James Dean. Marilyn Monroe. Bruce Lee. Heath Ledger. All those Hollywood stars secured their immortality by dying before their time. The earliest to achieve that feat was Rudolph Valentino, the Italian actor and star of Hollywood silent films, whose death in 1926 at the age of 31 caused mass hysteria around the world and cemented his status as one of Hollywood’s greatest icons. As such, he was the subject of a number of biopics, including Valentino, directed in 1977 by the controversial British film‑maker Ken Russell.
The film begins with Valentino’s body lying in a casket in a funeral parlour, which is besieged by thousands of grieving and riotous fans, most of them women. Later, some of the women that Valentino knew personally come to pay their respects, which gives a newspaper reporter the opportunity to ask questions about Valentino’s life. Through flashbacks, the plot follows Rudolph Valentino (played by Rudolf Nureyev) during his life in America, from his humble beginnings as a taxi dancer and gigolo in New York, from where he flees to California after seducing the wife of a powerful gangster. There he seduces silent film actress Jean Acker (played by Carol Kane), who would briefly become his wife. This, however, brings him into contact with Hollywood studios and the influential screenwriter June Mathis (played by Felicity Kendal), who would have him cast as the lead in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. On the set of the film that would become a great hit, Valentino is spotted by the flamboyant actress Alla Nazimova (played by Leslie Caron), with whom he would star in another hit, Camille. At the set of The Sheik, the film in which he played his most iconic role, Valentino is seduced by Nazimova’s lesbian lover Natacha Rambova (played by Michelle Phillips) and becomes her husband. Their marital bliss, however, comes under strain from Valentino’s unprecedented fame and popularity, clashes with greedy studio executives and, finally, constant debates about Valentino’s sexual orientation, which would ultimately lead Valentino to prove his manhood in a stunt that would claim his life.
Ken Russell built his reputation by filming biopics which employed a great deal of inventive editing and direction, as well as a combination of grotesque, sarcastic humour and eroticism that often shocked audiences. Valentino is often referred to as one of his lesser works, poorly received by critics and audiences (except in his native Britain) and ultimately rejected by Russell himself as his least favourite film. Some might find the reason for that in the somewhat unusual and rather risky casting for the title role. Rudolf Nureyev, an immensely talented Russian ballet dancer who became famous for defecting from the Soviet Union, had next to no acting experience and little physical resemblance to the actual Valentino; his attempt to speak with an Italian accent is largely unconvincing. However, he does a solid job and truly shines whenever the script requires his character to dance. The rest of the cast is also solid, especially Michelle Phillips, who handles some of the erotic scenes quite well, despite her and Nureyev detesting each other on set.
Russell recognised that the 1920s, when the plot takes place, were an age marked by excess, which suited his style. The film features outlandish costumes and very detailed production design. The result is a series of memorable images, but also one rather unnecessary scene in which Valentino, after being briefly jailed on charges of bigamy, becomes the target of extremely cruel abuse by a jailer and other prisoners. This incident, which probably never happened and, like many other details in this film, had little to do with real history, is introduced only as a way to deliver the shock content expected from Russell’s reputation. Russell is, however, much more imaginative in other scenes, especially in the very ingenious and spectacular way that he gives his own interpretation of the events that would ultimately lead to Valentino’s death. Although flawed, this film has enough quality dance numbers, imaginative scenes and humour to be recommended even to those viewers who care little about early Hollywood history and the first stages of modern celebrity culture.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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