"The Son of the Sheik" tragically, turned out to be Rudolph Valentino's final film due to his untimely death just before the film premiered. It is a sequel to the earlier "The Sheik" (1921).Ahmed (Valentino) is the son of a wealthy and powerful sheik (also played by Valentino). He meets a young dancer Yasmin (Vilma Banky) who is the daughter of Frenchman Andre (George Fawcett) the leader of a band of entertainers (and bandits). One of the men is the brutal Ghalbah (Montegue Love) to whom Andre has promised the hand of his daughter.Ahmed and Yasmin are meeting secretly when Ghalbah and his men capture Ahmed, torture him and hold him for ransom. Ghalbah tells Ahmed that Yasmin has betrayed him and that she is part of the plot. Ahmed's trusted servant Ramadan (Karl Dane) rescues him and takes him to a friend's home to recover. Ahmed vows revenge on Yasmin.Later during a skirmish Ahmed abducts Yasmin and takes her to his camp. There, he begins his plans to exact revenge upon the puzzled young woman. There is left little doubt over his method of revenge. The two now apparently despise each other until Ramadan who has just escaped from Ghalbah and his gang, informs Ahmed that Yasmin is innocent of any deceit.Meanwhile back at the castle, the Sheik and his wife Diana (Agnes Ayres) are worried as to why they haven't heard from his son in over a week. The Sheik goes to Ahmed to find out why and learns of his involvement with a lady.Ahmed later goes to the café where Yasmin is dancing with the aim of winning her back. A fight breaks out and.........................This film is arguably Valentino's best work and achieved greater popularity due to the star's death. Valentino's acting had improved noticeably from the earlier film. His portrayal of the elder Sheik is carried off convincingly. The shots of father and son together are masterfully done to the point that you think that there were two different actors in the shot.The dancing of the beautiful Vilma Banky is spectacular and her scenes with Valentino are memorable. Montegue Love was one of the busiest villains of the twenties and doesn't disappoint here. Agnes Ayes, reprising her role from the earlier film, makes the transition to worried mother effortlessly. The swashbuckling scenes are exciting and are well choreographed.One only has to look at this film to see the appeal that Valentino had over the ladies, That burning stare and fetching smile must have made many a girl swoon. It's a pity that he had to die so young. You can only wonder what further heights he would have achieved had he lived.Rudolph Valentino...one of a kind.

It amazes me, that Valentino-as-the-sheik was able to start such a fashion in the 1920s. Watching this sequel of THE SHEIK I keep seeing everything that had already been recycled in the Broadway operetta DESERT SONG - also filmed as an early talkie, shortly after SONG OF THE SHEIK. Valentino far outclasses everyone I've ever seen play "The Red Shadow" - and visually the SON OF THE SHEIK is much better than any DESERT SONG film version (even the later, color one). Considering the intense interest in 'Arab Matters' today, it's sad that no one revives DESERT SONG done Valentino-style. Because even after all those years - his 'hypnotic gaze' in the film remains hypnotic.

THE SON OF THE SHEIK (United Artists, 1926), directed by George Fitzmaurice, reunites the leading players of Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Banky, most recent stars of THE EAGLE (UA, 1925), in what has become one of the most popular films from the silent era, mainly because of it not only being Valentino's final screen performance, but is where the legend of Valentino began. A sequel to his earlier success, THE SHIEK (Paramount, 1921), Valentino's career up to this point consisted of hit and miss stories over the next few years until THE EAGLE not only brought renewed interest in Valentino, but reassured it with THE SON OF THE SHEIK. Since sequels were a rarity during that time, Valentino, as did Douglas Fairbanks with the sequel to his immensely popular, THE MARK OF ZORRO (1920), DON Q, SON OF ZORRO (1925), Valentino reprises his original role as well as portraying his own son, Ahmed. Agnes Ayres, Valentino's leading lady in THE SHEIK, is offered special billing in the opening credits, who also re-enacts her original role as Diana, this time as wife and mother.The story begins with the opening titles that read as to the location, "Not East of Suez, but South of Algiers." Yasmin (Vilma Banky) is the daughter of Andre(George Fawcett), a renegade Frenchman and leader of a group of thieves. She supports them through her dancing publicly. In the marketplace (as recalled by Yasmin via flashback), she meets Ahmed (Valentino), a handsome young sheik, and the two fall in love. After meeting with Yasmin secretly one night, Ahmed is captured by her father's renegades and held captive in a building where he hangs by his tied-up wrists placed on the window bars, and subject to whip torture for not revealing the name of his father and other information. After being freed by his men, Ahmed, believing Yasmin as his betrayer, abducts the girl and subjects her to his methods of torture, with one scene looking at Yasmin with vengeance in his eyes, and (off camera) putting her through the process of rape. It would be his father, Ahmed Ben Hassan (Valentino) who orders him to release the girl. After learning the truth from Ramadan (Karl Dane), Ahmed tries to win back Yasmin, who has returned to the dance hall, and now wants nothing to ever do with him.In many ways, a much more interesting story than its predecessor, and brief to the point at 68 minutes. Aside from the fine chemistry between Valentino and Banky, the supporting villain as played by Montagu Love, along with sandy sets with production designs by William Cameron Menzies, THE SON OF THE SHEIK is Valentino's film from start to finish. And with this film as well does the Vilma Banky name remain legendary. But who knows how far Valentino's screen career would have gone had it not been for his untimely death at the age of 31 shortly following the film's release.THE SON OF THE SHEIK did enjoy frequent theatrical revivals for a number of years, usually on a double bill with THE EAGLE, as well as television showings during the early to mid 1960s. It became one of the selected films shown during the summer months on weekly public television series, "The Silent Years" (1971), hosted by Orson Welles (New York City area, WNET, Channel 13, on July 13, 1971). In spite of its popularity and the legend behind it, what's interesting to note is that while the twelve movies featured on "The Silent Years" did enjoy rebroadcasts up till the mid 1970s, THE SON OF THE SHEIK wasn't included in the reruns. Some years would pass before its availability onto video cassette and/or DVD (Blackhawk and/or Kino), the best being from the Killiam Collection accompanied by a theater organ score by Jack Ward. THE SON OF THE SHEIK, which played as part of its silent film collection on American Movie Classics around 1996, can be currently seen and studied whenever played on Turner Classic Movies. For those interested in the legend of Valentino, THE SON OF THE SHEIK, which provides two Valentinos for the price of one, as well as being an important part in cinema history, is worthy screen entertainment. (***)

This was Valentino's last film, and he is excellent in it, but it is far from being his best film (as many critics claim). Certainly "Camille", "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", "The Eagle" and "The Conquering Power" are much better films. This was designed as a rollicking and sexy adventure film, with large doses of cheap slapstick humour, and on that level succeeds admirably. That famous scene where Valentino ravishes Vilma Banky is extraordinary, and Valentino shows real talent in portraying both the son and the father (he is almost unrecognisable in the latter role). Great split screen work allows the two Valentinos to inter-relate well too.The film makes you wonder what this talented and beautiful man may have achieved had he lived. Would he have made it in talkies? It's hard to believe such charisma would ever fail.