Old-fashioned, racist, romantic schlock which remains Rudolph Valentino’s best known role and one of the best remembered silent films of them all. Audiences made fun of it even at the time but they also turned up in large numbers. It has a simple, solid story which must have ticked wish fulfilment boxes for many women in the audience; there’s also lots of action, strong production design (palm trees, oasis, dunes, horses galloping over dunes, tents, belly dancing), and a charismatic performance from Valentino, who is very effective.
The heroine is a modern flapper, Diana (Agnes Ayres) who says things like, “Marriage is captivity – the end of independence. I’m content with my life as it is.” On a lark, she goes on a one-month trek through the desert and is kidnapped by Valentino. “I am not accustomed to having my orders disobeyed,” he says. “I am not accustomed to obeying orders,” she says. “That will change”. Etc. etc.
He doesn’t rape her, but he looks as though he wants to and is going to until he sees her praying for it not to happen. Adolphe Menjou rocks up as an old friend of Rudy’s (did Menjou ever look young?) – he persuades the Sheik to let the woman go back to her people. While she’s writing “Ahmed I Love You” in the sand (I’m not kidding) some bad Arabs attack – Menjou and Diana blow some away with their pistols but run out of ammo. She asks Menjou to shoot her so she won’t fall into their hands but before he can he’s shot. She’s taken away to Bad Arab land and the Bad Arab wants to rape her but Rudy saves the day. And the eleventh hour twist… he’s European, not Arab after all, so they can get married! Hooray!
Codswallop, but not un-entertaining. Definitely fascinating.
No comments:
Post a Comment