''Inspiration'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 ...

romantic

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

film adapted by Gene Markey from the Alphonse Daudet novel ''

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

'' (1884). The film stars Greta Garbo, Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone and Marjorie Rambeau. It was directed by Clarence Brown and produced by

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

. The cinematography was performed by William H. Daniels, the art direction by

Cedric Gibbons Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an American Art director#In film, art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons de ...

and the costume design by

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

.''Inspiration''
tcm.com; accessed August 5, 2015.Allmovie.com database
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Plot

Yvonne Valbret is a Parisian kept woman who poses as an artist's model. She falls in love with a young student of foreign diplomacy, André Montell. When André learns of her past and her multiple lovers, he leaves her. But finding Yvonne living in poverty when their paths cross again, he pays for her to live in his country cottage outside Paris and they engage in a platonic relationship. He soon reveals his intent to marry another woman as Yvonne begs him not to desert her. André eventually realizes that he loves Yvonne and decides to choose love over career. When he comes to the cottage to tell her, he is met by one of Yvonne's old lovers pleading with her to return to him. She immediately decides to marry André, but fearing that their relationship will ruin his career, she chooses her old lover and writes André a farewell note while he is sleeping.

Cast

* Greta Garbo as Yvonne Valbret * Robert Montgomery as Andre Montell * Lewis Stone as Raymond Delval * Marjorie Rambeau as Lulu * Judith Vosselli as Odette * Beryl Mercer as Marthe, Yvonne's maid * John Miljan as Henry Coutant, the sculptor * Edwin Maxwell as Uncle Julian Montell * Oscar Apfel as M. Vignaud * Joan Marsh as Madeleine Dorety * Zelda Sears as Aunt Pauline * Karen Morley as Liane Latour * Gwen Lee as Gaby * Paul McAllister as Jouvet *

Arthur Hoyt Arthur Hoyt (March 19, 1874 – January 4, 1953) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films. Career Born in Georgetown, Colorado, in 1874, Hoyt ma ...

as Gavarni * Richard Tucker as Galand

Reception

The film earned approximately $1,127,000 in its worldwide distribution, resulting in a $286,000 profit for MGM.

References

External links

*
Film information at ''Garbo Forever''
{{Sappho (novel) 1931 films American drama films 1931 drama films American black-and-white films Films based on Sappho (novel) Films directed by Clarence Brown Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Irving Thalberg 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language drama films

Plot

Cast

Reception

References

Further reading

External links