Nita Naldi - Film Career

Film Career

Naldi was asked to perform in a short film with Scottish comedian Johnny Dooley (no relation). Naldi quit after realizing he had romantic intentions with another woman. She was then offered a role in A Divorce of Convenience with Owen Moore. She had small roles in several independent films before being engaged for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with John Barrymore. The role would give Naldi prestige. Barrymore and Naldi were friends for many years, with Barrymore lovingly calling her the Dumb Duse.

Naldi was selected by author Vicente Blasco Ibáñez for the role of Dona Sol in his film Blood and Sand (1922). Naldi was signed with Famous Players-Lasky for the role. It was her first pairing with screen idol Rudolph Valentino and the film was a major success. It gave Naldi the image of a vamp which would follow her for the rest of her life. Naldi and Valentino were never romantic, and she would be one of the few to befriend his wife Natacha Rambova though that friendship would sour when the Valentinos divorced.

During this time, she posed for famous pin-up artist Alberto Vargas, who painted Naldi topless next to the bust of an imp.

While Valentino went on his one-man strike (preventing him from appearing in film) Naldi took on several Famous Players-Lasky roles with growing importance including The Ten Commandments (1923), directed by Cecil B. DeMille. When Valentino returned and fixed his contract woes she joined him for his final Famous Players-Lasky film, the now lost A Sainted Devil (1924). Naldi left the company soon after.

In 1924 the Valentinos and Naldi traveled to France to research for their film The Hooded Falcon. The film was never made but after returning to California they did make Cobra. Neither film was well received and Cobra was the last film in which Naldi and Valentino starred together.

The Valentinos' marriage was ending around this time. After Valentino signed a contract with United Artists, he banned Rambova from the set. She was given her own film as a consolation. Naldi starred in Rambova's production What Price Beauty?. The film suffered distribution problems and was barely noted at the time. It is noteworthy for being actress Myrna Loy's first screen appearance.

After finishing the Dorothy Gish film Clothes Make the Pirate, Naldi left for France for a short vacation. She married J. Searle Barclay during this time. Despite rumors she had retired, Naldi began work on several films, including Alfred Hitchcock's second directorial effort, 1926's The Mountain Eagle. She is often credited, mistakenly, as appearing in Hitchcock's The Pleasure Garden.

She made two films in France and one in Italy before retiring. Despite an acceptable voice, Naldi never made a talkie.