La Bohème

A characteristically soulful and touching Lillian Gish and an athletically exuberant and sincere John Gilbert are Mimi and Rodolfe, the lovers doomed to be parted by death in this silent enactment of the story familiar to those who know Puccini's popular opera. Director King Vidor (whose leading lady from The Big Parade, Renée Adorée, plays the ebullient Musette) expertly steers the changes of mood from the boisterous to the tragic in the Latin quarter of Paris. Despite its virtues, however, its style is too outmoded to hold much appeal for audiences now.