The Sheik (1921)

Director:

George Melford

Writers:

Edith Maude Hull (novel)
Monte M. Katterjohn

Release Date:

20 November 1921 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Tagline:

A photoplay of tempestuous love between a madcap English beauty and a bronzed Arab chief!

Plot:

A charming Arabian sheik becomes infatuated with an adventurous, modern-thinking Englishwoman and abducts her to his home in the Saharan desert.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Sheik | Bandit | Rescue | Arabian

Cast

Rudolph Valentino	...	Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan
Agnes Ayres	...	Lady Diana Mayo
Ruth Miller	...	Zilahl (a marriage market prospect)
George Waggner	...	Yousaef (tribal chieftain) (as George Waggener)
Frank Butler	...	Sir Aubrey Mayo
Charles Brinley	...	Mustapha Ali (Diana's guide) (as Charles Brindley)
Lucien Littlefield	...	Gaston (French valet)
Adolphe Menjou	...	Raoul de Saint Hubert
Walter Long	...	Omair (the bandit)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sally Blane	...	Arab Child (uncredited)
Earl Gordon Bostwick	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Natacha Rambova	...	Extra (uncredited)
Loretta Young	...	Arab Child (uncredited)
Polly Ann Young	...	Arab Child (uncredited)

Directed by
George Melford

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Edith Maude Hull		novel (as Edith M. Hull)
Monte M. Katterjohn

Cinematography by
William Marshall

Makeup Department
George Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Buddy Roosevelt	....	stunts

Other crew
Jesse L. Lasky	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as Famous Players Lasky Corporation)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1921) (USA) (theatrical)
• Bach Films (2009) (France) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Passport Video (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Stokey Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

80 min (22 fps)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Finland:S (1938) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Guadalupe Sand Dunes, Santa Barbara County, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Was partial inspiration for the naming of Hollywood High School's sports teams as "The Sheiks", a name which persists to this day (2008).

Quotes:

Lady Diane:Why - why have you brought me here?
Ahmed:Mon Dieu, are you not woman enough to know?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in They Might Be Giants (1971)

Fun in Valentino's desert

Lawrence loved Arabia and Meryl Streep fell for Africa, but Diana, the leading lady of "The Sheik," resists the desert with all her might. She reacts badly to Valentino at first, prefers to consort with Europeans, and threatens Arabs with a pistol she can barely shoot. As in every Hollywood romance, however, her heart eventually melts. Maybe this was an unexpected plot twist in 1921.

"The Sheik," will open the eyes of anybody who mistakenly believes that human history has been a steady march of ever increasing open-mindedness about sex. The 1920s were a more open, steamy time in film that the next couple of decades that followed it, which the "The Sheik" non-prudish storyline illustrates.

"The Sheik" is not quite exhilarating enough and is somewhat disappointing if you're looking for exotic passion or a home video for date night. But it succeeds as an early romantic comedy, and distinguishes itself from other silent era fare such as the mawkish humor of Chaplain, the historical bombast of "Birth of a Nation," and the serious reverence of "King of Kings." For romance between appealing leads in locations far from civilization as we know it, "Son of the Sheik" or even "Stagecoach" fifteen years later are better bets. Still, "The Sheik" is historically important and more fun than most films of the time.