For the brief time Rudolph Valentino worked for Metro, he treasured June Mathis' guiding hand. "She discovered me, anything I have accomplished I owe to her, to her judgment, to her advice and to her unfailing patience and confidence in me," the actor said a couple of years later.
She made sure Valentino received the leading role in her later screenplay of a Honore de Balzac 1833 novel, "The Conquering Power." The actor's presence in July 1921's release of "The Conquering Power" was just as central--and just as alluringly romantic--as his role in "Apocalypse." His portrayal of a rich playboy who sees the spiritual light in his angel-like female cousin, whose father is the greediest and most insane person on the face of the earth, illustrates the acting depth Valentino displays here. The masterful direction of Rex Ingram, whom Mathis respected and was the director of "Apocalypse," includes a hair-raising scene where the greedy Monsieur Grandet is hallucinating that his chest of gold is transforming into a breathing demon.
Valentino didn't have warm, fuzzy feelings for Ingram; in fact they clashed on the set a number of times. The director soon after eloped with actress Alice Terry, who was in the two directed movies above. The couple relocated to Nice, France, where he made several films for MGM Studios. For a man working outside the United States, Ingram remarkably gained respect for being "the world's greatest director" in the eyes of director Erich von Stroheim among other movie critics.
Actress Alice Terry's screen presence in her Ingram roles was considered flat and pliant. Once she escaped Ingram's directional grasp under Paramount Pictures, her acting became more dynamic and was positively received by the critics. Ingram was known for his philandering outside his marriage. When he died in 1950 at the age of 58, Terry invited four of his mistresses to his funeral and post-memorial party. When questioned on the appropriateness of the four's presence, her reply was "Who cares, I'm the only one that can call herself Mrs. Rex Ingram." As for Valentino, he left Metro Pictures after not receiving a raise above his paltry salary. He and Mathis moved on to Paramount Pictures, where he appeared in several women-appealing heart throbbing films.
She made sure Valentino received the leading role in her later screenplay of a Honore de Balzac 1833 novel, "The Conquering Power." The actor's presence in July 1921's release of "The Conquering Power" was just as central--and just as alluringly romantic--as his role in "Apocalypse." His portrayal of a rich playboy who sees the spiritual light in his angel-like female cousin, whose father is the greediest and most insane person on the face of the earth, illustrates the acting depth Valentino displays here. The masterful direction of Rex Ingram, whom Mathis respected and was the director of "Apocalypse," includes a hair-raising scene where the greedy Monsieur Grandet is hallucinating that his chest of gold is transforming into a breathing demon.
Valentino didn't have warm, fuzzy feelings for Ingram; in fact they clashed on the set a number of times. The director soon after eloped with actress Alice Terry, who was in the two directed movies above. The couple relocated to Nice, France, where he made several films for MGM Studios. For a man working outside the United States, Ingram remarkably gained respect for being "the world's greatest director" in the eyes of director Erich von Stroheim among other movie critics.
Actress Alice Terry's screen presence in her Ingram roles was considered flat and pliant. Once she escaped Ingram's directional grasp under Paramount Pictures, her acting became more dynamic and was positively received by the critics. Ingram was known for his philandering outside his marriage. When he died in 1950 at the age of 58, Terry invited four of his mistresses to his funeral and post-memorial party. When questioned on the appropriateness of the four's presence, her reply was "Who cares, I'm the only one that can call herself Mrs. Rex Ingram." As for Valentino, he left Metro Pictures after not receiving a raise above his paltry salary. He and Mathis moved on to Paramount Pictures, where he appeared in several women-appealing heart throbbing films.