Stolen Moments (
1920) is a
silent movie starring
Rudolph Valentino and
Marguerite Namara. It was released in December 1920, just a few months before Valentino was elevated to stardom by his performance in
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (released
6 March 1921). In fact, filming of
Stolen Moments was expedited so that Valentino could make it to
Hollywood before filming began on
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Valentino plays José Dalmarez, a Brazilian author who is also popular with readers in the United States.
In the opening scene, young Vera Blaine (Marguerite Namara) is walking through a park in Florida when she encounters Dalmarez. He gives her his photo, the back of which has a love poem. Enchanted, Vera later gives José a book that's similarly inscribed. José tells her he has to return to Brazil and invites her to accompany him. Excitedly, Vera reveals that she'll take her mother's wedding ring for the ceremony, but José clarifies that he was only inviting her to be his travel companion, not his wife.
Dalmarez proceeds to Brazil without Vera. In Brazil, he woos Inez Salles (Aileen Pringle, billed as Aileen Savage), the young daughter of a government official. Inez's protective brother, Alvarez, spies José and Inez kissing on a park bench; a fight ensues between the two men.
