This was a truly great movie. It had something for everyone, adventure, romance, comedy. I'll start with the comedy. There's this itty bitty guy who's bald and has a beard who steals every scene he's in. He's an adult, but he's really small and really plays it up for laughs. There's plenty of adventure as first one side and then the other battles for possession of Vilma Banky. She's the prettiest woman in the film, so I can understand that. There's adventure right up to just about the last. Rudolph Valentino rescues her from a bandit (the title card says he's a Renegade Frenchman, he and Vilma kiss and it shows the riding off through the desert, in what turned out to be Rudloph Valentino's last film. I hate to say it, but I will. When it comes to looks, Vilma far outshines Agnes Ayers, who played the object of Rudoph Valentino's attention in The Sheik (1921). There's romance, between Rudoph and Vilma. Now, the bandit that Rudolph rescues her from had been promised to her by her father (thanks, Dad!), but her heart loves Rudolph. I've got to give Vilma, a little extra credit. It's not every Hungarian who could pull playing a believable dancer, but she does. What's kind of poignant is that Rudolph Valentino also plays his father and you see him as an older character. Unfortunately, he didn't live near long enough to get old. But like I said in the beginning, there's something for everyone in this film. If you like silent movies, try to give this one a look.
Review of The Son of the Sheik
