History Film / TheFourHorsemenOfTheApocalypse

''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' was a smash hit. Rudolph Valentino, who was a bit player when he was cast in this movie, became a huge star, and the personification of the LatinLover, until his premature death from a perforated ulcer in 1926. Creator/WallaceBeery, who would become a big star in TheThirties, has a small part as a brutish German officer.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Julio has a pet chimp who is usually dressed in a matching outfit. The chimp takes Marguerite's hat and umbrella when she visits. Rather absurdly, the chimp is with him in the trenches, also in uniform.

* DownerEnding: All four of the rancher's grandsons are killed in battle.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The Stranger, who is given a name in the credits--"Tchernoff"--but not in the narrative, and who has a vaguely Christlike mien. In the last scene M. Desnoyers, who is with the Stranger in the graveyard, asks if the Stranger knew Julio. The Stranger replies "I knew them all!".

* YouShallNotPass: "They shall not pass", or so think the Frenchmen batting at the Marne. (In RealLife this did not become a famous saying until Verdun, later in the war.)

* TheGrimReaper: One of the four horsemen, seen by himself after Julio and Julio's cousin are killed.

* DownerEnding: All four of the rancher's grandchildren are killed.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

->"Peace has come - but the Four Horsemen will still ravage humanity - stirring unrest in the world - until all hatred is dead and only love reigns in the heart of mankind."

''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' is a 1921 film directed by Irish director/actor/playwright Rex Ingram, starring Creator/RudolphValentino and Alice Terry. Madariaga, the patriarch of an [[UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}} Argentine]] cattle ranch has two daughters. One marries a German against his wishes; their three sons are viewed with disfavor by the rancher. The other enters into an approved marriage with a Frenchman named Desnoyers, and their son Julio (Valentino) becomes the apple of his grandfather's eye. The old man dies, and the husbands take their wives back home to Europe. Julio lives a carefree life in Paris, a spoiled rich boy who cares only for painting pretty ladies, giving tango lessons, and having an affair with a married woman, Marguerite Laurier (Terry). This happy life is interrupted by the assassination of an Austrian archduke and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the outbreak of war]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: A title card notes that a lot of the gauchos working Madariaga's ranch bear a suspicious resemblance to him.

* YouShallNotPass: "They shall not pass", or so think the Frenchmen batting at the Marne. (In RealLife this did not become a famous saying until Verdun, later in the war.)
* YourCheatingHeart: Julio is having an affair with a married woman.

''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' is a 1921 film directed by Irish director/actor/playwright Rex Ingram, starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry. Madariaga, the patriarch of an [[UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}} Argentine]] cattle ranch has two daughters. One marries a German against his wishes; their three sons are viewed with disfavor by the rancher. The other enters into an approved marriage with a Frenchman named Desnoyers, and their son Julio (Valentino) becomes the apple of his grandfather's eye. The old man dies, and the husbands take their wives back home to Europe. Julio lives a carefree life in Paris, a spoiled rich boy who cares only for painting pretty ladies, giving tango lessons, and having an affair with a married woman, Marguerite Laurier (Terry). This happy life is interrupted by the assassination of an Austrian archduke and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the outbreak of war]].

* FanserviceExtra: The three ladies posing for Julio's painting, one of whom is showing an exposed breast. Censors could be surprisingly permissive in TheTwenties.

''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' is a 1921 film directed by Afro-American director/actor/playwright Rex Ingram, starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry. Madariaga, the patriarch of an [[UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}} Argentine]] cattle ranch has two daughters. One marries a German against his wishes; their three sons are viewed with disfavor by the rancher. The other enters into an approved marriage with a Frenchman named Desnoyers, and their son Julio (Valentino) becomes the apple of his grandfather's eye. The old man dies, and the husbands take their wives back home to Europe. Julio lives a carefree life in Paris, a spoiled rich boy who cares only for painting pretty ladies, giving tango lessons, and having an affair with a married woman, Marguerite Laurier (Terry). This happy life is interrupted by the assassination of an Austrian archduke and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the outbreak of war]].

* AmbiguouslyGay: When Julio and Marguerite are dining out, there is a brief shot of a lesbian couple at another table. One woman is dressed in a traditionally feminine way, but the other is dressed like a man, in a tuxedo with a top hat, a HighClassGlass, and a cigarette holder.

''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' is a 1921 film directed by Rex Ingram, starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry. Madariaga, the patriarch of an [[UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}} Argentine]] cattle ranch has two daughters. One marries a German against his wishes; their three sons are viewed with disfavor by the rancher. The other enters into an approved marriage with a Frenchman named Desnoyers, and their son Julio (Valentino) becomes the apple of his grandfather's eye. The old man dies, and the husbands take their wives back home to Europe. Julio lives a carefree life in Paris, a spoiled rich boy who cares only for painting pretty ladies, giving tango lessons, and having an affair with a married woman, Marguerite Laurier (Terry). This happy life is interrupted by the assassination of an Austrian archduke and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the outbreak of war]].

A remake came out in 1962, also titled ''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'', but with a SettingUpdate, moving the story to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and starring Creator/GlennFord as Julio Desnoyers.

''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' was a smash hit. Rudolph Valentino, who was a bit player when he was cast in this movie, became a huge star, and the personification of the LatinLover, until his premature death from a perforated ulcer in 1926. Wallace Beery, who would become a big star in TheThirties, has a small part as a brutish German officer.

* HighClassGlass: Both the German general and the more junior officer played by Wallace Beery sport them, in true Prussian tradition. So does a lesbian (see AmbiguouslyGay above).

* AFateWorseThanDeath: Apparently one of M. Desnoyers' servant girls was raped by the Germans. Says her mother, "My little girl longs to die."

''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' is a 1921 film directed by Rex Ingram, starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry. Madariaga, the patriarch of an [[UsefulNotes/Argentina Argentine]] cattle ranch has two daughters. One marries a German against his wishes; their three sons are viewed with disfavor by the rancher. The other enters into an approved marriage with a Frenchman named Desnoyers, and their son Julio (Valentino) becomes the apple of his grandfather's eye. The old man dies, and the husbands take their wives back home to Europe. Julio lives a carefree life in Paris, a spoiled rich boy who cares only for painting pretty ladies, giving tango lessons, and having an affair with a married woman, Marguerite Laurier (Terry). This happy life is interrupted by the assassination of an Austrian archduke and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the outbreak of war]].