Son of the Sheik, The (1926)
*** (out of 4)
This sequel to THE SHEIK was released to theaters just eleven days after the death of star Rudolph Valentino so it goes without saying that this earn a lot of money by female fans wanting to see the star one final time. In the film he plays the son to the Sheik of the first film. The son gets into a bit of trouble when he falls in love with a poor dancer (Vilma Banky) only to have her father kidnap and torture him. The father tells the Sheik's son that the daughter was in on the kidnapping but it turns out this wasn't true so the son must make mends with his own father (also played by Valentino) and go get the woman he loves. For a 68-minute film there's quite a bit of plot going on but in the end it's certainly a better film than the original thanks in large part to a lighter tone that allows some humor as well as a lot more action. It's said that Valentino was embarrassed by his image in the first film so perhaps that's why this sequel is so different in terms of tone. In the original film you could accuse the Sheik of being a truly horrid monster but those traits weren't passed down to the son who we see as an all around good guy. The camera certainly soaks up the sexuality with various shots just fixated on the star and I'm sure his female fans appreciated this. The film also benefits from some nice humor from a couple idiots working for the dancer's father. The action scenes this time out are a lot more impressive as we get more fist fights, more sword battles and of course we have Valentino riding to the rescue of his woman and having to save her from the evil father. Valentino turns in a much better performance here than in the previous movie. He's very charming as the son and manages to be funny in his own right but the more impressive performance comes from the older father. There's quite a bit of make up on Valentino when playing the Sheik from the first film but I thought he did a very good job with the anger the character has as well as a small bit of humor when his wife (Agnes Ayres; returning from the first film) reminds him that he was the same way when he was younger. George Fawcett is good as the bad guy and Banky is also very good in her role. Banky and Valentino have a lot of chemistry together and this is extremely apparent early on when the two sneak away to meet under the moonlight. Who knows where Valentino's career would have gone had he not died and we can't even say he would have survived into the sound era. This final film of his has the actor in good form, which is more than a lot of legends can say for their swan songs.
*** (out of 4)
This sequel to THE SHEIK was released to theaters just eleven days after the death of star Rudolph Valentino so it goes without saying that this earn a lot of money by female fans wanting to see the star one final time. In the film he plays the son to the Sheik of the first film. The son gets into a bit of trouble when he falls in love with a poor dancer (Vilma Banky) only to have her father kidnap and torture him. The father tells the Sheik's son that the daughter was in on the kidnapping but it turns out this wasn't true so the son must make mends with his own father (also played by Valentino) and go get the woman he loves. For a 68-minute film there's quite a bit of plot going on but in the end it's certainly a better film than the original thanks in large part to a lighter tone that allows some humor as well as a lot more action. It's said that Valentino was embarrassed by his image in the first film so perhaps that's why this sequel is so different in terms of tone. In the original film you could accuse the Sheik of being a truly horrid monster but those traits weren't passed down to the son who we see as an all around good guy. The camera certainly soaks up the sexuality with various shots just fixated on the star and I'm sure his female fans appreciated this. The film also benefits from some nice humor from a couple idiots working for the dancer's father. The action scenes this time out are a lot more impressive as we get more fist fights, more sword battles and of course we have Valentino riding to the rescue of his woman and having to save her from the evil father. Valentino turns in a much better performance here than in the previous movie. He's very charming as the son and manages to be funny in his own right but the more impressive performance comes from the older father. There's quite a bit of make up on Valentino when playing the Sheik from the first film but I thought he did a very good job with the anger the character has as well as a small bit of humor when his wife (Agnes Ayres; returning from the first film) reminds him that he was the same way when he was younger. George Fawcett is good as the bad guy and Banky is also very good in her role. Banky and Valentino have a lot of chemistry together and this is extremely apparent early on when the two sneak away to meet under the moonlight. Who knows where Valentino's career would have gone had he not died and we can't even say he would have survived into the sound era. This final film of his has the actor in good form, which is more than a lot of legends can say for their swan songs.