Rudolph Valentino is the most famous screen lover known throughout the world.
Women worshipped him hysterically.

Men hated him, preferring heroes that were more "earthy" (burping, chaw tobaccy) types. Ironically, Valentino was an accomplished pugilistic, and therefore could have pummeled any critic that accepted his challenges.

Envious, misguided, and mistaking "smoothness" with "effete", his detractors drove Valentino to seek consul from his friend Menken. This short documentary is based entirely on those conversations.

Edoardo Ballerini's resemblance to Valentino is uncanny, and his portrayal is compelling. Unfortunately you will be able to only see it at your local "art" house.
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FILM: GOOD NIGHT VALENTINO: by EDOARDO BALLERINI

"So far the most persuasive screen interpretation of Valentino comes in 'Good Night Valentino' starring Edoardo Ballerini. In a sensitive, compassionate performance, he suffuses his character with just the right mix of pride, elegance, grace and anguish.
On screen, Ballerini's resemblance to Valentino is uncanny." - Dark Lover: Rudolph Valentino, by Emily Leider

"John Rothman, as the usually sardonic Mencken, reveals the uncharacteristic empathy the writer had for Valentino, exposing the profundity of his own sentiments. The anger, frustration and pathos felt by Valentino is clearly portrayed in Edoardo
Ballerini's compelling and sympathetic performance. His on-screen resemblance to Valentino is uncanny and those familiar with Valentino's films will note he has even mastered the Great Lover's gait." - Classic Images Magazine

Good Night Valentino (USA, 2002, 15 Mins, B/W & Color)
In 1926 silent movie idol Rudolph Valentino was in trouble. The press was attacking him mercilessly, calling him a "Pink Powder Puff" and blaming him for the "effeminization of the American man." They went so far as to ask "Why didn't somebody drown Valentino years ago?" It was savage, even by today's media standards.

Valentino, his Italian blood boiling, tried to salvage his reputation in the only way he knew how. He challenged these men to duels and fistfights to prove his manhood, but the world only laughed.

Finally, he calls on famed journalist H.L. Mencken for advice. "Good Night Valentino," an infamous meeting between two famous men, is the story of that meeting.

Filmed on the 75th anniversary of the actual meeting, Edoardo Ballerini directs and stars as Valentino opposite John Rothman as H.L. Mencken. Shot by noted cinematographer Tim Ives in a National Registered Landmark - the Deco Masterpiece Oviatt Penthouse in downtown Los Angeles - the film uses Mencken's original essay about the encounter as voice-over atop a picture that goes from a 1920's style silent film to present day "period piece" and back again.

"Good Night Valentino" premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival in January.

Few names are as identifiable as Rudolph Valentino's, and few performers inspired the hysterical worship that he did during his lifetime. When women saw Valentino in "The Sheik," "Blood and Sand" and "The Eagle" they shrieked and swooned.

And when his life was tragically cut short at the age of 31 people of all walks rioted in the streets to catch of glimpse of their fallen idol.

Edoardo Ballerini (Director, Producer, Writer, "Valentino") has recently been called "A young actor to watch" (Variety), "A likeable heartthrob" (Hollywood Reporter) and "A most promising young actor" (Los Angeles Times).

Acting credits include "Dinner Rush," "24," "Romeo Must Die" and "The Last Days of Disco." In addition he is developing a feature-length project on Valentino.

The film tells the story of the turbulent marriage between Valentino and his second wife, the beautiful Natacha Rambova.

In his directorial debut, "Good Night Valentino" Ballerini explores the man behind the myth. Here Valentino isn't only the famous screen lover known throughout the world, but an angry, nervous young man, fighting for his tarnished reputation, a doomed man who fears the spotlight as much as he relishes it. As H.L. Mencken eloquently reminds us, "a great man is not only great, but also a man."

Good Night, Valentino
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/2073/goodnight.htm

Rudolph Valentino Home Page
http://www.geocities.com/~rudyfan/rudy.htm