Valentino is a 1951 American biographical film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Anthony Dexter and Eleanor Parker.

Aboard a passenger steamship traveling from Naples to New York, young Rudolph Valentino works as a dancer.

Rudolph dances a tango with Joan, and King considers casting the handsome dancer in his next film.

The next day, Rudolph plays a small role alongside Lila Reyes, with whom he becomes friends.

Although Rudolph believes he has done nothing wrong, he is offended when the angry Joan offers him money, prompting him to storm off.

Rudolph lands larger roles in subsequent films, quickly becoming a heartthrob idolized by countless women.

Shortly afterward, Rudolph receives a call from King, asking him to be the best man at his wedding to Joan.

The romantic scenes between Rudolph and Joan make both actors uneasy, leading to numerous retakes.

During the journey, he complains of abdominal pain, prompting Luigi to take him to a doctor, who diagnoses appendicitis and recommends rest and surgery.

When Joan reads the news of his death in the papers, she asks King if he ever knew her true feelings.

Edward Small had announced the project in 1938, with Jack Dunn first mooted to play the title role as a follow-up to his debut in The Duke of West Point.

[5] Others who worked on it (there were an estimated over 30 drafts) include Edward Chodorov, Stephen Longstreet, Sheridan Gibney, Frederick J. Jackson, Virginia Van Upp and George Oppenheimer.

[6][7] Eventual director Lewis Allen described the film as "an imaginary, romantic story with acting as a background.

"[8] Edward Small could not get clearance from either of Valentino's wives, Jean Acker or Natacha Rambova so the script did not feature either; instead he has three fictitious lovers in the film, one of whom is his married co-star.

[11] Frederik Vayder auditioned and Louis Jourdan, Helmut Dantine and John Derek were also considered.

[12][13][14] The final script was heavily fictionalised to avoid lawsuits from Valentino's former wives, industry associates and his family specifically his brother Alberto.

[22] It was announced that Dexter would appear in a remake of The Sheik (1921), the rights for which Small had purchased in order to include segments of that film in Valentino.

[23] Alice Terry sued the filmmakers for $750,000, complaining she was depicted in the film as having an illicit love affair while still being married.