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| Valentino and Swanson |
Starring Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Robert Bolder
Produced by Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
Poor Theodora. What's a girl to do?
The youngest of three daughters born to a widower, she's the family's meal ticket if she can find a wealthy man to marry. She's out in a boat one day and falls into the water, only to be rescued by the dashing Earl of Bracondale Hector. He brings her onto the beach and she thanks him with a Narcissus flower (robbed of its scent by the water).
Theodora eventually receives her marriage proposal, but it's from Josiah Brown, an older, rotund grocer-turned millionaire who is seemingly looking for the trophy wife. His money will help save her family so she says yes.
Theodora is now walking in the circles of the upper crust. On their honeymoon in the Alps, a tired Josiah begs off hiking up a mountain, so Theodora goes out with a friend and a guide, but ends up falling off a cliff. As she dangles precariously in the air, Hector fortuitously comes to her rescue.
Hector is now smitten. Theodora is falling in love with the young aristocrat. Will Theodora cast her family obligation aside and go off with Hector? Or will she stay with a man she does not love out of a sense of duty? And just what does Josiah think?
I am really surprised how much I liked this one. Romance is not normally my thing, but the story here is almost constantly engaging and it moves along at a good clip (with one misstep; more on that to come).
The casting here is spot-on. Gloria Swanson plays Theodora with beauty and elegance, but also a dangerous streak. It's easy to see why when men fall for her, they fall hard.
And Rudolph Valentino: I now totally understand the mystique. He underplays Hector in the movie. He's a lazy, carefree playboy, but will totally change his ways for the right woman. Theodora is that woman. And she's taken. You believe he is smitten with her, but he is also willing to step aside if she chooses to stay in her marriage.
Which bring me to the element that elevates this above most traditional romances: Josiah. The romantic drama playbook is pretty absolute in its conventions. If it's a choice between two guys, one must be a jerk. It makes the woman's choice clear: stay with the guy undeserving of love or move to the one you belong with. Beyond the Rocks does not make that easy choice.
Josiah is a nice guy. He genuinely cares about Theodora and when he realizes she loves Hector, he's crushed. He's so hurt, he undertakes a dangerous trip to north Africa, in the hopes that the dangerous terrain may end his life. He starts out as this cardboard character that you expect to loathe. By the end of the movie, he's a tragic hero who is the source of any emotion the audience feels.
The movie follows the travels of jet-setting aristocrats and the production design is spot on. Every garden is impeccably manicured, every grand hall appropriately lavish. The film gives its beautiful cast a series of gorgeous backdrops.
The only real problem for me in the movie is a sequence in which Hector tells Theodora the story of two lovers from the past and the film then shows us the story with Swanson and Valentino playing the parts. The film grinds to a halt during the sequence. It's unnecessary and overlong.
Beyond the Rocks is a movie I want to revisit with my wife. It's a slight tale elevated by its actors and by some unconventional storytelling choices. Definitely worth checking out.
****1/2 out of *****
Photo from GoneMovie.com
NOTE: Beyond the Rocks was thought to be a lost movie until a print was discovered in 2003. That's right. Barely seven years ago, people could not see this one. It makes me sad to think of all the amazing cinema that has been lost to time. It makes me hopeful to think there are still treasures waiting to be discovered in someone's attic.
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