Camille is a 1936 American romantic drama film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer directed by George Cukor, and produced by Irving Thalberg and Bernard H. Hyman, from a screenplay by James Hilton, Zoë Akins, and Frances Marion.

The film stars Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Jessie Ralph, Henry Daniell, and Laura Hope Crews.

Marguerite's dressmaker and procuress, Prudence Duvernoy, arranges an assignation at the theatre with a fabulously wealthy prospective patron, the Baron de Varville.

Marguerite briefly mistakes Armand Duval, a handsome young man of good family but no great fortune, for the baron.

Marguerite spends money carelessly, sometimes out of generosity, as when she bids a fortune on a team of horses in order to give an old coachman employment, but more often because she loves her lavish lifestyle and the late nights of dancing and drinking—and because she knows her days are numbered.

She has bouts of severe illness, and during one spell, the only person who come to see her is Armand, bearing flowers (the baron contriving to be in England).

At Armand's family home in the country, he asks his father for money to travel to prepare for his career in the Foreign Service.

Armand's father, though he acknowledges Marguerite's love is real, begs her to turn away from his son, knowing her past will ruin his chances.

According to a news item in Daily Variety, MGM had considered changing the setting of the famous Alexandre Dumas story to modern times.

He also felt that morality had changed since the earlier Camilles, and the fact that Marguerite was a prostitute was not as shameful anymore; as a result, Garbo's character became more likable than in previous productions.

[6] While filming Marguerite's death scene, Robert Taylor brought his phonograph to Garbo's dressing room so that she could play Paul Robeson records to put her in the mood.

Cukor thought that it did not really feel very natural talking that much when you are about to die; so, Garbo's last scene was rewritten and reshot three times.

News items in Daily Variety and Hollywood Reporter on July 25, 1936, noted that John Barrymore originally was cast in the role of Baron de Varville, but a bout of pneumonia prevented him from working on the picture.

Cinematographer William Daniels mistakenly is listed as a cast member in early Hollywood Reporter production charts.

Theatre managers were advised to make a display of some of the famous Camilles of past decades, including Garbo as the latest to join the list of immortal actresses; have local florists stage a "Camille Show"; find old reviews from metropolitan daily papers' back files and run them in conjunction with reviews of the modern film story; and print throwaways in the style of the old "Gas Light Era" programs.

Ralph Bellamy, who was a leading civic figure and Racquet Club owner in Palm Springs, was master of ceremonies.

[9] At the gala premiere, Camille was given an enthusiastic reception; the critics praised it as the finest performance ever given by Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, and Laura Hope Crews, and the best work by director George Cukor.

The enthusiasm accorded the picture was seen as a tribute to the genius of the late Irving G. Thalberg, who conceived of, and was responsible for, the production.

[2] Camille has been well received by critics since its release, and the role of Marguerite is generally regarded as Greta Garbo's finest screen performance.