Valentino took advantage of the gesture of kissing ladies' hands on screen and in The True Rudolph Valentino by Baltasar Cué, Cué referenced eye-witnesses who spotted Valentino a few days before he fell fatally ill in New York, walking down Broadway with his lips pressed on the hands of his first wife Jean Acker. And the discussions have been had about exactly what was up with that. Had they reconciled, was he just being ardent, maybe she smelled good and she was, of course, still young and beautiful.
I did a little checking to learn the custom of kissing a woman's hand originated in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Spanish and French courts of the 17th and 18th century. It was considered a respectful way to greet a lady and was a gesture of courtesy. It was considered rude to refuse an offer of a lady's hand.
Renato tells me the Italian protocol about hand kissing was as follows. It was acceptable for a man to kiss the hand of a married lady but if the woman was not married the men had to kiss the air above the hand and not actually touch it with their lips.
I am not sure young Rudolph grasped that fine point because it was something he did so freely and naturally. I can not imagine there was one instance in real life when a woman rebuffed his kisses on their hands. It only happened in the movies. (see below).
Elegant gesture of respect or somewhat violating?
What a quandary.
Some visuals for your consideration:
And a classic rebuff...only in the movies:
