Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino
by Emily W. Leider
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Book Summary Information
Author: Emily W. LeiderEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2003-05-06
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Book Reviews of Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino
Book Review: "An American may speak love with his lips, the Italian must say it with his eyes."---Rudolf Valentino tells Photoplay magazine
Summary: 5 Stars
Emily Leider's "Dark Lover" is the definitive book on Rudolph Valentino. It's the only book about him I've read, so I'm probably not qualified to make such a statement, but I'll make it anyway. This 423-page (514 with appendixes, notes & index) goes into such detail that the silent movie legend really comes to life in the pages. The book follows "Rudy" from his birth as Rudolfo Guglielmi in Castellaneta, Italy to a doctor father who died when he was ten, Rudy's youth as an unsatisfactory student who imagined himself to be of noble ancestry, his failure to get into the military and agriculture, his early years in the U.S. as a "taxi dancer" and "lounge lizard," his testimony at the Blanca de Saulles' divorce hearing, his messy and brief marriage to Jean Acker, his big break in "The Four Horsemen," his life with Natacha Rambova, the big movie hits, his bigamy charge and fight with Famous Players-Lasky, the Mineralava tour, weary comeback in "Monsieur Beaucaire" and "Cobra," his triumph in "The Eagle," the "pink powder puff" attack, his sudden death and riotous aftermath.
Some liberties are taken here--mostly at the beginning of the story where there is, no doubt, fewer sources to which to turn. Does the author really know when the ten day old Rudy's muscles relaxed at his christening (9) or that Valentino couldn't perform sexually with a dancer from Paris's Folies-Bergere (41)? Most speculations are qualified when there is not enough facts to support it, including the homosexual question. Yes, there is gossip here, but such stories are described carefully and often with a degree of skepticism.
I was very impressed with the coverage of Valentino's European vacation with Natacha. So many details are delivered--including Rudolph's reckless driving habits which exasperated Natacha--that it really pulled me into the story. Leider uses her sources (movie magazines, scholarly works, interviews including those conducted by the author, etc.) well.
Another area that impressed me was the background knowledge the author brought to the work. Her understanding of fashion, dance styles, the names and politics of the movie industry during Valentino's time really brings credibility to the book. She even discussed how dancing was regarded in terms of masculinity and attitudes about men taking money from women for dances in the time of Valentino's taxi dancing days (56). Her coverage of Valentino's feature films--including the making of them and how they were received--was also well done.
Finally, Leider covers Valentino's sudden death and the aftermath. Aside from the riots and rude behavior at Valentino's first funeral in New York, the most interesting part of the final chapters was the description of the catalogue advertising the items in the Valentino estate auction and how much some of the items actually got--including a marble sculpture of Valentino's hand with the "broken lifeline on the Buddha-like palm...clearly visible" (407). The fate of the people in Rudolph's life, the search for the next Valentino, and those cast as the great Latin lover in movies about his life end the book. "Dark Lover" was very enjoyable due to the information given and the engaging, sometimes clever, writing style: "Rudy may have been the one dressed for the Arctic [in the film "Unchartered Seas"], but Natacha displayed the icy demeanor" (128). The hard cover version has three sets of black & white glossy photos. Rudolph Valentino was a diva, but he was also-- inside that dark, Latin lover carriage--immature and almost boyish who needed people around him for support and guidance. Many of those people used him for their own greed and that, and his sudden, early death, makes his story, ultimately, a sad one.
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