Review of The Sheik (1921) by Kevin M. W — 12 Jun 2018

Dark and swarthy, Valentino, playing an Arab, stands over a lily-white British woman that he's kidnapped, leering at her quite literally like a maniac. "What do you want," she asks. "Aren't you woman enough to know," he gloats.

And there's the appeal in a nutshell: will a darkie sully a paragon of virtue? Not to worry though, there's no sex until after it's revealed that he's actually English, actually a white man.

I was only saddened. And they rioted when he died. Sad. Oh, and the film? Eh.