The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929) is a film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in both silent and part-talkie versions. The film was directed by Charles Brabin and starred Lili Damita and Don Alvarado. Only the silent version exists at the George Eastman House film archive. The film closely follows the bestselling 1927 Thornton Wilder novel of the same name and won the second Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Background and production The film and novel are very loosely based on the real-life story of Micaela Villegas (1748–1819), a famous Peruvian entertainer known as La Perichole. Her life was also the inspiration for the novella Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée; the opéra bouffe La Périchole by Jacques Offenbach; and Jean Renoir’s 1953 film Le Carrosse d'or (The Golden Coach). Remakes The film was remade in 1944 with Lynn Bari, and once more in 2004, starring F. Murray Abraham, Gabriel Byrne, Robert De Niro, Kathy Bates, and Pilar López de Ayala. Cast Lili Damita as Camila (La Perichole) Ernest Torrence as Uncle Pio Raquel Torres as Pepita Don Alvarado as Manuel Duncan Renaldo as Esteban Henry B. Walthall as Father Juniper Michael Vavitch as Viceroy Emily Fitzroy as Marquesa Jane Winton as Doña Carla Gordon Thorpe as Jaime Mitchell Lewis as Capt. Alvarado Paul Ellis as Don Vicente Eugenie Besserer as A nun Tully Marshall as A townsman References External links The Bridge of San Luis Rey at SilentEra 1929 films 1920s historical drama films American historical drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by Charles Brabin Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Transitional sound films Films about bridges 1929 drama films 1920s American films Silent American drama films