The Son of the Sheik (1926)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

George Fitzmaurice

Writers:

Edith Maude Hull (novel)
Frances Marion (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

5 September 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

"An eye for an eye-a hate for a hate-that my girl, is the law of the tribe."

Plot:

Men and women, fathers and children. Ahmed, son of Diana and Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan, falls in love with Yasmin...

Plot Keywords:

Flower Pot | Falling Chandelier | Banana Skin | Kidnapping | Gambling

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Rudolph Valentino	...	Ahmed, the Sheik's Son / Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan
Vilma Bánky	...	Yasmin, André's Daughter (as Vilma Banky)
George Fawcett	...	André Romez
Montagu Love	...	Ghabah (as Montague Love)
Karl Dane	...	Ramadan
Bull Montana	...	Ali - a Mountebank
Bynunsky Hyman	...	Pincher - a Mountebank (as Binunsky Hyman)
Agnes Ayres	...	Diana - Wife of the Sheik

Runtime:

68 min (1969 alternate version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Approved (1937 re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Buttercup Dunes, Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Feature Productions

Trivia:

Rudolph Valentino personally picked Vilma Bánky as his leading lady for this film, which would be his last.

Quotes:

Dancing Girl: I am tired... yet I must dance!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Deligianneion Parthenagogeion: (#1.1)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

My One Arabian Night

Way to Go, Rudy

In sands "Not East of Suez -- but South of Algiers," handsome Rudolph Valentino (as Ahmed) and beautiful dancing girl Vilma Bánky (as Yasmin) fall in love. Mr. Valentino learns that Ms. Bánky must dances for coins, which her wicked father George Fawcett (as André) gambles away. Mr. Fawcett and Montagu Love (as Ghabah) are part of a band of renegade thieves. Valentino wants Bánky for his own, but Fawcett isn't about to part with the goose that brings in the golden coins. Valentino is kidnapped, strung up, whipped, and held for ransom. Turns out, he's "The Son of the Sheik"…

Valentino is freed, with a lot of help from his friend Karl Dane (as Ramadan). Valentino thinks Bánky betrayed their love; and, he vengefully abducts her. Meanwhile, Ahmed's father Rudolph Valentino (in a dual role, as the original Sheik) and mother Agnes Ayres (as Diana) are preparing an arranged wedding for the younger Valentino. Father and son clash, over love and lust…

An indelible, essential film, "Son of the Sheik" finds Valentino at the top of his profession. George Fitzmaurice (direction), George Barnes (photography), William Cameron Menzies (sets), and George Marion Jr. (title cards) are all outstanding. Bánky and the supporting cast are excellent. The filmmakers create a rich, dreamy, and imaginary world; note how the opening "title card" refuses to be precise. This goes even further than the original "The Sheik" (1921) ********* in establishing the films as something incompatible with reality; of course, both films suffer when taken without a grain of sand.

Valentino's characterizations are startlingly well-crafted; no doubt, many original film goers missed the nuances present in the younger Ahmed, and would not have even guessed, unless alerted, Valentino was also portraying the older Sheik. The "split screen" appearance of the two Valentinos is technically brilliant; and, even with make-up, Valentino's portrayal of the older Sheik shows an extraordinary range. In fact, Valentino could have essayed a double career as a dashing older man. Had he lived, Valentino might have been awarded his own best acting "Medal of Honor" for his performance, which was at least equal to John Barrymore's 1925 win, for "Beau Brummell".