Vilma Bánky

Delicately beautiful star of European silent films brought to the United States by Sam Goldwyn in 1925 and publicized as 'The Hungarian Rhapsody'. Banky enjoyed immediate success opposite Rudolph Valentino in Clarence Brown's "The Eagle" (1925) and "The Son of the Sheik" (1926), the latter Valentino's last film. Gary Cooper's long screen career began in a Banky showcase as he attempted "The Winning of Barbara Worth" (1926), but the ethereal star's most notable leading man was Ronald Colman, opposite whom she acted five times during her brief Hollywood heyday. Goldwyn first teamed the duo for the tearjerking "The Dark Angel" (1925), while later co-starring vehicles such as "The Magic Flame" and "The Night of Love" (both 1927) favored rank passion over sentiment.