| Son of the Sheik | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George Fitzmaurice |
| Produced by | John W. Considine, Jr./Feature Productions |
| Written by | Edith Hull (novel) Frances Marion, Fred de Gresac (scenario) |
| Starring | Rudolph Valentino Vilma Bánky Montagu Love Karl Dane George Fawcett |
| Cinematography | George Barnes |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | September 3, 1926 |
| Running time | 68 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
Son of the Sheik is a 1926 silent film produced by United Artists, directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky. It was based on a romance novel by Edith Maude Hull The Sons of the Sheik, a sequel to The Sheik. It was Valentino's final film.
In 2003, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Contents |
Ahmed, the adult son of Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Valentino played both roles) is just as impetuous as his father once was. He is attracted to the dancing girl Yasmin (Banky), who is exploited and overworked by her renegade French father, André Romez (George Fawcett), the leader of a band who entertain when they must, but prefer robbery when the opportunity presents itself.
Yasmin slips away for a tryst at a moonlit ruins, but is spotted and followed by her father and his cutthroats. When Ahmed shows up, he is captured. He is lashed in an attempt to learn his father's name so they can extract a large ransom from him. Ghabah (Montagu Love), who has been promised Yasmin by her father, lies and tells Ahmed that Yasmin lured him into the trap, and that he is merely the latest in a string of her victims. Ahmed is rescued by his loyal servant Ramadan (Karl Dane).
By chance, Ahmed is recovering from his ordeal at a friend's home when the troupe enters the town. Seeking revenge, Ahmed kidnaps Yasmin and takes her back to his encampment. She cannot convince him that she is innocent, and it is strongly implied that she is raped, though the film fades out, leaving what occurs next to the viewers' imagination.
Ahmed's father, angered at his son's absence against his explicit orders, discovers Yasmin's presence and insists that his son set her free regardless of any wrong she may have done him. Ahmed obeys, but rebels when his father announces he has arranged a marriage for him, stating, "My future is my own."
Ahmed orders Ramadan to escort Yasmin back to her people, but the pair are ambushed and Ramadan left tied up in the desert. When Ahmed realizes he still loves the dancing girl, he turns back. When he finds Ramadan, his servant informs him that, based on what he overheard, Yasmin had no involvement in his master's kidnapping. Ahmed impetuously sets out to retrieve his love, accompanied only by Ramadan. When he enters the cafe in which she is dancing, the entire gang attacks him. Fortunately, he is able to hold them off until his father and his men arrive. In the confusion, Ghabah rides off with an unwilling Yasmin. Ahmed chases them down and kills his rival. Yasmin forgives Ahmed and admits she still loves him.
With more humor and action sequences than The Sheik, The Son of the Sheik was better received critically and is sometimes thought to be Valentino's best film. Already doing excellent business during its big city premieres, following Valentino's unexpected death its wide release was rushed to coincide with the funeral, and it became a tremendous hit due to the associated popularity.
The scenes in which Ahmed is flogged and Yasmin is ravished are parodied in the Gene Wilder film The World's Greatest Lover (1977).
Rudolph Valentino and George Fitzmaurice had never made a film together before Son of the Sheik. The two, however, were social friends. Both Valentino and Fitzmaurice had been born and raised in Europe, and they were part of a small colony of European expatriates in the movie business living in Hollywood at the time. Valentino felt that Fitzmaurice, a Frenchman, would understand Ahmed's appeal and logically extend the story from the 1921 film.[1]
Agnes Ayres had all but retired from movies by 1926. She came back, as the last credit title states, "at the special request of Valentino to reprise her role" as Lady Diana, wife of the original Sheik Ahmed and mother of the younger Ahmed in the sequel, both played by Valentino.