Le jeune rajah

As others have said, what is left to this film is put together with stills and interspersed with the actual film. Very, very difficult to watch; even understand because of this. I really don't know if it should have ever been accomplished as it is incoherent and unsubstantial in this chopped up way. In any case, we see the young Valentino, an amazing actor from so, so very long ago, yet it is difficult to say anything because of the film's deterioration. Too bad, but for Valentino fans, of long ago and today, it is nice to watch. He has or shall I say "had" a distinctive Italian young man look, and as others have said, whether he would have been successful at or in any other time in motion picture history is also difficult to judge.

Rudoplh Valentino is my all time favorite silent film star. This is my second time watching "The Young Rajah," and I liked it more the second time around. Although some parts of the film are missing, I did get a lot out of it. The message was clear-judge a person for who they are, and what is in their heart regardless of skin color. Valentino was a talented actor and dancer. He was just as beautiful inside as he was outside, and it came across the screen if only for a brief moment. He will never be forgotten. It was back in the 1970s when I first heard of him. I was completely taken aback by his talent and mystique, and I was quite young at the time. It is always a thrill to watch one of his films. "The Young Rajah" only showed his versatility in films. Who knows what more he was capable of doing had he lived a longer life?

Love to look at old films way before my time and especially this film which was made up of mostly still photos and about one-third of the film on tape. Fanny Midgley gives a great performance with Rudolph Valentino who captures his heart and Valentino does everything in his power to bring her to the altar, but Fanny is not convinced because of the color of his skin being from India. Fanny reads in a book that skin color should not make a difference if you are in love and Fanny discovers she changes her mind and her way of thinking. This film will take you to India, Connecticut and some people are able to foretell about the future. If you like very old films, this is a great 1922 Classic. Enjoy

Young Rajah, The (1922)

** (out of 4)

Rudolph Valantino drama, which was considered lost for many decades. When a print finally showed it in was in very bad shape with nearly 2/3rds of the film too bad to show so they took the decent footage and added photos to it to try and get back as much as they could. The film tells the story of a young man (Valantino) who was brought over from India as a small child who, when learning his background, goes back to India to fight for his crown. The film doesn't make too much since due to all the footage being missing but apparently this film wasn't that good in its complete form so I'm not sure how much better it would have been complete. Valantino actually does a good job in the few remaining footage of film and the costume design and sets are appear to be top-notch as well. Charles Ogle, the man who played the monster in Edison's 1910 version of Frankenstein, has a role here as well.

A badly deteriorated print with Spanish titles was discovered in Europe recently - however only the last three reels totaling about 35 minutes had survived. The first fifteen to twenty minutes represent a collage of studio stills, bits of a trailer, modern photographic inserts and bridge material from June Mathis' continuity script to replace the first two or three reels that have disintegrated. Nitrate damage is evident in the remaining footage as well as some fading and streaking. The missing sequences include a fantastic Art Deco costume ball (designed by Natacha Rambova) and a rowing team boat race showing off Valentino's physique in tight fitting trunks and nothing else.

Valentino, whose subtlety and intelligence are evident in every picture he made, plays Amos Judd (born Sirdir Singh), the mysterious adopted son turned Harvard man. Amos' ancestors included Arjuna, the hero of the Bhagavad Ghita whose forehead was touched by the God Krishna and he and his offspring have been given powers of prophecy. This turns out to be a blessing and a curse for Amos Judd as his past comes after him and threatens his love for Molly Cabot, an American girl played by blonde and lovely Wanda Hawley. Fortunately, her father seems to be a Unitarian judge with remarkably liberal attitudes, so their union is not out of the question.

The film deals head on with issues of racism with remarkably enlightened and forward-thinking attitudes for that period. The issue of interracial relationships is explored in a very sympathetic light. The attitude expressed is that a man should be judged by the quality of his thought and not his religion or the color of his skin. Amos Judd, himself the product of an interracial marriage between an Italian woman and an Indian Rajah, is shown as being a student of all religions who believes that there are many roads to one God.

The film is intriguing for its stunning design, magnetic star and free-thinking philosophy. Evidently the film was not a great success, came out just at the time Valentino was arrested for bigamy and preceded a period of conflict with the star and Paramount studios. Valentino didn't like this film but I found it rather enticing and one can only hope that somewhere there is another print in better condition.