Review of The Barbarian (1933) by Antonius B — 21 Dec 2016

Old fashioned even for it's time, this film that recycles the old Valentino silent film formula of arabs basically kidnaping and forcing themselves upon western women who then later fall in love with their rapists/captors.

Wannabe Valentino Ramon Novarro plays the arab and Myrna Loy plays the western tourist visiting Egypt (though it is made clear Loy's mother was Egyptian, so the audience doesn't have to feel too uncomfortable with an on-screen interracial couple).

Besides the obvious offensiveness of the story, the film does feature the great Myrna Loy before she broke out as a star, which is more than enough to make this film worth checking out, especially since this is the pre-code era film where Loy bathes in the nude and probably has more risqué scenes than any other of her films.

Pretty weak stuff.