Would he have made it in the talkies? Fairbanks did not…But would Rudy
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Rudolph Valentino
MrAleisterCrowley — 12 years ago(April 14, 2013 10:26 AM)
This is always the question that persists for me Rudy was one of the biggest stars in the world when he died so youngwould his career have survived the transition to talkies? (circa 1930 he would have been in his mid-thirties by that point) His female costars reported that his accent was a mix of Italian/French (makes sense considering his mother was French, he grew up in Italy, and lived in Paris for a bit). I know the one vocal recording that he made (the two songs) suggest, according to some linguist that I once read, that he does the very classic Italian thing of adding a vowel to English words (such as the word broom becomes "brooma")
His accent would have been a problem for his Latin lover image but perhaps audiences could have tolerated the exotic accent if he adopted a strictly French accent? Or I suppose he could have fallen into "gangster" roles in the 1935b40s? -
metalman091 — 12 years ago(April 20, 2013 12:07 AM)
It will always remain debatable, and, like James Dean, we will never know what lengths he could have rose to.
But we can speculate.
Just throwing it out there, but would Valentino's looks have held out? His face was his fortune, and without make-up, Valentino had little pockmarks on his face that could only be detected close up. Some have speculated that he would have had weight problems had he lived. I can't prove any of it though.
Valentino's voice may not have been a problem, but maybe his image would have. Part of the downfall of John Gilbert included the fact that stars like Gary Cooper and especially Clark Gable were now attracting audiences making Gilbert, Ramon Novarro almost irrelevant. Could Valentino have survived this?b68 And how would he have fared opposite Maurice Chevalier and Charles Boyer?
Ramon Novarro had a nice voice, but his style was suited to silent movies. Valentino would not only have to sound good, he would have to adapt his style for the microphones. That was also part of Gilbert's problem.
Audiences had built up this idea of how silent stars should sound, and Gilbert did not match their expectations.
I don't mean to sound negative, but these would have been the things Valentino would have had to face at some point. Maybe Valentino died at the right time and was spared a sad decline. Melodramatic, aren't I? LOL.
Or, one a more positive note, Valentino may have had a career like Gilbert Roland. Roland became a star in silent films, and was still working in the late 1960s, and never aged. Maybe a character actor. I wish we had the chance to find out. -
DivingIntheBlue — 12 years ago(May 16, 2013 12:09 PM)
I don't think Valentino would have transitioned well into talkies. I don't think his voice would have been the problem. He could have worked to rid himself of an accent if it were that bad (I've read that his accent was rather soft and his speaking voice was pleasant enough).
I think there are just certain stars that the public, even back then, just couldn't imagine talking. Even if their voices were fine, they didn't always match what people
thought
they sounded like. I think a good example of someone who was in Valentino's league who faltered in sounds films was John Gilbert. His voice was fine but the roles people were accustomed to seeing him (and Valentino) in just didn't bode well in sound. That smouldering mystique thing works well in silent films but comes off corny in sound films. I know Gilbert's career decline also had a lot to do with his falling out with Louis B. Mayer but I think it also had a lot to do with audiences just not finding certain silent stars "modern" enough. Like they identified them with the silent era only and wouldn't accept them in something new.
Had he lived, I think Valentino would have done a few sound pictures and then retired like Mary Pickford, Doug Fairbanks and Clara Bow. I'd hate to think of him trying to hold onto that "Great Lover" image when he was in his 40s. Not that 40 is old but it would have been awkward to see him trying to do the same parts ten years later. -
Falconeer — 11 years ago(June 21, 2014 08:47 AM)
I can only say that R. Valentino was of a very specific time. He was perfect for the silent film era, and he died young, which preserves his flawless image forever. The fact that he never got to grow old, or have his image wrecked or altered by the changing times or movie styles; that is what makes him a legend. and it is what makes the few films he made, so valuable today. This man was a legend in his own time. I'm glad that nothing was able to destroy that legend. He will live forever, and that is the most incredible thing about film..the way it makes people immortal, like Gods.
"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics' -
KleeFan — 10 years ago(December 19, 2015 06:57 PM)
Hard to say, but considering that he could dance, and was famous for that, and could carry a tune, what are the odds that he might have been able to continue working in musicals at RKO or MGM?
Look at Maurice Chevalier for instance. Even if he had not had a career in the States, couldn't he have gone to France and done films and musicals there perhaps?
Now just because we've lost three sheriffs don't mean we're going to lose four. -
metalman091 — 9 years ago(May 23, 2016 12:01 AM)
Hard to say, but considering that he could dance, and was famous for th16d0at, and could carry a tune, what are the odds that he might have been able to continue working in musicals at RKO or MGM?
Look at Maurice Chevalier for instance. Even if he had not had a career in the States, couldn't he have gone to France and done films and musicals there perhaps?
Excellent points. Valentino might have had a career in the 1930s like Ramon Novarro [before he declined] or maybe one like Gilbert Roland [who went on forever].
A career in Europe sounds plausible. -
DorianGray502 — 9 years ago(July 05, 2016 02:17 PM)
___I think.if Garbo did it, Valentino could have too. But, also it may have been a disaster and he would have wound up washed up and forgotten like another legend, D.W. Griffith. Most of all, his mythical place in history would likely have faded, same is probably true of Marilyn Monroe. Both died regrettably at just the right time.
___I think RV was a very handsome man for sure, but he had ugly ears which would have stretched vertically as he aged. I don't think age would have been kind to that face. -
TonTon — 3 years ago(December 12, 2022 12:54 PM)
I think RV was a very handsome man for sure, but he had ugly ears which would have stretched vertically as he aged. I don't think age would have been kind to that face.
Valentino was also going bald. You can clearly see a bald spot on the back of his head near the end of THE EAGLE [1925]. Valentino was also looking very aged and unwell because of his ulcer and the stress he was under.