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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)
Encyclopedia
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921
silent movie
produced by Metro Pictures Corporation
, adapted by June Mathis
, directed by Rex Ingram
and starring Rudolph Valentino
, Pomeroy Cannon, Josef Swickard
, Wallace Beery
, and Alice Terry
. It was based on the novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
.
The film had a huge cultural impact, becoming the top grossing film of 1921 beating out Charlie Chaplin
's The Kid
, and going on to become the sixth best grossing silent film of all time. The film turned then little known actor Rudolph Valentino
into a super star and associated him with the image of the 'Latin Lover
'. The film also inspired a tango craze and such fashion fads as gaucho
pants. The film was masterminded by June Mathis, who with its success became one of the most powerful women in Hollywood at the time.
, Mathis was determined to turn Vicente Blasco Ibáñez's novel The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse into a film. The book had been an epic best seller, but most studios found it impossible to adapt to film.
Mathis' adaption so impressed the studio they asked for her input in director and star. For director she chose Rex Ingram
who would clash with both her and Valentino. Mathis had seen a young actor named Rudolph Valentino
in a bit part of a Clara Kimball Young
film Eyes of Youth
in 1919. Valentino had arrived in Hollywood in 1918, where he had worked in many B movie
s including "All Night
" with Carmel Myers
and "The Delicious Little Devil" with Mae Murray
. He also worked on a picture with Julian Eltinge
and Virginia Rappe
that would eventually become, "The Isle of Love
". It has been suggested Mathis might have first seen him in that film, as she was a close friend of Eltinge.
Mathis insisted Valentino would play Julio, however studio executives were nervous with the young actor. Valentino, whose parents were French and Italian, had a distinctly Latin look that had not been used much in pictures at that time. 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 was not part of the original story.
Alice Terry
, a former Follies Girl, was cast as Julio's lover, Marguerite. She would marry Ingram that same year.
Metro paid Ibanez $20,000 and 10% of the gross earning for the rights to adapt his novel. The film took 6 months to shoot, cost $80,000, and had a cast of 72 'principal players'. Valentino was only paid $350 a week which was much less than other players. To add to his troubles he also had to provide his own costumes, which he spent thousands on. The French Village Marne, was constructed at Griffith Park
in Los Angeles, CA. In the scenes between Julio and Marguerite, Valentino and Terry spoke French, to impress the lip readers. Valentino's was fluent in French as his mother was French.
Mathis also injected some early depictions of alternative lifestyles; it featured a scene with German officers coming down the stairs in drag. Of the scene, Mathis would later tell The Los Angeles Times, "I had the German officers coming down the stairs with women's clothing on. To hundreds of people that meant no more than a masquerade party. To those who have lived and read, and who understand life, that scene stood out as one of the most terrific things in the picture."
The 1921 film is a fictional story inspired by the history of World War I
.
Madariaga "The Centaur" (Pomeroy Cannon), a harsh but popular Argentine
landowner, has a German
son-in-law whom he dislikes and a French
one whose family he openly favors. He is particularly fond of his grandson Julio (Rudolph Valentino
), with whom he often carouses at seedy dives in the Boca district of Buenos Aires. In one of these bars, the movie's famous tango
sequence occurs. A man and a woman are dancing the tango. Julio strides up and asks to cut in. The woman stares at Julio alluringly. The man brushes him off, and they resume dancing. Julio then challenges the man and strikes him, knocking him into some tables and out of the scene. Julio and the woman then dance a dramatic version of the tango that brings cheers from the people in the establishment. Following the dance, the woman sits on Julio's lap. Madariaga then slides to the floor, drunk. The woman laughs at Madariaga. Julio casts her aside in scorn and helps his grandfather home.
Sometime later, Madariaga dies. The extended family breaks up, one half returning to Germany
and the other to France
.
In Paris
, Julio enjoys a somewhat shiftless life as a would-be artist
and sensation at the local tea dances. He falls in love with Marguerite Laurier (Alice Terry
), the unhappy and much younger wife of Etienne Laurier, a friend of Julio's father. The affair is discovered, and Marguerite's husband agrees to give her a divorce. It seems as though Julio and Marguerite will be able to marry, but both end up getting caught up in the Great War.
Marguerite becomes a nurse in Lourdes
. The bravery of Etienne is reported, and he is blinded in battle. Etienne happens to end up at the hospital where she is working, and Marguerite attends to him there. Julio travels to Lourdes to see Marguerite and instead sees her taking care of Etienne. Julio, ashamed of his wastrel life, enlists in the French Army
.
The German Army
overruns Julio's father Marcelo's Marne
Valley castle in the First Battle of the Marne
. Marcelo is forced to host a German general and staff in the castle. Marcelo's German nephew is amongst the staff and tries to protect him, but Marcelo is arrested after a melee involving an officer's assault of a woman. Marcello is to be executed in the morning, but his life is spared when the French Army counterattacks in the "Miracle of the Marne".
Julio becomes renowned for his bravery in the trenches
on the front. During a mission in no man's land
, he recognizes his 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. Both families mourn for their fallen sons as the film ends.
films made.
The film made Mathis one of the most powerful and respected women in Hollywood, said to be only second to Mary Pickford
. She was one of the highest paid executives of her time, and went on to work with Famous Players-Lasky
and Goldwyn Pictures
. She become known for association with Valentino, who became a close friend. She wrote many more films for him, helping to shape his image.
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 they had made a star, and immediately put him into a B-picture
titled Uncharted Seas. Valentino soon left them for Famous Players-Lasky.
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 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.
) with Vincente Minnelli
as the director. The tango sequence is parodied by Gene Wilder
during the opening credits of The World's Greatest Lover
(1977).
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". The film is now in the public domain
, having been made before 1923. A DVD version was released in 2000 but is now out of print. The film is now available for free on the Internet Archive
.
1921 in film
-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway...
silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
produced by Metro Pictures Corporation
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company founded in late 1915 by Richard A. Rowland . Louis B. Mayer who worked for Metro Pictures Corporation early on. It is not to be confused with MGM which is a much later franchise concerning itself, Goldwyn and Louis B....
, adapted by June Mathis
June Mathis
June Mathis was an American screenwriter and one of the highest paid Hollywood executives in the 1920s. Mathis was the first female executive for Metro/MGM and at only 35, she was the highest paid executive in Hollywood. In 1926 she was voted the third most influential woman in Hollywood, behind...
, directed by Rex Ingram
Rex Ingram (director)
Rex Ingram was an Irish film director, producer, writer and actor. Legendary director Erich von Stroheim once called him "the world's greatest director."-Early life:...
and starring Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, Pomeroy Cannon, Josef Swickard
Josef Swickard
Josef Swickard was a German-born veteran stage and screen character actor, who had toured with stock companies in Europe, South Africa, and South America.-Career:...
, Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, and Alice Terry
Alice Terry
Alice Terry was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933.-Career:...
. It was based on the novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was a Spanish realist novelist writing in Spanish, a screenwriter and occasional film director....
.
The film had a huge cultural impact, becoming the top grossing film of 1921 beating out Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's The Kid
The Kid (1921 film)
The Kid is a 1921 American silent dramedy film written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, and features Jackie Coogan as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first full-length movie...
, and going on to become the sixth best grossing silent film of all time. The film turned then little known actor Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
into a super star and associated him with the image of the 'Latin Lover
Latin Lover
Victor Manuel Resendiz Ruiz is a Mexican Luchador and actor. He is best known under his ring name Latin Lover, which he is also credited as for his acting career...
'. The film also inspired a tango craze and such fashion fads as gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
pants. The film was masterminded by June Mathis, who with its success became one of the most powerful women in Hollywood at the time.
Production
In 1919 screenwriter June Mathis became head of the scenario department for Metro Pictures. With this position she became one of the first female executives in film history. Holding a major belief in spiritualism and the Book of RevelationBook of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, Mathis was determined to turn Vicente Blasco Ibáñez's novel The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse into a film. The book had been an epic best seller, but most studios found it impossible to adapt to film.
Mathis' adaption so impressed the studio they asked for her input in director and star. For director she chose Rex Ingram
Rex Ingram (director)
Rex Ingram was an Irish film director, producer, writer and actor. Legendary director Erich von Stroheim once called him "the world's greatest director."-Early life:...
who would clash with both her and Valentino. Mathis had seen a young actor named Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
in a bit part of a Clara Kimball Young
Clara Kimball Young
Clara Kimball Young was an American film actress, who was highly regarded and publicly popular in the early silent film era.-Early life:...
film Eyes of Youth
Eyes of Youth
Eyes of Youth is a silent film directed by Albert Parker and starring Clara Kimball Young. The film was based on a stage play Eyes of Youth performed on Broadway in 1917-18 and had starred Marjorie Rambeau. This film also featured actor named Rudolph Valentino in a role as a thief/con artist...
in 1919. Valentino had arrived in Hollywood in 1918, where he had worked in many B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s including "All Night
All Night
All Night is a 1918 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino and Carmel Myers.-Synopsis:Richard Thayer, a shy, unassuming man is in love with a sheltered young woman, Elizabeth Lane . While the feelings are mutual and Richard wishes to propose, he can never find a moment to speak to Beth alone...
" with Carmel Myers
Carmel Myers
Carmel Myers was an American actress who worked chiefly in silent movies.Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of an Australian rabbi and Austrian Jewish mother. Her father became well-connected with California's emerging film industry, and introduced her to film pioneer D. W. Griffith,...
and "The Delicious Little Devil" with Mae Murray
Mae Murray
Mae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen"....
. He also worked on a picture with Julian Eltinge
Julian Eltinge
Julian Eltinge , born William Julian Dalton, was an American stage and screen actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Eltinge garnered notice from other producers and made his first appearance on Broadway in 1904...
and Virginia Rappe
Virginia Rappe
Virginia Rappe was an American model and silent film actress.-Early life and career:Rappe was born to unwed mother Mabel Rapp in New York City. Mabel died when Virginia was 11, and Virginia was then raised by her grandmother in Chicago. At age 14 she began working as a commercial and art model in...
that would eventually become, "The Isle of Love
The Isle of Love
The Isle of Love is a 1922 recut of a 1918 silent drama film starring female impersonator Julian Eltinge. The film also contained two actors unknown during filming: Virginia Rappe and Rudolph Valentino...
". It has been suggested Mathis might have first seen him in that film, as she was a close friend of Eltinge.
Mathis insisted Valentino would play Julio, however studio executives were nervous with the young actor. Valentino, whose parents were French and Italian, had a distinctly Latin look that had not been used much in pictures at that time. 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
Taxi dancer
A taxi dancer, or taxi for short , is a paid dance partner in a partner dance. For official purposes in the US, their occupation was referred to as "dancer", when they worked in taxi-dance halls that had all the necessary business permits...
during his time in New York. To show off his dancing skills the tango scene was included, though it was not part of the original story.
Alice Terry
Alice Terry
Alice Terry was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933.-Career:...
, a former Follies Girl, was cast as Julio's lover, Marguerite. She would marry Ingram that same year.
Metro paid Ibanez $20,000 and 10% of the gross earning for the rights to adapt his novel. The film took 6 months to shoot, cost $80,000, and had a cast of 72 'principal players'. Valentino was only paid $350 a week which was much less than other players. To add to his troubles he also had to provide his own costumes, which he spent thousands on. The French Village Marne, was constructed at Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
in Los Angeles, CA. In the scenes between Julio and Marguerite, Valentino and Terry spoke French, to impress the lip readers. Valentino's was fluent in French as his mother was French.
Mathis also injected some early depictions of alternative lifestyles; it featured a scene with German officers coming down the stairs in drag. Of the scene, Mathis would later tell The Los Angeles Times, "I had the German officers coming down the stairs with women's clothing on. To hundreds of people that meant no more than a masquerade party. To those who have lived and read, and who understand life, that scene stood out as one of the most terrific things in the picture."
Synopsis
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Madariaga "The Centaur" (Pomeroy Cannon), a harsh but popular Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
landowner, has a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
son-in-law whom he dislikes and a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
one whose family he openly favors. He is particularly fond of his grandson Julio (Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
), with whom he often carouses at seedy dives in the Boca district of Buenos Aires. In one of these bars, the movie's famous tango
Tango (dance)
Tango dance originated in the area of the Rio de la Plata , and spread to the rest of the world soon after....
sequence occurs. A man and a woman are dancing the tango. Julio strides up and asks to cut in. The woman stares at Julio alluringly. The man brushes him off, and they resume dancing. Julio then challenges the man and strikes him, knocking him into some tables and out of the scene. Julio and the woman then dance a dramatic version of the tango that brings cheers from the people in the establishment. Following the dance, the woman sits on Julio's lap. Madariaga then slides to the floor, drunk. The woman laughs at Madariaga. Julio casts her aside in scorn and helps his grandfather home.
Sometime later, Madariaga dies. The extended family breaks up, one half returning to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the other to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Julio enjoys a somewhat shiftless life as a would-be artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and sensation at the local tea dances. He falls in love with Marguerite Laurier (Alice Terry
Alice Terry
Alice Terry was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933.-Career:...
), the unhappy and much younger wife of Etienne Laurier, a friend of Julio's father. The affair is discovered, and Marguerite's husband agrees to give her a divorce. It seems as though Julio and Marguerite will be able to marry, but both end up getting caught up in the Great War.
Marguerite becomes a nurse in Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
. The bravery of Etienne is reported, and he is blinded in battle. Etienne happens to end up at the hospital where she is working, and Marguerite attends to him there. Julio travels to Lourdes to see Marguerite and instead sees her taking care of Etienne. Julio, ashamed of his wastrel life, enlists in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
.
The German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
overruns Julio's father Marcelo's Marne
Marne
Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne...
Valley castle in the First Battle of the Marne
First Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had...
. Marcelo is forced to host a German general and staff in the castle. Marcelo's German nephew is amongst the staff and tries to protect him, but Marcelo is arrested after a melee involving an officer's assault of a woman. Marcello is to be executed in the morning, but his life is spared when the French Army counterattacks in the "Miracle of the Marne".
Julio becomes renowned for his bravery in the trenches
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
on the front. During a mission in no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
, he recognizes his 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. Both families mourn for their fallen sons as the film ends.
Cast
- Pomeroy Cannon as Madariaga
- Josef SwickardJosef SwickardJosef Swickard was a German-born veteran stage and screen character actor, who had toured with stock companies in Europe, South Africa, and South America.-Career:...
as Marcelo Desnoyers - Bridgetta ClarkBridgetta ClarkBridgetta Clark was an early silent film actress, her brief career stretching from 1921 to 1926.Born Ruth Porter Clark in Chicago, Illinois, she was the grandaughter Iowa Congressman Lincoln Clark...
as Doña Luisa - Rudolph ValentinoRudolph ValentinoRudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
as Julio Desnoyers - Virginia Warwick as Chichí
- Alan HaleAlan Hale, Sr.Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
Karl von Hartrott - Mabel Van BurenMabel Van BurenMabel Van Buren was an American stage and screen actress from Chicago, Illinois. She had dark hair, brown eyes, and was five feet three inches tall. She enjoyed riding horses and swimming....
as Elena - Stuart Holmes as Otto von Hartrott
- John St. PolisJohn St. PolisJohn St. Polis was an American actor. He appeared in 126 films between 1914 and 1943.He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Shadows...
(listed as John Sainpolis) as Etienne Laurier - Alice TerryAlice TerryAlice Terry was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933.-Career:...
as Marguerite Laurier - Mark FentonMark FentonMark Fenton was an American actor of the silent era. He had a sturdy theatrical and Broadway career behind him before coming to silent pictures...
as Senator Lacour - Derek Ghent as René Lacour
- Nigel De BrulierNigel De BrulierNigel De Brulier was an English film actor, who launched his career in the theatre stage in his native country and transferred to movies after moving to USA. His first film role was a poet in The Pursuit of the Phantom in 1914...
as Tchernoff - Bowditch M. Turner as Argensola
- Edward ConnellyEdward ConnellyEdward Connelly was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. He had a long established Broadway theatre career going back to the Victorian era...
as Lodgekeeper - Wallace BeeryWallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as Lieut. Col. von Richthosen - Harry NorthrupHarry NorthrupHarry Northrup was a French-born American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 135 films between 1911 and 1935.He was born in Paris and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
as The General - Arthur HoytArthur HoytArthur Hoyt was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34 year film career, about a third of them silent films. He was a brother of Harry O...
as Lieut. Schnitz
Reception
The film premiered in New York to great critical acclaim. Many critics hailed it as a new Birth of a Nation. However the German press was less enthused with the portrayal of Germans in the film. It became a commercial success as well. It was one of the first films to make $1,000,000 at the box office, as well as the 6th best selling silent film of all time. 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 the first anti-warAnti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
films made.
The film made Mathis one of the most powerful and respected women in Hollywood, said to be only second to Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. She was one of the highest paid executives of her time, and went on to work with Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
and Goldwyn Pictures
Goldwyn Pictures
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company founded in 1916 by Samuel Goldfish in partnership with Broadway producers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn using an amalgamation of both last names to create the name...
. She become known for association with Valentino, who became a close friend. She wrote many more films for him, helping to shape his image.
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 they had made a star, and immediately put him into a B-picture
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
titled Uncharted Seas. Valentino soon left them for Famous Players-Lasky.
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 work that made Four Horsemen a success. He went on to make films with Terry, and eventually discovered Ramon Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
whom he promoted as the new Valentino.
Legacy and Preservation
The film was remade in 1962 (the setting was changed to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
) with Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made...
as the director. The tango sequence is parodied by Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
during the opening credits of The World's Greatest Lover
The World's Greatest Lover
The World's Greatest Lover is a 1977 comedy film starring Gene Wilder and Carol Kane.-Plot:Set in the silent film era, Rainbow Studios figure they are losing revenue to a rival studio because they don't have Rudolph Valentino...
(1977).
In 1995, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film is now in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, having been made before 1923. A DVD version was released in 2000 but is now out of print. The film is now available for free on the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.