This is a vintage original 8x10 in. U.S. single-weight glossy Paramount Pictures proof photograph from the classic silent film drama/romance, MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE, released in 1924 by Paramount Pictures and directed by Sidney Olcott, starring Rudolph Valentino. When M. Beaucaire, a handsome barber, catches the Duke of Winterset cheating at gambling, Beaucaire exacts Winterset's cooperation in sneaking Beaucaire into a great ball, disguised as the Duke de Chartres, and to introduce him to the beautiful Lady Mary. The disguised barber successfully pulls off the masquerade and is soon the toast of society. But Winterset is embittered at having been blackmailed so, and he sets out to destroy Beaucaire if he can do so without revealing his own duplicity.               

The image depicts a full-length "exterior" nighttime shot at the foot of a staircase in a garden setting of the handsome Duke de Chartres (Rudolph Valentino), a French nobleman, as he kneels before Madame Pompadour (Paulette Duval) and offer her his hand while Miropoix (Oswald Yorke) watches him suspiciously. The detail of the elaborate period French costumes created for this lavish silent film are shown to full advantage in this particular photograph, as Valentino is wearing a very striking patterned jacket as the other two are seen wearing elegant period attire of the French upper aristocracy. This is a vintage original "proof" which, unlike traditional movie photos, features thin uneven black outer borders as opposed to the traditional white borders. The famous Paramount Pictures company logo is depicted in the bottom right corner above the photo's negative number. A prior contemporary owner has described Valentino's costume in detail on the verso. Printed on single-weight stock with a glossy finish, this vintage original proof photograph is in fine condition with a 1.5 in. heavy crease on the bottom right corner that has been reinforced on the verso with a piece of Scotch tape that has yellowed over time. The image quality is razor-sharp and features gorgeous rich contrast with beautiful deep blacks and half-tones.
 
Monsieur Beaucaire was shot in Paramount's East Coast studio in Astoria, New York, and the hallmark of the film today, depending upon what print is viewed, is Harry Fischbeck's sumptuous photography. Unfortunately, this film was part of a series of box office and critical disappointments that plagued Valentino mid-career. Although the film did fairly well in big cities, it flopped in smaller locales and could not exceed the expensive budget that director Olcott put into the film's production. Many viewers and critics, perhaps expecting the more virile Valentino of his earlier films, felt that his onscreen persona with its heavy makeup, frilled attire and arch mannerisms (particularly in the first half) was overly feminized in Monsieur Beaucaire: a somewhat unfair accusation considering that much of the film satirizes the excesses of the court of Louis XV. Much of the blame for the film's alleged shortcomings was assigned to Valentino's wife, Natacha Rambova, who was felt by many of Valentino's colleagues to have had an undue influence on the costumes, set and direction of the film. Author Alicia Annas wrote that audiences were most likely alienated by the general design of the film which, while historically accurate, was not tailored to 1920s American film-goers' tastes (from Wikipedia). 

Monsieur Beauciare; Paramount Pictures; 1924; based upon the novel by Booth Tarkington; dir: Sidney Olcott; cast: Rudolph Valentino, Bebe Daniels, Lois Wilson, Doris Kenyon, Lowell Sherman, Paulette Duval, John Davidson, Oswald Yorke, Flora Finch, Louis Waller, Ian Maclaren, Frank Shannon, Templar Powell, H. Cooper Cliffe, Downing Clarke.