The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

Anyone else get a lil’ nostalgic towards the end of summer? Whether it’s “Ahhhhh the memories...” or even “Ahhhh....I didn’t get the memo that it was VACATION MODE, and I simply went to work to earn a living...silly me!”, a lot of us tend to look back over the summer and think about where we went.... or where SUMMER went....

But anyways! If there’s one silent film that holds its share of nostalgia for fans of Rudolph Valentino, it’s got to be “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. Not only was it a game-changer for Rudy’s image, but it was also a pretty monumental script on its own! This film is considered to be one of the first (if not THE first) anti-war films ever made. War-based stories hadn’t yet gotten a grip on the film industry (masterpieces such as “The Big Parade” and “Wings” came out much later), but even so - just the pairing of sultry, handsome Rudy with the lovely and talented Alice Terry? Genius. Pure genius.

“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” was originally a 1916 bestselling novel, but it was adapted for Metro by (who else??) our lady June Mathis! June, being a big believer in the supernatural, was also very into the Book of Revelation and found the novel fascinating. Other studios had tried to adapt the story for film but got nowhere due to its complexity. Of course, June being June, took this as a challenge and became determined to MAKE THIS BOOK A MOVIE ALREADY. The result? The bigwig men at Metro were so impressed that they not only committed to making the movie, they also asked for her advice on the director and the stars!

Cast & crew pic! Rudy (2nd from left) with June, Alice (nurse's costume) and Rex at her feet

June selected the feisty but talented Rex Ingram to direct, who ended up clashing with her on multiple occasions (as well as with the soon-to-be superstar, Rudy). Both June and Rudy were known as amiable folks, so Rex isn’t getting any gold stars from me on this count. June had seen Rudy in a small role in a 1919 film and her brilliant intuition told her that he had star quality. She insisted that he play the lead role of Julio, which made the aforementioned bigwig men at Metro a bit nervous. He was, after all, still unknown. And he was - *gasp* - not a pale white blond with blue eyes! Would he even do justice to the role?? Would audiences even like him???

WOULD HE EVER - AND WOULD THEY EVER! After seeing the initial rushes (raw film), both June and Rex miraculously agreed on something - to expand Rudy’s role even more to showcase his talent (including dancing) and good looks. The then-scandalous tango dance scene was not part of the original script, but was one of the new additions ...and WE’RE STILL TALKING ABOUT IT. These people knew their business, folks. Rudy, as we all know, rose to the occasion and became an overnight celebrity, all thanks to the magic that was June Mathis.

“The Four Horsemen” took about 6 months to shoot, and cost about $800,000 USD. A pretty penny, even in those days. Rudy, however, was only paid a measly $350 per week - which was much less than the other actors. In addition, he had to supply his own costumes, which cost him thousands of dollars! I often wonder if Metro (now MGM) has ever stopped eating crow for once treating the mighty Rudolph Valentino like dirt... The “French” village was in reality constructed in good old Griffith Park (Los Angeles, CA).

The beautiful Alice Terry, selected to play the leading role of “Marguerite”, would end up marrying director Rex the same year. Apparently, he didn’t clash with *her*. In the love scenes between Marguerite and Julio, she and Rudy spoke French (both were fluent) for authenticity and to impress the many lip-readers in the audience. Yes, some people were so good at reading the actors’ lips back then that they would occasionally pick up curse words and write flaming letters to the studios!

June cleverly included a nod at “alternative lifestyles” in the film (if you’ll excuse me for using such an outdated term). In one scene, some German officers come down the hotel stairs in drag. June later had this to say:

"I had the German officers coming down the stairs with women's clothing on. To hundreds of people that meant no more than a masquerade party. To those who have lived and read, and who understand life, that scene stood out as one of the most terrific things in the picture."

Unsurprisingly, the German press didn’t like the film due to the overall negative depiction of Germans (including, but not limited to, the drag scene). The American press, however, LOVED IT and gave it rave reviews. It became a box-office hit and is now considered to be the sixth best-selling silent film of all time!

This doesn’t mean that everyone was 100% on board with some of the more “grownup” elements of the story. The character Marguerite, for example, is a married woman who ends up falling in love with another man. Shocking, I know - especially for a time period when practically EVERYONE was cheating on their spouses. The Pennsylvania censors required that the intertitles (title cards that gave narrative) be changed to describe Marguerite as an ENGAGED woman, not a married one. Because clearly, it's OK to cheat on your FIANCEE, right???

A particularly gripping scene towards the end of the film, showing the devastating loss after war

Even though Rudolph Valentino became well-known because of “The Four Horsemen”, Metro refused to recognize him as star material and immediately cast him in a lesser-known “B picture”. Rudy soon left Metro and came calling on Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures - who knew all too well that Rudy was destined for bigger things and was happy to give him a contract.

Rex Ingram also received a lot of notoriety from his work on the film, but always harbored some resentment towards Rudy because after all, Rudy only became a star because of “his” movie! Yes Rex, let’s ignore the real hero in this story - June Mathis. Not long after, Rex and his new wife Alice found a replacement leading man (Ramon Novarro) and promoted him as the “new Valentino”. No shade to the handsome Ramon - he was his own kind of actor, not a Valentino knockoff, C’MON REX...

Have a look at “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” below!

References:

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921 film) - Wikipedia