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Book Cover
Streaming video

Title The son of the Sheik
Published [San Francisco, California, USA] : Kanopy Streaming, 2014

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Description 1 online resource (1 video file, approximately 69 min.)
Summary Rudolph Valentino is one of a half-dozen names from the silent era that nearly everyone recognizes. The image of Valentino as a bullfighter or a desert sheik is one that readily comes to mind when the general public thinks of silent film. But why is this matinee idol, all flashing eyes and pearl-white teeth, one of the silent era's most enduring stars? A viewing of his final film, The son of the Sheik, will readily reveal the charisma of Rudolph Valentino, that held women captive and made men jealous. The Son of the Sheik features a better-structured and more-pleasing story than the original 1921 film. It is more romantic and features several good action sequences. However, it is, ultimately, what it is: a Rudolph Valentino romance vehicle. The film is probably not that important, beyond the presence of Valentino, in the grand scale of the silent era, but it remains a pleasing film and rises above the usual fare of the time. Hungarian-born actress Vilma Banky does a good job as Valentino's love interest, the street dancer Yasmin. Agnes Ayres here reprises her 1921 role. Interestingly, character actor Karl Dane has nearly as many close-ups as Valentino. Even technically, the film stands out. The split-frame cinematography that allows Rudolph Valentino to play both the sheik and his son is excellent and shows no sign of frame jitters between the two exposures
Notes Title from title frames
Event Originally produced by Film Preservation Society in 1926
Subject Silent films.
Romance films.
Action and adventure films.
Action and adventure films.
Romance films.
Silent films.
Form Streaming video
Author Valentino, Rudoph, 1895-1926, actor
Ayres, Agnes, 1896-1940, actor.
Dane, Karl, 1886-1934, actor.
Banky, Vilma, 1898-1991, actor.