Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

Eternal Love (1929)

It is a dream coupling. Not the reteaming of John Barrymore and the lovely Camilla Horn, but of Barrymore and director Ernst Lubitsch. In this last silent film for both Lubitsch and Barrymore, the pair make good use of their individual talents in this romantic drama that is an often overlooked film in both their canons.

It is 1806 in the village of Pontresina, Switzerland. Marcus (Barrymore) is a loner mountain man in love with Ciglia (Camilla Horn), a young woman of the village who has been rejecting the advances of Lorenz (Victor Varconi). The mischevous Pia (Mona Rico) throws herself at Marcus, but is also rejected. She’s an absolute brat. Ciglia and Marcus profess their love, while the jealous and vindictive Pia oversees. The people of Pontresina celebrate their liberation from the French Army occupation with a boisterous masked dance that foretells today’s slamming mosh pits. At the party, Ciglia becomes frightened of drunken Marcus and has him take her home. Marcus goes home, confused and cloudy minded. Pia boldly attempts to seduce Marcus. He succombs, or does he? The next day, Ciglia receives permission from her uncle Tass (Hobart Bosworth) to marry Marcus. But Pia and her mother see Tass, then come to Marcus, with Ciglia overhearing, and demand that Marcus marry Pia, who plays the cowering innocent. Ciglia sadly leaves Marcus. Marcus and Pia do get married. Meanwhile, Lorenz swoops in on Ciglia and eventually they also get married. During a big snowstorm, Pia becomes desperate to form a rescue party to find Marcus. She resorts to her final appeal, at the home of Lorenz and Ciglia. Ciglia overreacts to the news and raises Lorenz’s suspicions about her affections. Ciglia discovers Marcus safely arriving in the village. Lorenz, consumed in jealously and sorrow, soon thereafter confronts Marcus, urging Marcus to leave the village and offering money. Marcus refuses. Pia greedily sees the opportunity to leave for a more comfortable life and turns harridan. Lorenz, later, sees an opportunity to ambush Marcus in the mountains. 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 steps forward to accuse Ciglia of putting Marcus up to the murder of Lorenz. The villagers turn mob, and pursue Marcus and Ciglia into the mountains. What will happen? What can happen?

These tragic love stories can be tough to maintain a balance between drudging melodrama and an unintended comic extreme. Lubitsch handles the material without any risk of comic misinterpretation, but skates perilously close to the edge of the maudlin. When all is assessed later, the film remains a pleasing love story and a slightly above average effort by Lubitsch. Among its technical aspects, the film features a number of tracking shots that smoothly, if not a little self-consciously, move in and out of the action.

Barrymore is charming, as usual, in this romantic role that allows him to be endearingly brutish, frighteningly drunk and hopelessly in love. Barrymore’s makeup in the film is old-fashioned and a bit extreme for 1929, but old habits die hard. However, there can be no question why Barrymore was a star when his films are viewed today, and Eternal Love is not an exception. While his acting roots were steeped in the formal traditions of the 19th century stage, with all the posing and posturing and histrionics, Barrymore projected something of the wry charm of today’s Hollywood bad boys. That is, the type of man a woman shouldn’t bring home to meet father but a man that nonetheless cannot be resisted.

— Carl Bennett