1 / 8
RUNTIME
Did you know
86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
The Sheik
"A photoplay of tempestuous love between a madcap English beauty and a bronzed Arab chief!"
1921 1h 26m EN
😐
5.9
MID
★5.9TMDB · 63
AdventureDramaRomance
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Sheik Ahmed desperately desires feisty British socialite Diana, so he abducts her and carries her off to his luxurious tent-palace in the desert. The free-spirited Diana recoils from his passionate embraces and yearns to be released. Later, allowed to go into the desert, she escapes and makes her way across the sands...
“A photoplay of tempestuous love between a madcap English beauty and a bronzed Arab chief!”
Cast
Rudolph Valentino
Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan
Agnes Ayres
Lady Diana Mayo
Ruth Miller
Zilah - A Marriage Market Prospect
George Waggner
Yousaef - Tribal Chieftain (as George Waggener)
Frank Butler
Sir Aubrey Mayo
Charles Brinley
Mustapha Ali - Diana's Guide (as Charles Brindley)
Lucien Littlefield
Gaston - French Valet
Adolphe Menjou
Dr. Raoul de St. Hubert
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- George Melford
- Writers
- Monte M. Katterjohn
- Languages
- No Language
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
ERA
Did you know
105 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
CINEMA
Did you know
Part of the "The Sheik Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by George Melford, shot by William Marshall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres and Ruth Miller carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "A photoplay of tempestuous love between a madcap English beauty and a bronzed Arab chief!".
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0012675 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
George Melford directs. William Marshall behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
- 2105 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 3Part of the "The Sheik Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
- 4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
- 5Directed by George Melford, shot by William Marshall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 6Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres and Ruth Miller carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "A photoplay of tempestuous love between a madcap English beauty and a bronzed Arab chief!".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0012675 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Only 63 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- William Marshall
- Runtime
- 86 min · 1h 26m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- NR
- IMDB
- The Sheik (1921)
Part of
The Sheik Collection
The successful series of films starring Rudolph Valentino.
Also by
George Melford
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- CinemaSerf★ 6/10
I was actually quite disappointed with this film. It has all the ingredients, all right, but somehow it just doesn't rise! Agnes Ayres is the feisty, determined "Lady Diana Mayo", a non-nonsense British aristocrat who visits Algeria where she meets the eponymous "Sheik Ahmed". She isn't much bothered about him, either way, but he falls hook, line and sinker and secrets her away to his oasis home. She rejects his, to be fair, rather kindly and indulgent advances and wants no truck with his desert ways and traditions (and, in her mind, the humiliation of being his chattel, however well intentioned he may have been). In the best traditions of an Hollywood love story, though, you can guess how their relationship eventually pans out - and when the bandit "Omair" (Walter Long) does some kidnapping of his own, the scene is set for an action-packed (albeit brief) denouement. It is definitely a film that, now in it's centenary year, has a beauty to it. The cinematography is almost perfect and the impact of the photography - especially of Valentino, who does way more flirting with the audience than Ayres does - is spellbinding. The flaw? Well, the story really does plod along. The sands of the desert took as long to form as the plot; and after a while beautiful people and horses need a purpose - and, in my view, it's all too late in coming. It took over $3m at the box office, a phenomenal sum for 1921, and that is partly testament to the star and the topic, but I wonder how many other people it disappointed at the time, too...
Production companies
Who made it
Paramount Pictures
US
- FA
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
US
Key crew
- NovelEdith Maude Hull
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- silent film
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1921-11-20NR
Also known as
International titles
- El caídES
