The Sheik (1921) on Netflix
NR19211h 26mAdventureDramaRomance
Lady Diana Mayo, who guards her independence, plans a month-long desert crossing from Biskra with native guides. Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan wants her for himself and has his men seize her.
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- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.2/103,988 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes79%
Trailer
Plot summary
In the North African town of Biskra, Lady Diana Mayo turns down a marriage proposal rather than give up her independence. Against the wishes of her brother Sir Aubrey, she arranges a desert journey of a month with only native escorts. Denied entry to the casino, claimed by a sheik for the evening, she dresses as an Arab dancer and slips in, finding men gambling for wives. When she is picked as the next prize and resists, Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan steps in and sends her away. Mustapha Ali tells him she is the traveler he must guide the following day. The Sheik enters her room while she sleeps and ruins the bullets in her revolver. As she rides out alone, he and his men seize her and bring her to his encampment, where he gives her orders.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Sheik (1921)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Edith Maude Hull's novel sold well partly for its rape and racial miscegenation content, so those aspects were cut from the film; in the book Sheik Ahmed rapes Lady Diana. Director George Melford said the frank scenes were handled so delicately that only the censors would be disappointed.
- James Kirkwood, Sr. was director George Melford's first pick to play Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan, the role that instead went to Rudolph Valentino.
- The film's popularity pushed "sheik" into the language as a term for a young man on the prowl, while the woman he chased was called "a Sheba".
- The song "The Sheik of Araby" was written in response to the film, and the blues string band The Mississippi Sheiks, active in the late '20s and early '30s, took their name from it.
- The Sheik ran for six months in Sydney, Australia, and 42 weeks in a single French theater, and was the first Rudolph Valentino film to be shown in his native Italy.
