Imperial princess of the night...

Rudolph Valentino? Why, of course! A great start to Valentine's Day week!



P.S. Anyone get the title?

P.P.S. While we're on the subject of famous silent lovers, you should definitely take a gander over to iamemma.blogspot.com and listen to Emma's most recent podcast. It's laugh-out-loud hilarious and it's romantic! Yay!

They never would appreciate this lover-boy's technique

I still can't completely explain my strange fascination with Rudolph Valentino. But even for those who are not Rudy fans, I think you'll still appreciate this awesome picture from The Son of the Sheik.

I always sing when I am happy... when events and things please me.

Today for my spotlight on a performer, I'd like to discuss Rudolph Valentino. Now, I'd like to make a brief disclaimer before I write this post: I am not an expert on Rudolph Valentino. I went through a period where I read up on him via Wikipedia and IMDb, but that is the extent of my education. Therefore, if I get any of my facts wrong, please, please let me know! Oh, and if you know of any good biographies, I'd love to know about them!

Ever since I discovered him last year, Valentino has completely fascinated me. There is something so appealing about him. It's not just his movies, although those are interesting too, there's something about his stardom that I find intriguing.

When I watched The Sheik (1921), I didn't like it. I thought the girl was weak (after she promised to be so strong and independent too!) and the guy was pretty despicable. Yet, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I went for days afterwards, just contemplating the film, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. So, I rewatched it and was surprised to find that I enjoyed a great deal more the second time around. I think the movie, and its sequel, The Son of the Sheik (1926), are odd to have been so popular. Why do we cheer on the man who captures a woman and keeps her by force? Why are we relieved when they fall in love at the end? I think it's strange that the film enjoyed such popularity. I mean, in the 1920's, women had just earned the right to vote, a milestone in female independence, and here were female audiences falling love with a man who completely takes a woman's rights away (a fiercely independent woman at that). From the scene where Ahmed secretly takes the bullets out of Diana's gun, to her capture, the idea that he has control over her is evident. Not only that, but she falls in love with him after all he's done to her!


I've heard that The Son of the Sheik is considered the better of the two films, which is interesting. I haven't decided yet whether or not I agree. I've also heard that Valentino's costumes in The Son of the Sheik belonged to him, which is pretty neat. Oh, and at the beginning of the film, there's a card that says Agnes Ayres reprised her role as a favor to Rudolph Valentino - how cool is that?

Okay, so, movie aside. Now to discuss Valentino's stardom, which was pretty significant. I just read a blog post recently which explained that the questioning of Valentino's masculinity didn't actually begin until the 1960's. Again, I really don't know because I'm a very recent viewer. I just think it's interesting that he was the first male Hollywood sex icon - women adored him, but he couldn't enjoy his popularity without (apparently) some controversy. I read that a journalist blamed the decline of American masculinity on Valentino and that the movie star challenged the journalist to a duel and then to a boxing match. Apparently, (the story went on) another journalist accepted Valentino's boxing challenge and Valentino won. I really don't know if the story is true but it's a pretty great story whether or not it holds water.

I really just wanted to write a post discussing Rudolph Valentino, his appeal, his popularity. I think he's a fascinating character. From his film roles to his iconic status to his marriages, he is full of intrigue and mystery. He's sexy but I go back and forth as to whether or not I think he's actually attractive.

Thank you for letting me talk myself into circles about this! The sad part is, I've just barely scratched the surface of my fascination. I haven't even talked about the films' use of the term, "savage," which is racist at best. (I've heard that Valentino was very irked by the negative depiction - which, if true, is really cool!) See? I could keep on going, but I'll spare you. If you have any thoughts, facts, recommendations, or anything regarding Rudolph Valentino, do comment! I'd love to hear it! Oh, and if I've piqued your interest at all (I do hope I have!) you can actually watch the entirety of The Sheik on IMDb. If I've made you at all wary (I sincerely hope not) then I apologize and I do hope you'll check out his films anyway. They're fascinating to watch.


P.S. I'm including here at the bottom two photos that show the duality of the Sheik character (in both films, really). He goes back and forth between being a passionate and tender lover to the tyrannical "savage" who forces women into submission, both are from The Son of the Sheik with Vilma Banky. I do apologize for going so overboard with the photos. As I said before, I went through a major Rudy phase for about a month and I've been wanting to share these photos with somebody!!

Tea? Well, isn't it a small world, sir?

Anna at Much Love posted a few questions on her blog (it's a lovely blog, I highly recommend it!) and I thought I'd answer them quickly. Please feel free to consider yourself tagged in this posting and answer the questions yourself. If you do, please leave a comment so I can go read your answers!

one thing that you loved in 2009? Rudolph Valentino, surprisingly. I discovered him while doing research for my independent study on film history. I watched The Sheik on Instant View on Netflix and I was hooked. To be honest, what I love about him isn't even his movies really; I find the phenomenon of him and his appeal incredibly fascinating. There are so many strange facets connected to his popularity that are truly interesting. I'll write a post on him eventually.



one thing you're loving this very moment? Almond Sunset Tea in my brand new yellow tea pot (thanks to my wonderful sister). I worked outside today and all I could think about for around 5 hours straight was how wonderful a hot cup of tea would be (it didn't disappoint).


one thing that you'd love to do next year? go to Brazil. I've been meaning to go for some time. I took a class on Portuguese my last semester and, although I'm far from mastering the language yet, I'm longing to go to Rio.



P.S. I know Christmas is now past but don't forget to vote for your favorite children in a holiday film!

Top 20 Actors (aka Merry Christmas Ladies)

Kate Gabrielle at Silents and Talkies did a post the other day on her top 20 actors. She kindly opened the invitation to anyone who wanted to join in the fun. Well, I definitely want to join in the fun! So here are my top twenty favorite actors. The list is comprised of actors with whom I'm completely in love, the ones who are so great that they can do no wrong and character actors. I have a couple of explanations before I begin: the trend seems to be to list the actors along with your favorite roles they played - I simply couldn't decide with some of the actors and listed two movies (those are usually the ones who can do no wrong). Oh, and I too tag anyone who is interested. From my understanding, this meme has been going on for a while, which may mean I'm late in the game. Just the same, if anyone hasn't done this list yet and would like to then feel free to consider yourself tagged by me!

#1 Cary Grant
Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby



#2 Fred Astaire
The Gay Divorcee and Swing Time



#3 Errol Flynn
The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood



#4 Gene Kelly
Singin' In the Rain and Summer Stock



#5 Danny Kaye
White Christmas and Court Jester



#6 William Powell
The Thin Man and I Love You Again



#7 Ricardo Montalban
Neptune's Daughter



#8 Rudolph Valentino
The Sheik


#9 Gary Cooper
Mr. Deeds Goes To Town



#10 James Stewart
The Philadelphia Story



#11 William Holden
Born Yesterday



#12 Donald O'Connor
Singin' in the Rain



#13 Frank Sinatra
On the Town


#14 Robert Redford
Barefoot in the Park



#15 Yul Brynner
The King and I



#16 Howard Keel *
Kiss Me Kate




#17 Peter Lawford
Easter Parade



#18 Bobby Darin
That Funny Feeling



#19 Charlie Chaplin
The Kid

(I'm a little obsessed with photos of Charlie Chaplin when he's not The Little Tramp. I think they're fascinating and very hard to find)

#20 Tony Curtis
Paris When It Sizzles



Wow! That was fun! Just out of curiosity, has anyone done a list of top 20 actresses or top 20 dancers?

Oh, and I'm going to take this opportunity for a little shameless self-promotion. Another one of my favorite hobbies is video editing. I actually considered pursuing editing as a career but realized I'd have to watch movies I don't like so I've been sticking to it as a hobby. Anyway, I made a movie a little while ago about who I think are the sexiest actors (most of them are on this list) and I thought I'd share it with you. The music is performed and written by a wonderful musician, Emma Wallace, who has a blog of her own.



I hope you like the video and the list! All comments are welcome! Thanks for reading!


* I originally had Edward Everett Horton because he is my favorite character actor. But then I thought about it and realized that I'd titled my entry "Merry Christmas Ladies" and Mr. Horton, though fantastic, is not exactly dreamy. I had just happened to watch Calamity Jane the other day and remembered how much I love Howard Keel, so I decided to name him instead.