives in the neighboring attic apartment; he is taken by her innocent waif-like beauty. On the first of the month, neither Ms. Gish nor Mr. Gilbert are able to pay the rent, when the landlord visits. Gilbert, his roommates, and friends get some cash together; but Gish, a loner, is evicted. As Gish is preparing to leave the building, Gilbert and friends rescue her from street life. Then, Gish and Gilbert fall in love.

The film is most notable for its outstanding pairing of stars Gish and Gilbert, under the star direction of King Vidor. Mr. Vidor is strangely subdued by the period, and settings; but, his Paris street scenes are terrific. The meeting of Gish and lecherous Roy D'Arcy (as Vicomte Paul) is striking; and, Gish's tubercular crawl through the streets of Paris is most especially stunning.

The lovers of "La Bohème" face poverty and misunderstanding; but, mainly, it's Gish's "Mimi" making sacrifices for Gilbert's "Rodolphe". Gish's performance is indescribable. According to Vidor and co-workers, she may have put her life in danger to make the film's ending most realistic; and, it shows. Gilbert is in fine form, and characterization; according to Gish, he proposed during film-making. Renée Adorée (as Musette) and Karl Dane (as Benoit) standout among the oddly more well-fed Bohemians.

King Vidor directing Lillian Gish and John Gilbert in a prestigious M-G-M production is, of course, well worth seeing; but, the sum of their efforts do not produce the portended masterpiece. Gish's performance seems too outer-worldly for the rest of the cast; and, the story is unworthy. Cinematographer Hendrik Sartov contributes to some beautiful imagery; although, his soft focus lens, on Gish close-ups, is distracting during the early scenes. Happily, Gish, and photographer Sartov, returned to balanced perfection, in "The Scarlet Letter" (1926).

******** La Boheme (2/24/26) King Vidor ~ Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, Renee Adoree, Roy D'Arcy

If MGM's 1926 version of Puccini's opera tells us anything, it's that pairing an actress like Lillian Gish with an actor like John Gilbert is a little like hanging a portrait of the Mona Lisa next to a painting of Popeye. Gish has such sensitivity and grace, and is capable of conveying such emotion with the slightest of facial movements, that she throws an unforgiving spotlight on Gilbert's bombastic endeavours. His character is also something of a dick, which makes poor Mimi's fate all the more tragic (in a 'what a waste' sort of way) while stripping it of much of the poignancy that director King Vidor was clearly striving to create.

This is pretty low-brow stuff to be called La Boheme.

More like The Desecration of La Boheme as realized by a bunch of hopped up twits. Everybody's just running around, waiving their arms, contorting their faces. Even by 1920s standards it's a bit much. I half-expected Snidely Whiplash to make a cameo.

By the time John Gilbert is jumping around the apartment explaining how inspired he is now that Lillian Gish has professed her love, he's so over-the-top I started to laugh.

Gish looks like she has tuberculosis.

Without singing, it's just cheap melodrama about a bunch of starving artists, signifying nothing.

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!

Stories like this have a certain kind of timelessness and familiarity to them, because they are based around characters and situations which recur again and again in art and literature. And in the case of La Boheme, it is a central concept which has particular resonance for the passionately creative amongst us. For here we meet the romantic archetype of the artists who will die for their art – writers, painters and musicians, lovers and libertines all, starving in the garrets of 19th century Paris. The story comes from the 1896 Puccini opera, but elements of it crop up as recently as the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge! During this era, there wasn't really anyone better suited to playing the female lead than Lillian Gish, and perhaps there never has been. Tender, mysterious, as light and ethereal as a strip of gauze, she was in every way the tragic heroine. At her best when she played it subtle, her performance in La Boheme is wonderfully subdued. So much lies in the tiniest flicker of her face, such as that little curl of her lip when she gets her first glimpse of John Gilbert. Gilbert is not nearly as fine an actor as his leading lady, but he is again very much the right type for his part – an idealist with intelligent eyes and a warm smile. Other faces to look out for here are the very entertaining French actress Renée Adorée, and a rare glimpse of a silent-era Edward Everett Horton, although sadly before his comic talent was fully realised.

The director is King Vidor, himself a man with a burningly artistic approach to his medium, albeit one grounded enough in reality and focused enough in thought to make him a good professional. His shot composition shows a neat use of space, and confident handling of rhythm. But what really makes Vidor stand out is the smooth way he makes shots that little bit special. Take for example the scene in which Vicomte Paul first lays eyes on Gish. We get a travelling point-of-view shot as he watches one young woman walking alongside his carriage. The carriage then stops, the woman carries on walking to reveal Gish heading straight towards the camera. We then cut in to a close-up of her face. The moment jolts itself into our consciousness, and because the movement of the camera and the two women is logical, it draws us further into the film's world, rather than exposing the artifice of the medium. King Vidor was one of the best directors who ever lived, because he successfully bridged the gap between the stylish and the realistic.

The resultant picture is a good work of classic romantic tragedy, and ultimately one that relates more to fantasy and mythology than to any real world situation. Poverty and injustice play their parts in La Boheme, but they are presented in almost noble terms, like some depiction of suffering in a religious painting. Compare this to poverty-themed pictures made just a few years later during the depression, which were earthy, honest and very close to home. La Boheme on the other hand is more the agonising, bittersweet fairytale. And there is no shame in this – it is simply a part of the idealism of the 1920s and of silent cinema, a naïve but beautiful way of thinking that was very soon to vanish with the changing times.

La Boheme, based on the original story rather than Puccini's operatic masterpiece, was such a beautiful film. The costumes are truly sumptuous, especially Musette's, the sets are picturesque and don't look at all creaky and the cinematography also has several beautiful images.

The music is lovely, and the story is a genuine tearjerker, especially the end, even when you know what is going to happen you can't help tearing up. The ending is not the only effective scene, the romp in the woods is stunningly romantic.

King Vidor's direction is also superb. When it comes to the performances, while the support cast are great especially Renee Adoree's Musette and John Gilbert is a dashing, sympathetic yet somewhat jealous Rodolphe, it is Lillian Gish's sorrowful and heart-breakingly touching Mimi that is La Boheme's main merit.

Overall, a truly beautiful film and never fails to make me cry. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is a great version of the story La Boheme. It is not based on the famous opera of the same name but they are both based on the same story. This is based on the novel La Boheme and it is Lillian Gish at her very, very best.

This version of La Boheme is great! I know old time "silent film era" movies are disliked by many so if you don't like other films from the twenties you won't like this either, but if you do like them this is a very good version of one. La Boheme is a great story and this version has great acting and direction. Well worth seeing for fans of the stage show.

NO, this silent Gish/Gilbert version of "La Boheme" is NOT BASED on the Puccini opera. Gish and the studio could not obtain the rights to the Puccini material. It IS based on Henry Murgi's 1851 novel "Life in the Latin Quarter." And once again IMDb insists I must pad out my comment to meet their silly minimum guidelines.

I do agree with other posters than you cannot view silent and sound films in the same way. No matter how great the performers involved, the 'mime' aspects seem very unnatural to modern eyes. You have to set aside prejudices on technique, especially if you are unused to viewing silent films, which can often seem melodrama and corny. I do enjoy watching Gish though.

In terms of playing the role, the art of opera is a whole lot like the silent film. To go with the words which will often be in a foreign language, you need to gesticulate to get the meaning across. Cecil B. DeMille realized that when he imported opera diva Geraldine Farrar to do a silent version of her acclaimed Carmen. Similarly the woman who specialized in playing innocents on the silent screen got one of her best roles as Mimi in the silent version of La Boheme.

Following up on The Big Parade, King Vidor directs his stars from that film in La Boheme. John Gilbert plays Rudolphe and Renee Adoree the saucy Musette. But the star of this film is Lillian Gish as the innocent and tragic Mimi. If you're familiar with the opera the plot of the film follows it faithfully.

Gilbert and Adoree live with a group of happy, but starving artists in a flat in Paris where getting the next meal or the next month's rent is an adventure. In fact in the beginning they are living in the flat for another month by dint of George Hassell's entertaining the street crowds with an organ and a monkey. And they can't eat the monkey because he might prove the most valuable breadwinner among them.

Into this world of artists comes sweet and innocent seamstress Lillian Gish. Of course she falls for Gilbert totally. But Gilbert only reciprocates her part way. He's about his art which in his case is writing. That's something Gish can't comprehend and leaves her vulnerable to the rakish Roy D'Arcy.

Edward Everett Horton has a small part in La Boheme. He's not the usual fuss budget that he was in talkies. Still I think most will recognize him.

The film belongs to Lillian Gish as the opera does to every soprano who essays the role from Mimi. It's only the end that Gilbert truly appreciates what he's had.

From the opera to the silent screen to talkies in the film Mimi that starred Gertrude Lawrence and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. to the modern updating of the story in Rent, La Boheme is a timeless tale and in this case brought to us by the timeless art of one Lillian Gish.

La boheme (1926)

*** (out of 4)

Based on the Puccini opera, this MGM production had star Lillian Gish being able to pick her story, co-star and director and after screening THE BIG PARADE she knew who she wanted. The film, set in Paris around 1830, tells the story of various starving artists who are living in the Boheme area. Playwright Rodolphe (John Gilbert) is about to be thrown out of his room for not having the rent but he manages to pull some quick cash but seamstress (Gish) isn't so lucky and soon finds herself out on the streets. She catches the eye of Rodolphe and the two soon strike up a relationship. I'll start off by saying that this is a good movie that fans of Gish, Gilbert or Vidor will want to check out but I'll also admit to be rather disappointed because with talent like that you'd wish they would have made a masterpiece instead of something just good. Perhaps that's unfair to wish but to me this entire story wasn't the right material for Vidor and even Gilbert isn't at his very best. To me the story really doesn't work well enough for everything to come into place and work out in the end and I think a lot of this has to do with Vidor letting scenes drag on longer than they needed to. There are countless times where a scene should have been either cut or simply edited down but instead it's left intact and soon grows rather tiresome. What keeps the film moving is the brilliant performance by Gish who really gets into her role and delivers another very memorable character. The somewhat famous final scene with her was extremely well done but so is everything that leads up to it. Gilbert is good but he never really seems overly comfortable in the role. Renee Adoree, George Hassell and Roy D'Arcy round out the cast.