Plot Summary for
The Sheik (1921) More at IMDbPro »

Sheik Ahmed (Valentino) desperately desires fiesty British socialite Diana (Ayres), so he abducts her and carries her off to his luxurious desert tent-palace. The free-spirited Diana recoils from his passionate embraces and yearns to be released. Only after being kidnapped by desert bandits does Diana realize how much she has grown to love Ahmed, who comes to her rescue in the nick of time. Written by E. Beck

British Lady Diana Mayo is an independent woman who will have no man tell her what she can or cannot do. She is in Biskra, Algeria where she plans on embarking on a month long trip into the desert by herself with only a guide. In Biskra, a tribal leader, western educated Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan, becomes enthralled with the vision of Lady Diana. With the assistance of her guide, Sheik Ahmed is able to abduct Lady Diana as she embarks on her desert tour. The Sheik brings her to his desert oasis compound, where he is sure she will ultimately fall in love with him as he has with her. Lady Diana is not used to taking orders from anyone, let alone someone who has abducted her, especially as his orders make her feel humiliated, such as wearing Arab garb, and being treated as a subservient Arab woman especially in front of a visiting "western" friend from Paris, Raoul de Saint Hubert. As the Sheik begins to know Lady Diana and upon consultation with Raoul, he begins to trust her to act and be herself without his rules. Slowly, Lady Diana does begin to fall in love with Sheik Ahmed. But acknowledgment of her true feelings may come too late as a rival sheik name Omair may have his own designs on Diana. Written by Huggo

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