The artsy lobby card from What Price Beauty
Released in 1928 by S. George Ullman (Rudolph Valentino's manager) Productions, What Price Beauty was written and supervised by one of Nita's closest friends, Natacha Rambova (Mrs. Rudolph Valentino).
When Valentino signed the contract with United Artists, the final curtain plunged on his second marriage. Rambova, who had directly or indirectly controlled many aspects of Valentino's previous films, from casting decisions to set and costume design, was specifically barred in the UA contract from exercising any influence on future films. The studio even went so far as to prevent her from visiting her husband on the set.
Valentino, who was facing financial disaster if he didn't sign the UA contract, had no choice. In a genuine effort to hold his marriage together and to pacify a shocked and affronted wife whom he adored, he agreed to finance her own film, What Price Beauty.
The film is a satiric comedy about the gyrations women put themselves through for the sake of "beauty." Nita agreed to star in the film. She plays a siren (what else?) who tries to lure the manager of a beauty parlor out of the arms of an unsophisticated country girl. This lobby card depicts the "dream sequence" of woman's pursuit of beauty throughout history. The "over the top" costumes for the film are designed by Gilbert Adrian; the same Adrian who would later create the unforgettable gowns for the MGM legends--Joan, Jean and Norma. It is a little known fact Adrian was brought to Hollywood by Natacha. She also discovered the great Myrna Loy, then a dancer, who made her screen debut in this film!
A woman born out of time and trapped by her own gender, Rambova was ambitious, intelligent, incredibly creative and classy. Whatever the actual merits of this film might have been, the Hollywood Godfathers saw to it the finished product was never properly released. Had the project been successful, Rudolph Valentino Productions, with Natacha at the helm, would have been producing Valentino's future films as soon as his contract with UA was up. And that was something nobody, except Rudy and Natacha, wanted.
What Price Beauty is a lost film and all that remains are a few lobby cards and stills. The extent of Nita's loyalty to her friends is evident by her involvement in such a risky, low-budget project when she was at the height of her popularity.
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These pages were originally created on July 10, 1999.
All text and images on this site ©1999-2000 Gloria Bowman, unless otherwise noted, and may not be used or copied without permission.