The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921 film)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | |
---|---|
Produced by | Rex Ingram |
Starring | Pomeroy Cannon Josef Swickard Bridgetta Clark Rudolph Valentino Wallace Beery Alice Terry |
Cinematography | John F. Seitz |
Music by | Louis F. Gottschalk |
Production company | Rex Ingram Productions |
Distributed by | Metro Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 134 minutes (edited version) 156 minutes (complete version) |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Budget | $800,000 or $1 million[1] |
Box office | $9.2 million[2] or $4 million (world gross)[1] |
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921 American
Often regarded as one of the first
In 1995, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[7] The film is now in the public domain. A DVD version was released in 2000. The film is now available for free download on the Internet Archive.[8]
Plot
Madariaga "The Centaur" (Pomeroy Cannon), a harsh but popular
Some time later, Madariaga dies. The extended family breaks up, one half returning to Germany and the other to France.
In
Marguerite becomes a
In the meantime, the
Four years later, Julio has survived and become renowned for his bravery in the trenches at the front. During a mission in no man's land, he encounters his last surviving German cousin. Moments later, they are both killed by a shell. Back in Paris, Marguerite considers abandoning the blinded Etienne, but Julio's ghost guides her to continue her care for him.
The ending scene shows Marcelo Desnoyers mourning over his son's grave. The man who lived upstairs from Julio watches over him. Marcelo asks him, "Did you know my son?" The man, with a remorseful expression, lifts his arms, forming the shape of a cross with his body, and says, "I knew them all!" He then points to the sky and shows Marcelo the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding away into the clouds. Then, the man assures him that "Peace has come—but the Four Horsemen will still ravage humanity—stirring unrest in the world—until all hatred is dead and only love reigns in the heart of mankind."
Cast
- Pomeroy Cannon as Madariaga
- Josef Swickard as Marcelo Desnoyers
- Bridgetta Clark as Doña Luisa
- Rudolph Valentino as Julio Desnoyers
- Virginia Warwick as Chichí
- Alan Hale as Karl von Hartrott
- Mabel Van Buren as Elena
- Stuart Holmes as Otto von Hartrott
- John St. Polis as Etienne Laurier
- Alice Terry as Marguerite Laurier
- Mark Fenton as Senator Lacour
- Derek Ghent as René Lacour
- Nigel De Brulier as Tchernoff
- Bowditch M. Turner as Argensola
- Edward Connelly as Lodgekeeper
- Wallace Beery as Lieut. Col. von Richthosen
- Harry Northrup as The General
- Arthur Hoyt as Lieut. Schnitz
- Beatrice Dominguez as the dancer
Extras
Among the actors who appear as the focus of a scene but had no words was African American actress
Production
In 1919, screenwriter June Mathis became head of the scenario department for Metro Pictures.[9] With this position, she became one of the first female executives in film history.[9] Holding a major belief in Spiritualism and the Book of Revelation, Mathis was determined to turn Vicente Blasco Ibáñez's novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse into a film. The book had been a bestseller, but most studios found it impossible to adapt to film.[9]
Mathis's adaptation so impressed the studio that it asked for her input in director and star. For director, she chose
Mathis insisted that Valentino would play Julio, but studio executives were nervous with the young actor. Valentino, whose parents were French and Italian, had a distinctly-Latin look that was not used much in pictures at the time.[14] However, Mathis got her way, and after seeing the rushes, she and Ingram decided to expand the role of Julio to showcase the talents of Valentino. Valentino had worked as a taxi dancer during his time in New York. To show off his dancing skills, the tango scene was included though it had not been part of the original story.
Alice Terry was cast as Julio's lover, Marguerite. She would marry Ingram that same year.
Metro paid Ibañez $20,000 and 10% of the gross earnings for the rights to adapt his novel.[15] The film took six months to shoot, cost $800,000, and had a cast of 72 "principal players." Valentino was paid only $350 a week, which was much less than other players. To add to his troubles, he also had to provide his own costumes, which cost thousands. The French Marne village was constructed at Griffith Park, in Los Angeles. In the scenes between Julio and Marguerite, Valentino and Terry spoke French to impress lip readers. Valentino was fluent in French, as his mother was French.[16]
Mathis also injected some early depictions of alternative lifestyles. The film featured a scene with German officers coming down the stairs in
Reception
The film premiered in New York to great critical acclaim. Many critics hailed it as a new The Birth of a Nation. However, the German press was less enthused with the portrayal of Germans in the film.
The film became a commercial success as well, and was one of the first films to make $1,000,000 at the box office. The film is considered to be the sixth-best-selling silent film of all time.[11][17] During its initial run, it grossed $4,500,000 domestically.
With its extended scenes of the devastated French countryside and personalized story of loss, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is often considered to be one of the first
Some aspects of the film were controversial with American film censorship boards. For example, the Pennsylvania board, upon reviewing the affair between Julio and Marguerite, required that Marguerite be described in intertitles as being the fiancée of Etienne Laurier rather than his wife.[18]
Picture-Play Magazine reviewed The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in their April 1921 issue, saying "The Four Horsemen may have been a spectacular and million-dollar flivver. As it is, it is an artistic triumph." They also praised the cast. "Rudolph Valentino plays the role of Julio Desnoyers. He is such a fine actor that you forget how handsome he is and how well he dances. Alice Terry as Marguerite looks and acts like another Blanche Sweet. In plain and simple words, the cast is a wonder."[19]
The film made Mathis one of the most powerful and respected women in Hollywood, said to be only second to Mary Pickford.[6] She was one of the highest-paid executives of her time and went on to work with Famous Players–Lasky and Goldwyn Pictures.[20] She became known for her association with Valentino, who became a close friend. She wrote many more films for him, helping to shape his image.[21]
Julio proved to be a breakthrough role for Valentino, who became a superstar overnight. He became heavily associated with the image of a "Latin lover", though eventually his image as "The Sheik" may have overshadowed this. Metro refused to acknowledge that they had made a star and immediately put him into a B-picture titled Uncharted Seas.[10][21] Valentino soon left them for Famous Players–Lasky.[21]
The film also helped launch the name of Ingram. Ingram came to resent the break-out success of Valentino, as he felt it was his own work that made Four Horsemen a success. He went on to make films with Terry and eventually discovered Ramon Novarro, whom he promoted as the new Valentino[22] and who appeared as an extra in this film.[23]
Adaptations and remakes
The film was remade as
In popular culture
- In Jack Finney's "Marion's Wall," the narrator and Marion attend a screening, and Valentino's ghost shows up to watch his tango with Dominguez.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Big Picture Costs and Road Show Profits". Variety. March 18, 1925. p. 27. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ Box office at IMDB accessed January 27, 2017
- ^ "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at silentera.com". Archived from the original on December 31, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino, p. 219
- ^ Alt Film Guide.
- ^ a b c Journal of Humanities. 2007.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ 3 The Four Horsemen on the Apocalypse on the Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d Maher. 2006. p.200
- ^ a b Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover. pp. 111-130.
- ^ ISBN 1-84358-013-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9816440-4-2.
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino, pp. 81-83.
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover. pp. 61-85.
- ^ Schulman. 1967.
- ^ Leider, 2004.
- ^ Biggest Money Pictures. CinemaWeb.com.
- ^ Smith, Frederick James (October 1922). "Foolish Censors". Photoplay. 22 (5). New York: 39–40. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- ^ Smith, Agnes (April 1921). "The Screen in Review". Picture-Play Magazine. 14: 56. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ LA Times, 1923.
- ^ a b c Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover. pp. 131-150.
- ISBN 0-312-28231-1
- ^ (1924). "The Man from the Mob" Photoplay
- ^ "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". AFI. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
Bibliography
- Acker, Ally; Wanamaker, Marc (1991). Reel Women: Pioneers of the Cinema 1896 to the Present. London: Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-6960-9.
- Ellenberger, Allan R. (April 1, 2007). "June Mathis: Author Allan Ellenberger Discusses One of the Most Powerful Women in Hollywood History". ALT Film Guide.
- Ellenberger, Allan R. (2005). The Valentino Mystique: The Death and Afterlife of the Silent Film Idol. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-1950-4.
- Koszarski, Richard (1983). The Man You Loved to Hate: Erich von Stroheim and Hollywood. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-503379-5.
- Leider, Emily Wortis (2004). Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino. New York: Faber and Faber Inc. ISBN 0-571-21114-3.
- Lipke, Kathleen (June 3, 1923). "the Most Responsible Job Ever Held by a Woman". Los Angeles Times: 13.
- Mahar, Karen Ward (2006). Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood (Studies in Industry and Society). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8436-5.
- Slater, Thomas (November 3, 2007). "June Mathis: Moving the Margins of Mainstream". Journal of Humanities. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- Slater, Thomas (1984). 'June Mathis': Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol. 44, American screenwriters: second series. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research Co. p. 246. ISBN 0-8103-1722-2.
- Shulman, Irving (1967). Valentino. New York: Simon & Schuster.
- Unterburger, Amy L. (1999). The St. James Women Filmmakers Encyclopedia: Women on the Other Side of the Camera. Detroit, MI: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1-57859-092-2.
External links
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse essay by Randy Haberkamp at National Film Registry [1]
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 72–73 [2]
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at IMDb
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at AllMovie
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at the TCM Movie Database
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at the American Film Institute Catalog