The Son of the Sheik

George Fitzmaurice, United Artists, 1926. Rudolph Valentino plays both Ahmed, the son, and the older sheik from the 1921 hit. Vilma Bánky is Yasmin, a dancing girl he thinks betrayed him. Frances Marion on the script, from E.M. Hull. Shot in part at Guadalupe dunes, the same sand DeMille had used. It opened after Valentino’s death in August 1926 and became the farewell the studios could sell. He had wanted a lighter picture than The Sheik. Sixty-nine minutes. The double role is a trick and a career closing its own loop.