Valentino: A Dream of Desire

by David Bret

In this unique biography of the world's greatest lover, there is much unpublished material to reveal the real Valentino, a man who was sexually attracted to other men and whose relationships with women brought heartbreak and disaster. Valentino was far less ashamed of his sexuality than he was afraid of being trapped by the image of his public persona. Yet it was his persistent need to prove his "manhood" that contributed to his early death.

Genres: Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

David Bret is a French-born British author of showbiz biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of film stars and singers.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best way to enjoy this purported bio of Rudolph Valentino is to view it as gay historical fiction set in the world of Hollywood. The author makes several errors in Hollywood history. It's hilarious that he says gay film director William Desmond Taylor had affairs with Mabel Normand and Mary Miles Mintner, since he has just about every other man in Hollywood having sex with Valentino. If you want insights into gay Hollywood, stick with William J. Mann.

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Rudy burped his way through five courses, ate all the leftovers from Lasky’s and Glyn’s plates, drank the gravy from his own, and picked his nose with his teaspoon.” This quote, from David Bret’s book, presents the real Valentino as less the man of the world than his pictures painted.”

Valentino, A Dream of Desire, is easy to read without being simplistic. If the bibliography listed in the back is to be even remotely honored, it seems better researched than most expose type biographies are. Valentino doesn’t praise, it doesn’t condemn. It has a ’just the facts ma’am’ presentation.

I have never seen a Valentino movie, so I can’t comment directly on his cinematic presence. However, the pictures included with the book suggest why he was the heart throb he was for millions of women and thousands of gay men.. He had a beautiful face at any angle, and the movie stills show him as quite a well set-up figure of a man.

I did not learn anything essentially new about the man or the star. Everyone in Hollywood, as they did about Rock Hudson, yesterday, and a gaggle of stars today, knew he preferred men, sexually. He and they protected that knowledge from becoming public. He sold movie tickets.

Rudy came at a time when ’real men’ were decrying the effeminization of the American male by the popular culture. Rudy was their worse nightmare. For God’s sake, the man wore a wristwatch instead of a manly pocket watch.

I find it interesting that the two women who rated/commented on the book at this site, seem to have detested the book. One did not rate it at all, while the other gave a more charitable one star rating. Of the two men who have rated prior to this, one gave it the full five star salute and the other, a more modest three. I have no idea if this is the beginning of a trend, or just the luck of the draw.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted this to be better than it was. Impulse buy at the Barnes & Nobel in Berwyn, PA – home of Dot Malloy. As far as I know, this is the first book to really address Valentino’s homosexuality. But it read like “hear-say” and wasn’t very well documented. I’m sure the guy was gay; but this book was pretty gossipy. Still, not a bad read, especially on such an interesting person. He does reference a lot of dead and forgotten film stars, so that makes the thing a little uninteresting.

[DeBora Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book is written well, however the content is pretty bland and focuses on Valentino's homosexuality. It was interesting finding out this fact but it gets a little redundant after hearing he is gay on every page. Imagine if a book stated that the character was heterosexual on every page - after awhile who cares?

[Rebecca]

Horrible, horrible book