Just perfect...

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Greta Garbo (I'm not objective in the slightest here, because she's my favourite actress ever) is astonishing as The Lady of the Camellias in this, the most well-known cinematic rendition of Alexandre Dumas' tragic story. In comparison to the 1921 silent version, Cukor's a much better director, though Rudolph Valentino's better as Armand Duval. Both versions are intriguingly different, and Henry Daniell's just great as the villainous Baron. Essential viewing, especially for fans of Garbo and classic tearjerker films.See it with someone you love. A good cry is always soothing for the soul, especially in these troubled times of ours.

Sumptuous Golden Age weepie starring the divine Garbo cast slightly improbably as a, shall we say, mature, but consumptive courtesan caught in a love triangle with cold-hearted moneybags Lord De Varville and poor impressionable young thing Armand.In the end the consumption wins but the build up to the tragedy is high-quality costume melodrama with Garbo in captivating form as the epicentre of scandal in high society France - there are lots of mesdames and monsieurs but scarcely a Gallic accent in sight. Director Cukor doesn't overdo the focus on Garbo, preferring to film her in double portraits, most usually with Robert Taylor as the ardent Armand but it's her you'll be drawn to. Hardly sylph-like and certainly not a conventional beauty she acts beautifully and for the most part convinces you of her power to captivate men at a hundred paces. She gives her not altogether pleasant character depth and profundity by injecting emotion and humanity into her performance, even coaxing out what looks like a real teardrop after one of her emotional farewells with her young lover.The supporting characters are well written and played from Camille's so-called society friends who by the end are raiding her handbag for money as she lies expiring on her death-bed, while Lionel Barrymore impresses in a sensitive scene as Armand's father persuading her to give up her love for his son. Taylor plays the callow youth with vigour while Henry Daniell is suitably reptilian as the controlling sugar daddy.The sets and costumery are excellent and director Cukor confidently moves his actors around the scenery, contrasting the vain-glorious narcissism and decadence of the idle rich with the simple-hearted devotion of Camille's housekeeper and close friends.Of course the language is all very flowery and sometimes wearing on the ears, but it doesn't take long to become engaged with the film and, yes, care about the characters. New rivals were emerging in Hollywood to compete with Garbo as the top female star on the block, like Hepburn, Davis and of course, from nearer her own era, Deitrich, but here, on top of her game, Garbo still sends out a catch-me-if-you-can dare to these and others.

The great literary romances of the late nineteenth century, despite perhaps being presumed today to be models of propriety and principle, were more often than not frank tales of adulteresses and prostitutes. When many of these great works were adapted for the screen in the 1930s, the most natural choice for a leading lady was often Greta Garbo, than whom there was none finer at portraying such fallen women as noble and tragic heroines.Garbo was one of the cinema's great natural performers, and in her day was probably the most genuine person to have graced the screen. She brought something to these roles not only because she was dangerously beautiful, but also because she was irresistibly human. Even when her character lied to her lover she could make us sympathise with her motives, as well as understand why the lead man was so enamoured of her to be taken in. In Camille, she brilliantly captures the conflict between Marguerite's strength of character and her physical frailty. Her occasional coughs and lapses into weariness are so neatly understated, but in a way that makes us accept that she is fighting against them rather than that they are insignificant.Whether Garbo's professionalism rubbed off on others, or whether it was the intensely personal direction of George Cukor, Camille also features some superb performances from what could have been a disappointing supporting cast. Lead man Robert Taylor (who once described acting as the easiest job in the world) was generally little more than a handsome but wooden matinée idol, and yet here the youngster pulls off his part like a pro. True, for the first hour of the picture he is simply a handsome, grinning mug, but when his character is required to display some emotional depth he steps up to the task. Henry Daniell and Lionel Barrymore were both shameless hams, but here they are at their most restrained, without losing any of their trademark qualities. When you compare Daniell in Camille to his other performances, it's like seeing the real person that a caricature is based on.While the sincerity of the cast certainly helps to give Camille its emotional intensity, it is the direction of Cukor which gives it its pace and watchability. Cukor's cinema is all about movement, and he has a hundred tricks up his sleeve, each using motion to draw our attention or set tone. Take Garbo's big scene with Barrymore. The two of them are essentially just wheeling around a small room, but Cukor keeps his camera up fairly close, emphasising their almost constant changes in position. This gives an unsettling, desperate quality to the scene, even giving the impression that Barrymore is chasing Garbo. At other times such rapid change would be distracting, especially if the scene contains a lot of important information, but Cukor still uses subtle shifts in perception to keep the narrative feeling fresh and meaningful. For example in the lengthy episode at the opera where we meet the principle characters for the first time, Cukor uses the fuzzy glow of the stage as a backdrop for the first meeting between Garbo and Taylor, and the blandness of the box for the equivalent encounter with Daniell.Both the acting and the direction here are purely cinematic, the former glamorous yet honest, the latter unobtrusively guiding the audience with the moving image. And yet it takes away none of the integrity of Alexander Dumas fils' novel. And so this final nod is to the hidden hand behind the screen - producer Irving Thalberg. Thalberg's aim was never simply to make a fast buck; he wanted to leave high quality product behind him. It seems that pictures like Camille are what he always aspired to - ones that harnessed all the faculties of the medium, yet were as prestigious and culturally significant as any classic play or novel. This was among his last productions, and he died before it was released, but it is undoubtedly a worthy asset to his legacy.

I have always wondered about the fascination with Greta Garbo. There is, of course, her natural beauty, but her acting skills have always seemed to me to be quite limited. She always seemed to be over-acting (especially that annoying affected laugh of hers) and never emotionally connected.Camille was such a surprising revelation. Garbo's natural distance works to advantage in the role of the world-weary Marguerite. However, in Camille, she displays true warmth and genuine affection - the glance at Gaston when she finds that he has filled her pocketbook is subtle and touching.There is not much to the story - it is a typical melodrama but it is told well. Other than the slightly dated comic relief provided by Garbo's hangers-on, the actions and emotions are spot-on and believable. Robert Taylor gives a wonderful performance as the young suitor, and Barrymore, Daniell and O'Malley provide great support.However, it is Garbo who completely dominates - especially in the last scene. The ending of the film is one of the best if not the best romantic ending I have ever seen - rivalled perhaps only by City Lights and Casablanca. The final serene look on Garbo's face as the screen fades to black is one that is unforgettable.