Valentino Filmography

Rudy’s Career Roller Coaster Ride

July 28, 2015 By Wayne

Rudy’s experiences with the major studios he once called home can be likened to a “montagne russe” (roller coaster) in terms of propulsion and up and down motion. Universal was his first important employer, and four of the films he did there, along with his respective leading ladies (Carmel Myers and Mae Murray, each X 2) helped launch his career, their popularity at the time providing heft. In these movies, Rudy got to explore his playful side, even experimenting with pratfalls in “All Night.” He was also cast as a non-ethnic, certainly not the case later on.

Then, following a string of small roles and bit parts, Rudy signed with Metro to star in the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” an unqualified hit and the first instance of million dollar box office. Here Rudy was at the top of his game, the pieces coming together to create one of his most memorable roles. All that, and the tango too!

In a move one could only deem blasé, the studio then cast him in a series of lackluster, though at times interesting, follow-up films where his innate luminescence always ended up transcending the material. In truth Rudy probably would have created interest with the visual equivalent of reading a phone book; such was the magnetism he projected. Personally I like everything he did on screen, all his roles to greater or lesser extents, because they exuded magic, an ephemeral, quixotic spark.

Metro’s indifference soon translated to Paramount’s gain, as he started working at Famous Players-Lasky where they immediately cast him in what was to be his seminal part, Ahmed the Sheik. Loads of interest and box office cash resulted and Paramount knew they had a phenomenon on their hands. Unfortunately, they, like Metro, did not follow up very well. Several decent pictures ensued but only one other really notable one, “Blood and Sand.”

Rudy’s final employer was United Artists, the studio founded by Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffin. His last two films were quality projects, and each allowed him to shine, again at the top of his game. By all accounts, he was delighted with his work in “The Eagle” and “Son of the Sheik” the latter providing an opportunity to reprise Ahmed, this time père et fils (father and son.) The roller coaster ride ended on a high point, and Rodolfo left this world at the peak of his fame, a level of renown that continues to this day! ~ Wayne Hatford

Filed Under: Rudy's Personal Life, Valentino Filmography, Voce Valentino Blog

Agnes Ayres

June 17, 2015 By Wayne

“My co-conspirator, for that is how we felt and even remarked upon while constructing the ‘Sheik’ films. We exchanged pregnant glances off set and sometimes on, when demanded by the director. Some would say my performance as the Sheik was eye-popping and it was that at times, again as the director so required. But, all in good fun!

Agnes was both very down to earth and quite a proper lady, though she also did not blush when there was a slightly risqué joke being shared. She and I discussed our roles a fair amount, especially during the second outing. I lament the chagrins she faced with her husband and personal life. Post-Sheiks, she apparently was high strung and had some difficulties reconciling her reality. This was not foreshadowed in our interactions; I was unaware of it at the time.

Agnes so graciously returned, as you know, for a small role in “Son of the Sheik.” I think our work together was solid and I shall forever be indebted to her for a great deal of my success or rather how I most impressed the public, which was in this vehicle, not my preferred means of conveyance but ultimately rather effective. There was never any romance between us yet we were able to play at that, hint of its existence in how we comported with each other. She remains in spirit but we are not in touch at the moment. Dear Agnes, such a formal name! She found herself in a position of great envy, breathing life into Mrs. Hull’s confection.” ~ Rudolph Valentino

(Excerpted from “Rudolph Valentino The Untold Story” ~ 2014)

Filed Under: Celebrities, Rudy Speaks, Valentino Filmography, Voce Valentino Blog

Homme Fatal

November 7, 2014 By Wayne

It was with his character in “The Sheik” that Rudolph Valentino cemented the image of ‘homme fatal.’ This role imbued him with the mystery of the desert, piquing the imaginations of women around the globe. In fact, after the release of this film ‘sheik’ became a code word for men who exuded danger, adventure and sexual allure, those whose charms were seen as irresistible. The term was also used derisively in some quarters, but in the long run that had little effect on Valentino’s popularity with fans. His brand of exoticism triumphed, and the imitators (other screen ‘latin lovers’) could never replace him.

I invite you to view both Sheik films and make up your own minds. Was this indeed the role he was destined to play, the one he is often most remembered for now?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sheik-Son-Special-Edition/dp/B000066741

~ Wayne Hatford

Filed Under: Entertainment, Valentino Filmography, Voce Valentino Blog

Synchronicity in “Son of the Sheik”

September 21, 2014 By Wayne

Having just viewed Valentino’s final film again, this time at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, I was struck, not only by the perfection of the script in terms of visual story-telling, but by what this role obviously meant to him on a soul level. He somehow knew that this was to be his last cinematographic effort and he wanted to leave us begging for more, to go out at the top of his game.

What is most interesting to me is that by playing both roles Valentino chose to reveal his inner self, seemingly in conflict, in the personas of the Sheik, paterfamilias, still vital and stubborn despite his age, and Ahmed, his prideful and passionate son. The script uses their perceived differences to advance the plot but my contention is that this role was particularly integrative for Valentino. Since he would never reach the age of fifty, he got to experience what being older might feel like, wearing the skin of the Sheik, père. Indeed, it must have been fun for him to play at that through the use of make-up and camera effects.

Valentino, as perhaps no other actor ever could, was able to project the father/son bond, on both sides of the coin, when they appeared together in split screen. How else could two characters be so solid and warm in each other’s presence while at the same time fully maintaining their respective individualities as defined by the script? The big fight scene near the end says it all, especially when the camera reveals father and son briefly linking hands as a sign of their mutual trust and support.

In my opinion, this dual role was therapeutic in some sense as, according to biographers, he did not have a strong bond with his own father. Here he was able to experience that, of his own volition. Having completed this film and already aware that it was going to be successful at the box office before he died, Valentino was able to leave this world knowing that he had given it his all. That is why, I believe, his star became fixed in the firmament and has never dimmed: because he truly showed us his heart!

Filed Under: Reflections & Ruminations, Valentino Filmography, Voce Valentino Blog

Mysticism, Exoticism, and Eroticism in “The Young Rajah”

May 13, 2013 By Wayne

Not only was this picture bold in addressing prejudice and racism, it attempted to normalize clairvoyance as well as provide audiences with a window on another culture, East Indian societal and religious points of view ~ things that were foreign to most American moviegoers in the 1920’s and therefore considered exotic.

Here we have June Mathis creating allure, magic on the screen, with Rudy in the leading role! But she is also fashioning the fable that is her script to reflect some of her most strongly held principles, and that is what gives this film an extra punch. June was very much the metaphysician in her personal life, participating in numerous séances and automatic writing sessions, often in the company of Rudy and Natacha, who were also believers in life beyond death. So, because it can, given the story line, “The Young Rajah” embraces mysticism ~ in short, the “bigger” picture, to an even greater extent than some of her other efforts.

Although Paramount may have considered this production low budget, they did employ Natacha to design the costumes, which must have cost plenty! Her renderings, I contend, introduced elements of another “ism” into the mix, eroticism. Amos, Rudy’s character, was very much at ease in his own skin, and the nature of his costumes, swathing him in pearls for example, added to that luster, and at the same time helped create a certain languor. That said, the character was also very vital, athletic and sporty ~ like the wild cat he held in his arms in one scene, always ready to spring into action.

One could easily make the case that given the costumes she designed for Rudy in this film, Natacha was more than willing to share him with the world, and she most certainly was successful in that endeavor!

Wayne Hatford

Filed Under: Trends, Valentino Filmography, Voce Valentino Blog