Rudolph Valentino on Turner Classic Movies
Rudolph Valentino profile by James Steffen on TCM: "The breakthrough film for Valentino was Rex Ingram’s The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). The World War I melodrama, based on the bestselling novel by Vicente Blasco-Ibanez, was a pet project of June Mathis, a screenwriter at Metro Pictures. Mathis lobbied to give Valentino the key part of Julio Desnoyers, the young heir to an Argentinean cattle baron who seduces a married woman but later proves his valor in battle. The famous tango scene, in which Valentino got to show off his formidable skills as a dancer, helped catapult him into stardom, but he also attracted critical attention for his skills as an actor. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse became one of the greatest financial and artistic successes of the silent era, earning the director Rex Ingram comparisons to D. W. Griffith. The challenge of Valentino’s subsequent career was not so much to gain public recognition as to find projects which helped him fulfill the promise shown in this film. June Mathis, who played an instrumental role in Valentino’s rise to stardom, scripted several of Valentino’s subsequent projects: The Conquering Power (1921), Camille (1921), Blood and Sand (1922) and The Young Rajah. Today she is also notorious as the brain behind the editing of [Erich von] Stroheim’s Greed (1924) down to the 10-reel version which survives to this day."
On Sunday, May 21, TCM will be showing the following Valentino films (EDT):
Note: Mae Murray – not Mae Marsh as per the TCM schedule – is the star of Delicious Little Devil.
Note Part II: I’m quite sure that the Young Rajah showing includes only a couple of reels. As far as I know, most of that film remains lost.
Note Part III: If you are going to be recording any of those films, make sure to allot extra time at the end of each one of them. TCM is notoriously off the mark when it comes to scheduling the running time of silent films.
8:00 PM Beyond the Rocks (1922)
On her honeymoon with an aging millionaire, a young woman falls for a handsome younger man. Cast: Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Alec B. Francis. Dir: Sam Wood. C-0 mins,
9:45 PM Moran of the Lady Letty (1922)
A playboy fights to save a young woman from the smugglers who have kidnapped them. Cast: Dorothy Dalton, Rudolph Valentino, Charles Brinley. Dir: George Melford. C-1 mins,
11:00 PM The Young Rajah (1922)
An All-American boy learns that he is really an Indian ruler and must desert his sweetheart to reclaim his throne. Cast: Rudolph Valentino, Wanda Hawley, Charles Ogle. Dir: Phil Rosen. C-0 mins,
12:00 AM Delicious Little Devil (1919)
In this silent film, a roadhouse dancer has to prove to a rich businessman that she really loves his son. Cast: Mae Murray, Rudolph Valentino, Harry L. Rattenberry. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard. C-0 mins,
1:15 AM Stolen Moments (1920)
Love turns a young innocent into a blackmail victim and murder suspect. Cast: Marguerite Namara, Rudolph Valentino, Albert L. Barrett. Dir: James Vincent. C-0 mins,
2:00 AM The Conquering Power (1921)
In this silent film, a young man falls for his wicked uncle’s stepdaughter. Cast: Alice Terry, Rudolph Valentino, Eric Mayne. Dir: Rex Ingram. BW-89 mins, TV-G
3:30 AM The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse (1921)
In this silent film, a young Argentine fights for France, his father’s country,in World War I. Cast: Rudolph Valentino, Alice Terry, Nigel De Brulier. Dir: Rex Ingram. BW-133 mins, TV-G
The recently found and restored Beyond the Rocks is quite poor, but it’s a must-see because of its historical importance as the only pairing of screen legends Valentino and Gloria Swanson. The forgotten Moran of the Lady Letty, however, is quite enjoyable. A sea-faring adventure tale, it shows both Valentino and then major star Dorothy Dalton to good advantage.
The highly effective The Conquering Power boasts the best performance of Alice Terry’s career, while The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse remains to this day an impressive example of epic filmmaking (See AltFG’s 1921 Best of the Best List). Rex Ingram deserves to be better remembered as one of the top directorial talents of the silent era.
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I recently caught the Valentino retrospective on Valentino and was surprised to find him quite a good actor. There were a few scenes in FOUR HORSEMEN that depicted a scruffy looking Valentino that I thought made him appear to be very masculine once he got all that oil out of his hair. He moved naturally and he expressed himself so well with his eyes and smile. I sometimes wonder if he would have survived the coming of sound…..I understand he had a heavy accent.
The TCM showings introduced me to a legendary film star and for that I am grateful.
i was wondering if tcm will be showing the rudolph valentino movies again as i missed them on may 21st. I tried to find the movie schedual for June and i couldnt seem to find it. thanks again
Hal, You may want to check out Donna Hill’s Rudolph Valentino site at
http://www.rudolph-valentino.com/
In one of her podcasts, Hill plays a recording of Valentino singing a Spanish song. Judging by the recording, Valentino possessed a pleasant masculine voice – though the man was surely no singer.
Pauline,
Go to this page
http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp
and you can find the TCM schedules for June, July, and August.
There are no Valentino showings in the next three months.
But perhaps in September…
Many of us were very happy that you showed Edward Small’s 1951 movie , “Valentino”, on October 9th, 2007. Anthony Dexter fans everywhere would like to see more of his films. How can I make that request?
Joyce
Joyce,
I’d suggest you contact Turner Classic Movies at http://www.tcm.com. They have a page where you can request particular films.
Good luck!
Moran of the Lady Letty was such a hoot. I’d never heard of the actress, but I liked her!
Dorothy Dalton was a major star in the late 1910s and very early 1920s.