The silent era continues to have surprises for us, such as this one, "Beyond the Rocks," a film starring Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino once thought lost but since rediscovered and restored.
Based on a novel by Elinor Glyn, it's a potboiler that doesn't hold up well today, but so little does at age 84. It's the story of a young woman, Theodora, the hope of her family (i.e., the one with the youth and looks to nab a rich husband) who meets a British nobleman (Valentino) when he saves her from drowning.
Then she meets her betrothed, a short, old thing. She's disappointed, but for the sake of her father, marries him. She runs into Valentino on her honeymoon and this time, he saves her from falling off a mountain during a climbing expedition. They seem Meant to Be. But both are determined to honor her marriage vows.
Valentino and Swanson are heavily made up, and both actually looked much better with a more natural appearance. In the beginning, with her hair down and less Max Factor, Swanson is lovely - petite, with amazing eyes and beautiful skin. Later on, however, she looks older than she is due to the make-up and hair-do. Her character has a great wardrobe, and Swanson wears it well.
Both actors give good performances. Valentino had a tendency to be obvious in some of his emotions - it was more the style then - but he gives a more relaxed performance in "Beyond the Rocks." Most of the movie looks beautiful with its sepia tones though there are some damaged sections. It's quite a find and a chance to see two big stars of the silent era together.
Swanson wrote of parts of the film that don't seem to exist any longer - but as one of the comments here suggests, she perhaps was mixing this up with another film. Given the plot, it would be easy to do so.
