''La Bohème'' (aka: ''La vie de Bohème'') is a 1916 American silent

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as ...

directed by

Albert Capellani Albert Capellani (23 August 1874 – 26 September 1931) was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent film, silent era. He directed films between 1905 and 1922. One of his brothers was the actor-sculptor Paul Capellani, and anoth ...

and distributed by World Pictures. The star of this version is

Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress of stage and film. She began her career in the theatre in 1911, and her first important success came on Broadway in 1912 when she created the rol ...

, whose father

William A. Brady William Aloysius Brady (June 19, 1863 – January 6, 1950) was an American theater actor, producer, and sports promoter. Biography Brady was born to a newspaperman in 1863. His father kidnapped him from San Francisco and brought him to New York ...

was the founder of World Pictures. This film is one of many silent versions, actually the third or fourth. Later silent versions appeared in 1917 and

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

starring

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "F ...

. Director Albert Capellani's brother, Paul Capellani, who appears in this film, had made his own short version in 1912.

Plot

Cast

as Mimi * Paul Capellani as Rudolphe *

June Elvidge June Elvidge (June 30, 1893 – May 1, 1965) was an early 20th-century silent film actress. Biography Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Elvidge, of English and Irish descent, attended Pennsylvania College and was a concert singer before she bega ...

as Madame de Rouvre *

Leslie Stowe Leslie Stowe (November 1867 – July 16, 1949) was an American actor. He appeared on stage and screen. He played the evil Herman Wolff character in '' Bolshevism on Trial''. Anthony Slide praised his performance as the film's villain. Stowe was ...

as Durandin *

Chester Barnett Chester Barnett (February 29, 1884 - September 22, 1947) was an actor in American silent films and a screenwriter. He starred with Pearl White in Crystal Film Company comedy shorts. He appeared on a souvenir postcard. He died in Jefferson Cit ...

as Marcel * Zena Keefe as Musette *

Frederick Truesdell Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from ...

as Author (credited as Frederick C. Truesdell) * D. J. Flanagan as Schaunard ''unbilled'' * Juliette Clarens

Preservation

A print of ''La Bohème'' survives at

George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...

. This film only survived because

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

purchased it for rights purposes to remake the

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

with

in 1926.by David Pierce writing i
The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929
(September 2013), p. 40

References

External links

* * * 1910s historical romance films 1916 films American silent feature films Films based on La bohème Films directed by Albert Capellani American black-and-white films World Film Company films American historical romance films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films Silent historical romance films English-language historical romance films {{1910s-romance-film-stub