In Renaissance Florence, a Florentine trader meets a shipwrecked stranger, who introduces himself as Tito Melema, a young Italianate-Greek scholar. Tito becomes acquainted with several other Florentines, including Nello the barber and a young girl named Tessa. He is also introduced to a blind scholar named Bardo de' Bardi, and his daughter Romola. As Tito becomes settled in Florence, assisting Bardo with classical studies, he falls in love with Romola.
Acting
Lillian Gish's face could communicate entire novels without a title card
Production
Massive Renaissance sets built in Italy—MGM went bankrupt for this
Cinematography
Shadow-drenched chiaroscuro before anyone called it that
Director
Henry King
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
MGM built a full-scale replica of 15th-century Florence in Italy, then went $600,000 over budget—nearly bankrupting the studio. The Gish sisters' costumes alone cost more than some contemporary films' entire budgets.
This was William Powell's breakout from extras to leading man, and Ronald Colman's first Hollywood role—two future legends born from one financially catastrophic epic.
US
