by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Paris at Midnight was freely adapted from Pere Goriot, a novel by Honore de Balzac. Lionel Barrymore stars as the "Robin Hood of Paris," who robs from the rich and keeps it all for himself. When his best friend dies in a shabby boarding house, Barrymore promises to look after the friend's libertine daughters Jetta Goudal and Mary Brian. Though Goudal is pretty much a lost cause, Barrymore is able to guide Brian to a happy and virtuous marriage with starving artist Edmund Burns. Surely the Balzac original was not as simplistic as Paris at Midnight.
characteristics
keywords
orphan
robbery
family
death
bad-guy-turns-good
artist

