Public Domain Movies

Lilac Time is a 1928 American synchronized sound romantic war film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the short-lived Firnatone process.

Jeannine Berthelot (Colleen Moore) is a wistful and spirited French village girl who, along with her mother Madame Berthelot (Eugenie Besserer), runs a modest farm near the front. The property has been requisitioned as quarters for seven young aviators of the Royal Flying Corps, whom Jeannine lovingly mothers and teases. Among these is the impish “Kid” (Jack Stone) and a helpful mechanic's assistant (George Cooper), overseen by gruff Mike the Mechanic (Edward Dillon).

Into this lively household arrives Captain Philip Blythe (Gary Cooper), a dashing new replacement for a recently lost flyer. On his first landing, Philip nearly crashes into Jeannine, who is dressed in mechanic's overalls and cap, her face smudged with grease. Mistaking her for a mischievous boy, he scolds and cuffs her. Outraged and embarrassed, Jeannine vows revenge, but her feelings soon soften. Secretly, she begins praying in the lilac garden to a statue of Joan of Arc, begging the saint to make the brave young pilot love her.

One afternoon, while hiding in the cockpit of Philip's plane, Jeannine inadvertently causes the throttle to open. The plane surges across the field, lifts off, and crashes into trees. Though badly shaken, Jeannine is miraculously unhurt. Philip rescues her from the wreckage, and in the aftermath, he realizes how deeply he cares for her.

Their tender moment is interrupted by the sudden arrival of General Blythe (Burr McIntosh), Philip's stern father, and Lady Iris Rankin (Kathryn McGuire), the elegant socialite to whom Philip is betrothed. Though Philip shows little affection toward his fiancée, Jeannine, witnessing their farewell kiss, is crushed with heartbreak.

As war intensifies, orders come for a major Allied offensive. The flyers, including Captain Russell (Cleve Moore), are tasked with clearing enemy aircraft from the skies at dawn. The night before battle, Philip visits Jeannine in the lilac garden. “I shall never smell the lilac blossom again without thinking of you,” he tells her. “You will come back!” she pleads. “I will wait for you here.”

At daybreak, the planes depart. As the village is evacuated by French troops, Jeannine is ordered to leave with the elderly and children. She slips away and returns to the lilac garden to wait.

Suddenly, from the clouds, two planes emerge in deadly combat—one German, one British. Both aircraft plummet to earth. One crashes near Jeannine. Rushing to the wreckage, she finds Philip unconscious but alive. He is taken away in an ambulance, seemingly at death's door.

Jeannine begins a desperate search for him through overcrowded field hospitals. When at last she finds him, General Blythe confronts her. Wishing to keep his wounded son away from a peasant girl, he falsely informs Jeannine that Philip is dead.

Shattered, Jeannine wanders out of the hospital in a daze. With the last of her coins, she buys a bouquet of lilacs and sends it to the man she believes she has lost forever, asking only that the flowers be laid next to his cheek.

The scent of the lilacs reaches Philip, still alive and recovering. Awakening, he realizes Jeannine must be near. From his hospital window, he calls her name. She rushes up the stairs and finds him—bandaged, weak, but alive. Sobbing with relief, Jeannine falls into his arms. Their love, forged in the shadow of war, has survived.

Cast
Colleen Moore as Jeannine Berthelot
Gary Cooper as Captain Philip Blythe
Burr McIntosh as General Blyth
George Cooper as Mechanic's helper
Cleve Moore as Captain Russell
Kathryn McGuire as Lady Iris Rankin
Eugenie Besserer as Madame Berthelot
Émile Chautard as The Mayor
Jack Stone as The Kid
Edward Dillon as Mike the Mechanic
Dick Grace as Aviator
Stuart Knox as Aviator
Harlan Hilton as Aviator
Richard Jarvis as Aviator
Jack Ponder as Aviator
Dan Dowling as Aviator
Eddie Clayton as The Enemy Ace
Arthur Lake as The Unlucky One
Philo McCullough as German Officer
Nelson McDowell as French Drummer