Lilac Time which starred Colleen Moore was a big boost to the career of Gary Cooper. He played the British flier who was stationed on a base at Colleen Moore's farm during the World War. He cuts quite a dashing figure as a British air ace and son of British General Burr McIntosh.This film is a great example of the universality of silent films where the very American speaking Cooper and Moore could get away with playing a British and a French national respectively. In Cooper's career afterward, when playing in a foreign setting it was always explained he was Canadian, he was one of the first of Hollywood leading men to have that gambit used when sound arrived. But in the silent era the only demand was that one be photogenic and no one was more photogenic than Gary Cooper.Lilac Time was a play written by and starring Jane Cowl on Broadway during the 1917 season. It was one of Cowl's bigger hits on Broadway and a pity she didn't do the screen version. It concerns a small base of the Royal Flying Corps established on the farm of Eugene Besserer and her daughter Colleen Moore. Moore is something of a mascot to the men, but when she spots Cooper she doesn't want to be thought of as a pet.As for Cooper he's got a fiancé back home, one of those aristocratic arranged marriages and his fiancé is played by Kathryn McGuire. At first he and Moore do not get along, he regards her as a nuisance. But the chemistry kicks in after a while.Lilac Time made at the tail end of the silent era was one of the first films to have a music score written for it. The copy I have is a compilation of old World War I era ballads, but with the popular standard written expressly for this film, Jeannine, I Dream Of Lilac Time. This was one of the first songs written directly for the screen, albeit for a silent film. It and the rest of the score is done on a Wurlitzer organ and the song makes this film a candidate for revivals at festivals. Gene Austin had a big selling record of this song in 1928 when the film came out.Viewed over 80 years after it came out, Lilac Time still holds up very well, a bit melodramatic, but a nice romance.

British and American pilots launch attacks during World War I from a small town in France. A caring Colleen Moore is dedicated to providing moral support to these pilots. Gary Cooper replaces a downed pilot. Antagonism between Moore and Cooper precedes romance and provides a comic beginning. As romance develops, the pilots, including Cooper, are sent on a dangerous mission. A commercially available release of this film allow interested viewers to find Cooper's fate and the end result of Moore's trials and tribulations to also find his fate. This end of the silent era movie is worth the effort to ferret out for viewing.The theme song of the motion picture, "Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time," is commercially available. It was recorded by well over a hundred top artists, including Louis Armstrong, Skitch Henderson, Guy Lombardo, The London Symphony Orchestra, opera star John McCormack, Mitch Miller, The Platters, Lawrence Welk, and Paul Whiteman. Many of these recordings have been transferred to commercially available CDs. For example, a recording by the composer, Nat Shilkret, is included in the ASV CD "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes," which is available from amazon.com.

turned from flapper and comedy roles (like "Flaming Youth" and "Ella Cinders") to a great WW I romance, Lilac Time. Moore plays a French village girl who falls in love with a British flying ace (Gary Cooper). Not much happens, but it's a sweet romance and was a big hit in its day. This film also established Cooper as a star. Some OK dog fight footage helps enliven this war film, but it's the chemistry between the stars that makes it special. Good special effects for its time, and a socko ending with Moore being told Cooper has died of his wounds.... A real tear jerker but it works. Among the co-starts are Eugenie Besserer and Arthur Lake. Colleen Moore had a great face and is very expressive, allowing her to under act, a skill that made Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish tops stars.

How great can a film be? This is one of the answers to that. Sweet Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper are a perfect couple, and Lilac Time a perfect love story. Forget Titanic! Bring a handkerchief when you see this.