November 13
THE SHEIK DAY

That great romancer of the silver screen, Rudolph Valentino, starred in The Sheik, which was released on this day in 1921. The Sheik firmly established Valentino’s popular reputation as the Great Lover, and his last film, the comical The Son of the Sheik (1926), sealed that title. But the actor never thought of himself as a conqueror of women -- nor as a great actor. He found the Sheik films rather silly. Rudy’s wife, Natacha Rambova responded to her husband’s screen image: “My husband is a great lover of home life.” However, the publication of Valentino’s volume of poetry, Day Dreams (1923), further fueled the public’s imagination and drove fans into bookstores with a vengeance. Rudolph Valentino had plans to make more serious films beginning with an ambitious version of El Cid, to be called The Hooded Falcon. In town for the premiere of The Son of the Sheik, he collapsed in New York on August 15, 1926. Valentino died eight days later from peritonitis -- before he could begin to work on films that would make the public forget his sheikly shenanigans. So the grandiose romantic persona persists, and we remember Rudolph Valentino as the Great Lover, The Sheik. Remember, too, these great films from Valentino: The Conquering Power (1921), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), Beyond the Rocks (1922), Blood and Sand (1922), The Young Rajah (1922), Monsieur Beaucaire (1924), A Sainted Devil (1924), The Eagle (1925), Cobra (1925) and The Son of the Sheik (1926). more on this day Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International No portion of these files may be reproduced without the express, written permission of 440 International Inc.