At all events, Valentino conquered his world. He was known
in every detail of his appearance almost from pole to pole. 'What was the secret of his success ? Probably that he was graceful, that he had a discreet economy of gesture and that he could with his eyes suggest burning depths of passion and romantic adoration. Millions of women liked these glances because they had never received them in real life—and we may add might not have liked them if they had. But all this took them out of themselves, took them into an unreal world that seemed real. Valentino was credited with a desire to act as something better than an overwhelming Sheikh. His heart, it is said, turned to his own Italy, and he wanted, if only the film magnates would let him, to fill the part of some Italian historical character. We wish that he could have done so.
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