| ~The Four Horseman Of The Apocalypse~ 1921 |
| ~Plot Synopsis~ |
The mystical novels of Vicente Blasco-Ibanez were much prized by ambitious silent filmmaker Rex
Ingram, who filmed two of them in the 1920s, both ostensibly vehicles for his actress wife Alice Terry.
The first of the two, Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, was infinitely more successful than the second
(Mare Nostrum), a fact that can be attributed to two little words: Rudolph Valentino. The quintessential
Latin Lover stars as Julio, the scion of a wealthy Argentinian family. During the years prior to World War
I, Julio's relatives relocate to Germany and France, with Julio opting for the latter country, where he
opens an art studio. Here he carries on a torrid affair with Alice Terry, the wife of an attorney. When
World War I breaks out, Terry joins the Red Cross and her husband enlists in the army, while the
carefree Julio avoids involvement in the conflict. Only when visited by the spectres of the Four
Horseman--war, conquest, famine, and death--does Julio don a uniform. His death is a symbolic sacrifice
on behalf of Ms. Terry, whose husband has been blinded in the war: and, in an additional symbolic
grace-note, Julio dies at the hands of his own cousin, now a German officer. The film's Big Money
sequence was the one in which Rudolph Valentino danced the forbidden tango in a dingy, smoke-filled
Argentinian cantina. That's what made him a star, not all that mumbo-jumbo about fate, destiny, and
Four Horsemen. Proof that Valentino and not Blasco-Ibanez was the principal drawing card of this film
was the 1962 remake, in which Glenn Ford portrays Julio.
Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson, AllMovie.com
Ingram, who filmed two of them in the 1920s, both ostensibly vehicles for his actress wife Alice Terry.
The first of the two, Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, was infinitely more successful than the second
(Mare Nostrum), a fact that can be attributed to two little words: Rudolph Valentino. The quintessential
Latin Lover stars as Julio, the scion of a wealthy Argentinian family. During the years prior to World War
I, Julio's relatives relocate to Germany and France, with Julio opting for the latter country, where he
opens an art studio. Here he carries on a torrid affair with Alice Terry, the wife of an attorney. When
World War I breaks out, Terry joins the Red Cross and her husband enlists in the army, while the
carefree Julio avoids involvement in the conflict. Only when visited by the spectres of the Four
Horseman--war, conquest, famine, and death--does Julio don a uniform. His death is a symbolic sacrifice
on behalf of Ms. Terry, whose husband has been blinded in the war: and, in an additional symbolic
grace-note, Julio dies at the hands of his own cousin, now a German officer. The film's Big Money
sequence was the one in which Rudolph Valentino danced the forbidden tango in a dingy, smoke-filled
Argentinian cantina. That's what made him a star, not all that mumbo-jumbo about fate, destiny, and
Four Horsemen. Proof that Valentino and not Blasco-Ibanez was the principal drawing card of this film
was the 1962 remake, in which Glenn Ford portrays Julio.
Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson, AllMovie.com
| Directed by: Rex Ingram Written by: June Mathis - screenplay Based on the novel "Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis," by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez |
| ~Cast~ Pomeroy Cannon ... Madariaga Josef Swickard ... Marcelo Desnoyers Bridgetta Clark ... Doña Luisa Rudolph Valentino ... Julio Desnoyers Virginia Warwick ... Chichí Alan Hale ... Karl von Hartrott Mabel Van Buren ... Elena Stuart Holmes ... Otto von Hartrott John St. Polis ... Etienne Laurier (as John Sainpolis) Alice Terry ... Marguerite Laurier Mark Fenton ... Senator Lacour Derek Ghent ... René Lacour Nigel De Brulier ... Tchernoff (as Nigel de Brulier) Bowditch M. Turner ... Argensola (as Brodwitch Turner) Edward Connelly ... Lodgekeeper Wallace Beery ... Lieut. Col. von Richthosen Harry Northrup ... The General Arthur Hoyt ... Lieut. Schnitz Jacques D'Auray ... Captain d'Aubrey (uncredited) Claire de Lorez ... Mademoiselle Lucette - a Model (uncredited) Rose Dione ... Flag Bearer (uncredited) Beatrice Dominguez ... Dancer (uncredited) Louise Emmons ... French Mother Bidding Farewell (uncredited) John George ... Ranchhand in Argentina (uncredited) Jean Hersholt ... Professor von Hartrott (uncredited) Noble Johnson ... Conquest (uncredited) Isabelle Keith ... German Woman (uncredited) Fred Kelsey ... Undetermined Role (uncredited) Kathleen Key ... Georgette (uncredited) Henry Klaus ... Heinrich von Hartrott (uncredited) J. Jiquel Lanoe ... German Woman's Husband (uncredited) Minnehaha ... The Old Nurse (uncredited) Bull Montana ... The French Butler (uncredited) Ramon Novarro ... Guest at Ball (uncredited) Curt Rehfeld ... Major Blumhardt (uncredited) Brinsley Shaw ... Celendonio (uncredited) Georgia Woodthorpe ... Lodgekeeper's Wife (uncredited) |
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| Rudolph Valentino, Mabel Van Buren and Alice Terry on the set |
| ~Remaining Credits~ Produced & Released by: Metro Pictures Corporation Cinematography by: John F. Seitz Film Editor: Grant Whytock Art Direction by: Joseph Calder & Amos Myers Production Manager; Sterrett Ford Assistant Unit Producer: Dave Friedman Assistant Director: Walter Mayo Art Titles: Jack W. Robson Assistant Cameras: Hal Mohr & Cliff Shirpser Still Photographer: Arthur F. Rice Second Unit Camera: Jack Wagner Technical Staff: Joseph Calder & Amos Myers Supervised by: Rex Ingram Production Assistant: Roger Heman Sr. Length: 11 Reels Runtime: 133 Minutes Released: March 1921 South American Scenes filmed in Gilmore Ranch, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA |
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