The Son of the Sheik (1926)

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

An action-packed slog

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

"The Son of the Sheik" tragically, turned out to be Rudolph Valentino's final film due to his untimely death just before the film premiered. It is a sequel to the earlier "The Sheik" (1921).Ahmed (Valentino) is the son of a wealthy and powerful sheik (also played by Valentino). He meets a young dancer Yasmin (Vilma Banky) who is the daughter of Frenchman Andre (George Fawcett) the leader of a band of entertainers (and bandits). One of the men is the brutal Ghalbah (Montegue Love) to whom Andre has promised the hand of his daughter.Ahmed and Yasmin are meeting secretly when Ghalbah and his men capture Ahmed, torture him and hold him for ransom. Ghalbah tells Ahmed that Yasmin has betrayed him and that she is part of the plot. Ahmed's trusted servant Ramadan (Karl Dane) rescues him and takes him to a friend's home to recover. Ahmed vows revenge on Yasmin.Later during a skirmish Ahmed abducts Yasmin and takes her to his camp. There, he begins his plans to exact revenge upon the puzzled young woman. There is left little doubt over his method of revenge. The two now apparently despise each other until Ramadan who has just escaped from Ghalbah and his gang, informs Ahmed that Yasmin is innocent of any deceit.Meanwhile back at the castle, the Sheik and his wife Diana (Agnes Ayres) are worried as to why they haven't heard from his son in over a week. The Sheik goes to Ahmed to find out why and learns of his involvement with a lady.Ahmed later goes to the café where Yasmin is dancing with the aim of winning her back. A fight breaks out and.........................This film is arguably Valentino's best work and achieved greater popularity due to the star's death. Valentino's acting had improved noticeably from the earlier film. His portrayal of the elder Sheik is carried off convincingly. The shots of father and son together are masterfully done to the point that you think that there were two different actors in the shot.The dancing of the beautiful Vilma Banky is spectacular and her scenes with Valentino are memorable. Montegue Love was one of the busiest villains of the twenties and doesn't disappoint here. Agnes Ayes, reprising her role from the earlier film, makes the transition to worried mother effortlessly. The swashbuckling scenes are exciting and are well choreographed.One only has to look at this film to see the appeal that Valentino had over the ladies, That burning stare and fetching smile must have made many a girl swoon. It's a pity that he had to die so young. You can only wonder what further heights he would have achieved had he lived.Rudolph Valentino...one of a kind.

this movie is, on the surface, your typical over blown silent film. when it comes to the action its laughable (the sword fights were hilarious to me)but i was somewhat drawn in by Rudolph Valentino's looks and general appeal. it was on last night and i was a bout to go to bed, but my parents were still surfing channels when it comes onto this film. i recognised Valentino the second i saw him and instantly knew the movie. even though i'd never seen suddenly i could go to bed! i just kept staring, this silent movie that played like a comedy to me was drawing me in. suddenly the romance was apparent and i had fallen for Valentino's heroic character. it's not dramatic though. sword fights are hilarious!

It amazes me, that Valentino-as-the-sheik was able to start such a fashion in the 1920s. Watching this sequel of THE SHEIK I keep seeing everything that had already been recycled in the Broadway operetta DESERT SONG - also filmed as an early talkie, shortly after SONG OF THE SHEIK. Valentino far outclasses everyone I've ever seen play "The Red Shadow" - and visually the SON OF THE SHEIK is much better than any DESERT SONG film version (even the later, color one). Considering the intense interest in 'Arab Matters' today, it's sad that no one revives DESERT SONG done Valentino-style. Because even after all those years - his 'hypnotic gaze' in the film remains hypnotic.

If anyone has heard about Valentino and wants to see what all the fuss was about, The Son of the Sheik is an excellent way to do so. Here he is five years past the overacting he exhibited in parts of the earlier installment. To top it off, he plays dual roles: the son and the father. And he does both admirably. The shots of the two characters in the same frame - touching each other, no less - are flawlessly executed. Generally, this is standard melodrama culminating in physical battles between the good guys and the bad guys and a final chase. Along the way we get a lot of exotic set pieces, lavishly furnished desert tents, horses racing across the dunes, smoky cafes in which dancing girls wriggle for tossed coins and a grand palace with spacious rooms and shiny floors. The intimate scenes between Valentino and the beauteous Vilma Banky are more sensuous than those of the previous film. Clips from these scenes will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen Valentino references in documentaries. Agnes Ayres reprises her role from The Sheik as Diana Mayo, now the wife of the older sheik and mother of his son, and she appears to have aged 20 years but is no less attractive. For Valentino, Banky and Ayres alone this is a treat.