Stolen Moments

This was Valentino's last film before he appeared in Rex Ingram's THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE, the film that made him a star -- so great a star that the original six reels of this movie were cut down to three and edited to make his role more important.

It's a fairly old-fashioned movie for 1920: a still camera, mostly one- and two-shots and the frame is frequently irised in to provide a specific composition, a technique that Hollywood had largely abandoned by this time, preferring to let the objects and people provide their own compositions. The story is also old-fashioned and the entire thing was done to showcase the female lead, Margeurite Namara. Who was she? Someone who was a show-biz celebrity at the time. Really, the only talent connected with this picture whose name has survived well is Valentino and perhaps Gene Gauthier.

Although his next picture would make him a star, Valentino is clearly a very talented motion picture actor by this time. He understands how to pace his movements and how to indicate his character -- and even his nationality -- by how he moves. Here he is clearly European. In the previous year's DELICIOUS LITTLE DEVIL, no one could have acted more American. Here was a man who earned his stardom. Take a look at this and other performances and see it.