lugonian
THE SHEIK (Paramount, 1921), directed by George Melford, taken from the source material of Edith Maude Hull's daring novel, stars silent screen legend Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926) in one of his most acclaimed performances. Following the great success of THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (Metro, 1921), it was his role of Ahmed Ben Hassan that elevated Valentino's status to popular leading man. Cast opposite Agnes Ayres, a name virtually forgotten among popular silent film stars, this is one for which she's best known solely due to the presence of Valentino, if not much else.Starting off with a proverb (credited to Oliver Wendall Holmes), "Mohammed's land - where saint and sinner chant as one, their praise to Allah - bowing low beneath a desert sun" and subsequent inter-titles, "Allah is Allah - there is no God but Allah," before the story gets underway with the introduction of Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino) a rich tribal prince "whose shoulders has fallen the heritage of leadership," choosing a maiden at the marriage market. Choosing Zilah (Ruth Miller), he returns her to Yousef (Charles Wagener), a tribal chieftain who loves her. Also there is an observant tourist, Diana Mayo (Agnes Ayres), an "orphaned daughter of an English poet," whose free spirited ways has her both refusing a marriage proposal from a young man ("marriage is captivity" she says), and going against the wishes of her brother, Sir Aubrey (Frank R. Butler), in favor of traveling through the Sahara desert alone with camel riding Arabs headed by Mustapha Ali (Charles Brindley), a tour guide. In Biskra, "gateway to the desert, city of adventure" Diana is insulted when refused admittance into a casino ("The Monte Carlo of the Sahara") that is, under Ben Hassan's rule, reserved only for Arabs. In protest, Diana enters, disguised as one of the slave girls. With her revealed white hands giving her away, Hassan escorts the phony slave girl out. Learning about her travels through the desert the following morning, Hassan abducts Diana against her will, keeping her captive in his palace tent. Unable to break away through the violent sand storm, she does make her escape from his camp only to be rescued by Hassan in time from the abduction by Omair (Walter Long) and his bandits. Learning that Raoul DeSaint Hubert (Adolphe Menjou), a famous French novelist and close friend of Hassan, is coming for a visit, Diana, fearing the humiliation of meeting "a man from her own world" to see her as the sheik's prisoner, is forced to act proper during his stay. It is Hubert who insists on Diana's freedom and return to Biskra. As Hassan agrees on releasing her, he discovers Diana gone, abducted by the rival tribe.At first glance, THE SHEIK gives the impression of being a throwback from the Theda Bara era from the 1910s, ranging from Agnes Ayres overactive emotions to Valentino's suggestive eye gestures. After repeated viewing, it becomes acceptable in that manner, especially how everything comes together through its primitive acting style. Not exactly "The Sheik of Araby," Valentino's Sheik is educated, having acquired lasting friendship between Gaston, his valet (Lucien Littlefield) and noted poet (Adolphe Menjou) during his stay in Paris. His Hassan sings the Stephen Foster song, "Beautiful Dreamer" whenever happy and is seen smoking cigarettes in the process. For his cultural background perspective, he usually gets what he wants, especially the woman of his choice. The big moment occurs when he abducts one outside his race, the liberated English Diana who addresses him as a "desert savage bandit." This scene alone is one of its true highlights, especially for 1921. For those familiar with Adolphe Menjou (1890-1963), and his countless roles during the sound era, it's interesting finding him in a silent movie so early in his career. Very thin with unmistakable mustache trademark, he's almost unrecognizable through his advanced aging process with slightly white hair and heavy makeup over his eyelids.As popular as THE SHEIK was back in the day, there never was a remake, only a sequel titled THE SON OF THE SHEIK (United Artists, 1926) that not only marked the turning point in Valentino's career, in a dual role of both father and son, but his final screen performance as well, having died shortly after its theatrical premiere. Had THE SHEIK been put under consideration as a remake in the 1930s, no doubt that Ricardo Cortez, who bears a near striking resemblance to Valentino, might have inherited the role, with my take on Kay Francis playing Diana Mayo. As legend has it, there's only one sheik, and that's Valentino. Interestingly, while THE SON OF THE SHEIK did have more exposure than its predecessor, ranging from television broadcasts and home video, THE SHEIK finally turned up on cable television's American Movie Classics where it frequently aired from 1990 to 1999. Former AMC host once commented during its April 9, 1990 premiere presentation of THE SHEIK as being the station's first silent film broadcast.With several video distributions of THE SHEIK, two 1999 releases are worth noting: one from Paramount home video with the orchestral and chanting score by Roger Bellon, and other from Gravevine Video with agreeable piano scoring. The Paramount edition with Bellon score is most commonly available, and one used for both AMC and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: July 5, 2011) broadcasts. On a personal level, Grapevine's piano scoring is appropriate and much more agreeable. Although no piano score credit is given, it's quite reminiscent to William Perry's style from his Killiam Collection in public television's "The Silent Years" series of the 1970s.As silent movies go, THE SHEIK is actually quite entertaining. In other words, "campy" with unintentional humor, and one not to be taken seriously. How the story and Valentino's performance appeals to contemporary audiences simply "rests with Allah." (***)
loza-1
I agree with most of the other reviewers here on most of their points except one. The one point is that the plot of the film is of its time. In fact, the plot of the 1985 film "Harem" with Ben Kingsley and Nastassja Kinski, and "The Sheik are almost identical. If "Harem" were a better-known film, there would be no need for sleeping pills, and shares in Glaxo-Smith-Kline would nosedive as a result."The Sheik", however kitsch its plot seems to be, is very well done. I agree that Valentino's popeyes look ridiculous, and kind of spoil the film. There is nothing challenging about his role, though he lives up to his image. Agnes Ayres's character, Diana, is a much meatier role. I admit that she went over my head on first viewing. On subsequent viewings, I got to appreciate her acting more, and I figuratively award her full marks. At the beginning of the film she is an independent woman, but it is all a facade, and a very thin one at that. After her capture this facade vanishes along with her gunbelt and pith helmet before the eyes of Valentino, and we see her "naked", even though she is dressed. I found that scene very powerfully done.Although the film more or less follows Edith Winstanley's novel as closely as public outrage would allow it to, I could not help feeling that Patsy Ruth Miller's character was left withering on the vine and should have been developed more. Making her a schemer instead of a bowed-head menial who has had the stuffing knocked out of her sometime in the past was a waste, I thought. On the credit side, Adolphe Menjou was great as the father figure. And Omair is a very Arabian Arab heavy.Some of the trite stuff written about this film is best ignored. For instance, they say that men hate this film or find it funny, and women love it. I'm male and I'm straight and I like this film. I agree it is not Valentino's best film objectively speaking, and it is perhaps not his best piece of acting...and, yet, there is something special about this film, something magical, something that I can't put my finger on - maybe the chemistry between the players. Maybe everyone on the set sensed that this film was going to shake filmdom to its foundations. Because of this certain "something", I will give it 10 out of 10 in spite of its flaws, because I knew when I was watching this film that I was watching something magical.It would be wrong to say that they don't make films like this anymore. "Harem" refutes that. They do make films like this anymore, but they're just not in the same league.
pocca
This is the sort of film that many viewers are made to feel sheepish about enjoying. Studies of Rudolph Valentino always take pains to point out that this is not a particularly strong film, and it must be said that Valentino as Sheik Ahmed does not do his best work here—for the first part of the film he uses very exaggerated facial expressions derived from pantomime that, as flamboyant on screen as he could be, he seldom used before or since. (I suspect that neither he nor the director George Melford expected The Sheik to become the sleeper hit it did—it was a routine studio picture based on a bestselling bodice ripper—and that Valentino was hamming it up.) And there is no denying that the story is very melodramatic, even kitschy. Yet, when all is said and done, I found this to be an engaging, well paced film from beginning to end (it may be campy, but it's never boring) and Valentino with his dark piercing eyes and clad in Hollwood's version of flowing Middle Eastern robes is very charismatic once he drops the mannered grimacing. Ahmed's kidnapping and (possible) rape of Lady Diana are of course politically incorrect today, but going by comments I've read and heard these scenes still get a considerable number of women hot and bothered (women whom I'm sure have no problem distinguishing an on screen fantasy from the horrors of an actual assault). A modern audience, quite understandably, is also apt to be uncomfortable at the presentation of Arab men as hot blooded ravishers (as Ahmed points out to the French writer Raoul St. Hubert "when an Arab sees a woman he likes, he takes her"), but as stereotypes go it is very dated: considering that these days Arabs are more likely to be caricatured as sexually puritanical terrorists, the hyper-passionate Ahmed is positively quaint. Agnes Ayres may not be the most celebrated actress of the silent era, but she's certainly adequate here and her soft, rounded look give her the vulnerability this role requires.A must see for Valentino fans (for better or worse this was his signature role), and probably fun for other viewers too.
