Mimi (1935 film)

Mimi

Company type	Film
Industry	Film
Founded	1935
Founder	Paul L. Stein (director)
Headquarters	Elstree Studios , United Kingdom
Products	Romance film

Mimi is a 1935 British romance film helmed by director Paul L. Stein and featuring performances from Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Gertrude Lawrence, and Diana Napier. The narrative, set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Paris, centers on a composer who finds inspiration in a young woman he encounters. This motion picture is an adaptation of the 1851 novel La Vie de Bohème authored by Henri Murger. Its musical score incorporates adaptations of Giacomo Puccini's compositions from the opera La bohème, with arrangements crafted by George H. Clutsam.

The production took place at Elstree Studios, where the visual environment was conceptualized and executed under the guidance of art director Cedric Dawe.

Cast

• Douglas Fairbanks Jr. portraying Rodolphe
• Gertrude Lawrence as Mimi
• Diana Napier in the role of Madame Sidonie
• Harold Warrender as Marcel
• Carol Goodner playing Musette
• Richard Bird as Colline
• Martin Walker cast as Schaunard
• Austin Trevor in the role of Lamotte
• Laurence Hanray portraying Barbemouche
• Paul Graetz as Durand
• Jack Raine assuming the role of Duke

Reception

Critic Graham Greene, writing for The Spectator, commended the film for its "happy juvenility," attributing its appeal largely to the acting contributions of Fairbanks and Lawrence, as well as the costume design overseen by Doris Zinkeisen.

Although production expenses were kept below $500,000, British International Pictures reported financial deficits associated with both Mimi and Drake of England, highlighting the economic difficulties faced by the studio during that era.

Bibliography

• Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
• Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986.