Monsieur Beaucaire
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Rudolph Valentino
spboschi — 18 years ago(September 01, 2007 05:15 AM)
A relative of mine remebers seeing the film in Italy back then and she liked very much. I cannot believe that every single copy of the film is lost; I am sure that there must be a copy in some private collection. Please, make it available so we can all watch it.
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Pamfino — 18 years ago(September 01, 2007 12:08 PM)
The film is not a 'lost' one, thankfully. I first saw it at the National Film Theatre in London, but the copy was rather poor. I also have a copy in my own collection, but that also is very poor picture quality. I don't think there's been any restoration done on this wonderful film, which I think is astonishing!
As far as I'm aware, the film is now in the public domain, so you could find copies of it on Ebay (which is where I got my copy from!5b4). I know that Movies Unlimited used to have it on their listings - they probably still have, but I can't be sure as I haven't visited their website in some time. I'm sure you'll find a copy out there without too much trouble.
Here's a few pictures
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/Pamfino/Rudolph Valentino/Lifemag1938.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/Pamfino/Rudolph Valentino/1128m4.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/Pamfino/Rudolph Valentino/printmonsieurbeaucaire1983.jpg
Hope you get a copy of the film - it's worth seeing!
Pam
"I am not young enough to know everything." : Oscar Wilde
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spboschi — 18 years ago(September 01, 2007 01:38 PM)
Hello,
many thanks for the wonderful news and the beautiful pics that you posted.
It must have been wonderful to see the film at the NFT.
I don't remember where I read that it was lost, perhaps a comment on amazon.
I was fortunate enough to see there one of my very favourites, although not a silent picture, The Innocents -
I am not living in London anymore but do you know if there is a Silent Film Society in the U.K. or something similar?
Many thanks. -
Pamfino — 18 years ago(September 05, 2007 07:39 AM)
Hi spboschi,
Yes, it was good to see Rudy on the big screen in 'Monsieur Beaucaire' and in some of his other marvellous films. My particular favourite is 'The Eagle', especially the Photoplay restoration with the wonderful music by Carl Davis.
I took a look at the Movies Unlimited website yesterday, and they still have 'Monsieur Beaucaire' available on VHS.
I don't know if you're in the US, but I also noticed that the film is on the listings for Rudy on TCM US, though it's not scheduled for airing right now. I presume the TCM copy is better than the one I've got, so I'm going to be keeping an eye on the listing to see when it's on next and ask a friend of mine to do me a copy of it. By the way, 'Young Rajah' is going to be shown on Sunday 1 a.m. (EDT). TCM here in the UK rarely shows silent films, and they've never shown a Valentino one, as far as I know.
I don't belong to any silent film societies myself, but I'm sure there must be plenty in the UK. The best I can suggest is that you take a look at the BritMovie site's forum and ask there. There are lots of nice people on that forum, and I know at least one chap (penfold) is very knowledgeable about silent films. I'm sure you'll get information about any silent film societies in the UK if you ask there. Best of luck!
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/
Regards,
Pam
PS: By the way, I've got 'The Innocents' in my collection on DVD. It certainly is a great film, isn't it!
"I am not young enough to know everything." : Oscar Wilde
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Falconeer — 11 years ago(June 21, 2014 09:22 AM)
Didn't R. Valentino dislike "Monsieur Beaucaire?" He was ridiculed (mostly by the male population) for the makeup and wigs he wore, and it even caused people to question his masculinity. And that is something that Italian men really hate. I believe that is the film that earned him the derogatory title "Pink Powder Puff." i just can't imagine an actor liking a film that damaged his career or his image.
"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics' -
metalman091 — 10 years ago(March 24, 2016 06:07 AM)
Valentino turned down THE SEA HAWK [1924] to make MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE. This was probably a mistake, as THE SEA HAWK would have given him a more "masculine" image. Valentino made MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE as a labor of love.
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metalman091 — 10 years ago(April 01, 2016 01:32 AM)
Valentino received a lot of fan mail from men when he did THE EAGLE [1925]. It was the strong picture that he needed at the time. It was a venture into the type of role that Douglas Fairbanks made famous.
Critics also noted that John Barrymore had appeared in costume in BEAU BRUMMEL [also 1924], but that he had also appeared poor and unattractive at the end of the film. Their reasoning was that Valentino hadn't the nerve to make himself look unattractive.
I always thought the critics were unfair to Valentino. A lot of this stemmed from jealously. Valentino was adored by women, and they simply could not measure up. -
TonTon — 3 years ago(May 23, 2022 07:14 AM)
Valentino remained proud of his work in MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE. He wanted to get away from his matinee idol image and be a serious actor. He admired actors like Lon Chaney and Emil Jannings.
I think Valentino could have done both romantic roles and tragic parts as well. He would have been fantastic in an all out adventure role.
Interestingly, Douglas Fairbanks was interested in doing MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE as well. Audiences never thought Fairbanks as "effeminate" as they did with Valentino, so it would have been interesting to see how they would have reacted to him. Fairbanks was sometimes pitted against Valentino as contrasting types. Fairbanks had a happy go lucky image and was uncomfortable with love scenes. Valentino was passionate and expressive. Very different types.
