It took a murder to have one of the most popular film stars in cinematic history kick start his way into the entertainment business. The eventual movie star 'The Great Latin Lover,' Rudolph Valentino, who was escaping a sordid affair with a rich heiress, joined a musical touring company. He used his experience as a taxi dancer, one who gets paid to dance with customers, to become a stage performer. In 1917 a friend persuaded him to be in movies because of his good looks, charm and physical agility. One of his earliest films where he had a major role was with Mae Murray in May 1919's Universal Pictures' comedy "The Delicious Little Devil."
An immigrant from Italy at 18, Valentino in 1914 stayed in New York City to become a paid dancer at Maxim's Restaurant-Cabaret. There, he befriended Chilean heiress Blanca de Saulles, who was in an unhappy marriage. After the divorce and a bitter custody dispute, she killed her ex. Valentino, not wanting to get involved in the scandal, left town and joined an Al Jolson musical production that brought him to California.
Operating a dance studio, Valentino was recommended by a friend to get into movies. He took up the suggestion in 1917, becoming first an extra, then eventually a minor role character, usually a villain, because of his dark looks. In "The Delicious Little Devil," he plays a son of a wealthy contractor who falls in love with cabaret performer Murray, impersonating herself as an exotic famous dancer escaping a scandal overseas. Things unravel when the Duke discovers Murray, who looks like his estranged lover, placing Valentino in a rival-lover's role.
"The Delicious Little Devil" is one of the few existing films for the talented Mae Murray. As a major star for Universal Pictures, her films proved highly popular with the public and were financial hits. Her career peaked in the early 1920's, where she was labeled as a Mary Pickford-type of actress in looks and mannerisms. Murray was one of the many silent movie stars who failed to make the transition to sound in the early 1930's.
As for Valentino, his stardom didn't really take off for another two years, when he appeared in a major role in 1921's "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." His life would change forevermore.
An immigrant from Italy at 18, Valentino in 1914 stayed in New York City to become a paid dancer at Maxim's Restaurant-Cabaret. There, he befriended Chilean heiress Blanca de Saulles, who was in an unhappy marriage. After the divorce and a bitter custody dispute, she killed her ex. Valentino, not wanting to get involved in the scandal, left town and joined an Al Jolson musical production that brought him to California.
Operating a dance studio, Valentino was recommended by a friend to get into movies. He took up the suggestion in 1917, becoming first an extra, then eventually a minor role character, usually a villain, because of his dark looks. In "The Delicious Little Devil," he plays a son of a wealthy contractor who falls in love with cabaret performer Murray, impersonating herself as an exotic famous dancer escaping a scandal overseas. Things unravel when the Duke discovers Murray, who looks like his estranged lover, placing Valentino in a rival-lover's role.
"The Delicious Little Devil" is one of the few existing films for the talented Mae Murray. As a major star for Universal Pictures, her films proved highly popular with the public and were financial hits. Her career peaked in the early 1920's, where she was labeled as a Mary Pickford-type of actress in looks and mannerisms. Murray was one of the many silent movie stars who failed to make the transition to sound in the early 1930's.
As for Valentino, his stardom didn't really take off for another two years, when he appeared in a major role in 1921's "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." His life would change forevermore.