Was Rudolph Valentino popular worldwide?How well-received was he in Italy?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — International Cinema
LouvrePigeon — 7 months ago(August 25, 2025 08:43 PM)
Years ago I saw a Chinese movie taking place around the early 1930s and there was a Chinese woman who had a photo of Rudolph Valentino in one scene. She was swooning how Valentino was the man of her dreams.
As I prepare for my first trip visiting Italy-well to be technical I did stop by an Italian town at the borders when I was visiting the rest of Europe but it doesn't count because it was just a few hours passby on bus- I learned that in his home town, Rudolph Valentino has a museum dedicated to him while doing research for my trip and destinations to visit.
So I'm wondering how popular was Valentino worldwide during the silent cinema era? Was he a star in his native Italy? -
JohnnyBoy — 7 months ago(August 26, 2025 04:11 AM)
I remember reading that Valentino thought of himself just another guy on the street in Italy because the country was full of him in terms of likeness.
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Paul P. Powell — 7 months ago(August 26, 2025 07:00 AM)
It's difficult to describe the hoopla caused by the early sex symbols, since in today's world we're surrounded by 'em. We're surrounded by media of all kinds, really —whereas in the '20s, imagery itself was rare. That's perhaps the more drastic difference.
Back then, photography was still in its infancy. Even in big cities, media carrying imagery was just not prevalent in people's lives. Yes, downtowns had a lot of advertising signs (often with hand-drawn graphic illustrations) but they lacked photos.
Newspapers and reporters abounded but cameramen did not. Cameras were unwieldy to lug around. Box Brownies were not yet mass-produced. There weren't hardly even very many billboards.
Nevertheless, pictures of your favorite stars were difficult and laborious to find, view, or acquire. Fans often wrote in to the studios begging for stills. Movie magazines were another source of imagery (readers greedily cut pictures from them).
My point is: movie-going had an uncanny power to sweep audiences along; attending a theatre film was an otherworldly experience. Fan obsessions were rampant. It was the first era where the full weight of cinema truly took hold of the public imagination.
I don't often give Valentino a lot of thought. But reading your question –and reflecting on the bits-and-pieces I do know about, I assure you he was BIG. He was a bright spot in the lives of millions of housewives. Life for women at that point in history was mostly drudgery and hard work.
So they followed every detail of his life with fanatic fervor. He was a household word in America and Britain.
Not too sure about the rest of the globe; I'd have to mull that over a bit further.
Anyway do read up on the famous anecdote regarding 'the woman in black'.
Paul P. Powell, Pool Player