La Bohème (1926 film)

La Bohème
Promotional poster
Directed byKing Vidor
Written byFred de Gresac
(screenplay)
Harry Behn
Ray Doyle
(continuity)
William M. Conselman
Ruth Cummings
(titles)
Based onScènes de la vie de bohème
(1847–49) novel
by Henri Murger
Produced byIrving Thalberg
StarringLillian Gish
John Gilbert
CinematographyHendrik Sartov
Edited byHugh Wynn
Music byWilliam Axt (uncredited)
David Mendoza (uncredited)
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • February 24, 1926 (1926-02-24)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

La Bohème is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor, based on the 1896 opera La bohème by Giacomo Puccini. Lillian Gish and John Gilbert star in a tragic romance in which a tubercular seamstress sacrifices her life so that her lover, a bohemian playwright, might pen his masterpiece. Gish, at the height of her influence with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, asserted significant control over the production, determining the story, director, cast, cinematography, and costume design. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.