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The Son of the Sheik (1926)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 6/24

6/24: The Son of the Sheik is the final film of Rudolph Valentino's career before passing away unexpectedly at age 31.

What happened is that Rudolph Valentino toured too much to promote the film and that he collapsed afterwards, leading to the discovery of perforated ulcer which required emergency surgery. As a result, he developed a fatal case of peritonitis.

It's too bad. Rudolph Valentino's stardom was on the wane for some years, and The Son of the Sheik was his desperate attempt to get back to the limelight with the need to pay off his heavy debts. Honestly, I didn't like The Sheik, but I must say this one is much better. Although boring, it has more action and a faster pace. Rudolph Valentino obviously looks like a sex symbol when he was hardly that in the other film. The biggest difference is he stopped lifting his forehead up and down to reveal the whitness of his eyes on the top.

Also, this is the earliest film I've ever seen when it comes to two characters who are played by one actor on the same screen. Thus, it's an impressive job by Rudolph Valentino. I only needed to take a look at the eyes of the father to know the difference. They must have cut the separate reels into half and put them together side by side. It's true that Rudolph Valentino wasn't a fan of playing the Sheik, but clearly this time, he put in the effort to create a good show.

All in all, The Sheik may be Rudolph Valentino's most famous film, but he's a lot more defining in The Son of the Sheik.

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