''Eternal Love'' is a 1929 American silent romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

and starring

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

and

Camilla Horn Camilla Martha Horn (25 April 1903 – 14 August 1996) was a German dancer and a film star of the silent and sound era. She starred in several Hollywood films of the late 1920s and in a few British and Italian productions. Biography The daught ...

. Based on the novel ''Der Koenig der Bernina'' by Jakob Christoph Heer, the film is about two lovers living in the Swiss Alps who struggle to be together and escape their loveless marriages. ''Eternal Love'' was the last silent film for both Lubitsch and Barrymore. The story was remade as a 1957 Austrian film ''

The King of Bernina ''The King of Bernina'' (german: Der König der Bernina) is a 1957 Austrian-Swiss historical drama film directed by Alfred Lehner and starring Helmuth Schneider, Waltraut Haas and Walter Janssen.von Dassanowsky p. 171 The film's sets were de ...

''.

Plot

In 1806 in the village of

Pontresina Pontresina ( rm, Puntraschigna) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sarisinam'' in 1137 and ''de Ponte Sar ...

, Switzerland, a mountain man named Marcus (

) is in love with Ciglia (

), a young village woman who has been rejecting the advances of Lorenz (

Victor Varconi Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...

). The mischievous Pia ( Mona Rico) throws herself at Marcus, but she is also rejected. Marcus and Ciglia profess their love, while the jealous and vindictive Pia looks on. Following the end of the French Army occupation, the people of Pontresina celebrate their liberation with a boisterous masked dance. At the party Ciglia becomes frightened of a drunken Marcus and she asks to be taken home. Marcus goes home confused. When Pia boldly attempts to seduce Marcus, he accepts her advances. The next day Ciglia receives permission from her uncle Tass (

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil W ...

) to marry Marcus. Pia and her mother approach Tass, and then confront Marcus. With Ciglia overhearing, they demand that Marcus marry Pia, who plays the cowering innocent. Ciglia leaves Marcus, and Marcus and Pia get married. Lorenz soon takes advantage of Ciglia and eventually they also get married. During a heavy snowstorm, Pia is worried about Marcus and tries to form a rescue party to find him. With no one willing to join, she turns to Lorenz and Ciglia. Ciglia overreacts to the news, making Lorenz suspicious about her affections. Ciglia soon discovers Marcus safely arriving in the village. Consumed in jealously and sorrow, Lorenz confronts Marcus, urging him to leave the village, even offering him money, but Marcus refuses. Later in the mountains, Lorenz ambushes Marcus and the two exchange gunfire. Marcus returns to the village, followed by the accusing and dying Lorenz. The villagers turn against Marcus despite Ciglia's cries of his innocence. Pia falsely accuses Ciglia of putting Marcus up to the murder of Lorenz. Soon the villagers turn into a mob and pursue Marcus and Ciglia into the mountains. With no other recourse, Marcus and Ciglia walk hand in hand into the path of an avalanche.

Cast

as Marcus Baltran *

as Ciglia *

as Lorenz Gruber * Mona Rico as Pia *

as Reverend Tass *

Evelyn Selbie Evelyn Selbie (July 6, 1871 – December 7, 1950) was an American stage actress and performer in both silent and sound films. Biography Born in Louisville, Kentucky, as a young woman Selbie was a sidesaddle rider. She had a career which last ...

as Pia's mother *

Bodil Rosing Bodil Rosing (born Bodil Frederikke Hammerich; December 27, 1877 December 31, 1941) was a Danish-American film actress in the silent and sound eras. Early years Bodil Hammerich was born in Copenhagen, the daughter of music dean Angel Hammeri ...

as Housekeeper * Constantine Romanoff as Villager (uncredited)

Production

;Filming locations * Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Reception

In his review in ''The New York Times'', Mordaunt Hall wrote, "Although it is capably acted and intelligently directed, with excellent scenic effects and settings, the story is not especially moving, which appears to be partly due to the sketchiness of the script." Hall found the acting to be generally good, describing Barrymore's work as "excellent" although having a "tendency to be too melodramatic". Hall described Horn's performance as "charmingly sympathetic, despite a touch too much of mascaro on her eyes". Finally, Hall applauded Lubitsch's Alpine scenes which he described as "realistic" and giving "a reasonably impressive conception of an avalanche during the closing stretches". In his review of the DVD on filmcritic.com, Christopher Null wrote:

Preservation status

This film was thought to be lost until a 16 mm print was found in the film collection of

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, and was released with its

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

music-and- sound effects track in the 1990s. The film was given a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

release on April 24, 2001.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''Eternal Love''
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eternal Love 1929 films 1929 romantic drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch Films set in Switzerland Films set in the Alps Films set in the 1800s United Artists films Films produced by Joseph M. Schenck 1920s rediscovered films 1920s historical romance films Films based on Swiss novels American romantic drama films American historical romance films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films 1920s English-language films Silent historical romance films