Silent Sundays: Blood and Sand (1922)

“To the Spaniard, the love of the bull-fight is inborn. A heritage of barbarism- its heroes embody the bravery of old knight.”

Juan Gallardo (Rudolph Valentino) always wanted to be a bull fighter. When he was young he and his friends would go off to another town to participate in amateur bull fights. Juan’s friend is killed by a bull. Juan goes back into the small arena and kills the bull without any fear. 

Soon after that fight, Juan’s notoriety spreads and people flock to see him in fights. The only person who does not like seeing Juan fight is his mother. She would rather see him settle in their town to life as a shoemaker. His mother has a change of heart when she hears the people in the arena shout his name after he kills a bull. 

Juan settles into married life with his former childhood friend Carmen. His becomes successful and adored all over Spain. But he has also become very superstitious about his life and fears his end maybe near. 

Attending one of Juan’s fights is a woman named Dona Sol (Nita Naldi). She is well known as a collector of men. She has seduced men all over Europe from diplomats to kings. Dona tries her hardest to flirt with Juan but he does not reciprocate. He has no intention of seeing Dona again until he is invited to a party and he must attend because of her high social standing and her patronage. After the guests leave the party he is left alone with Dona. He succumbs to her beauty. From that moment on he is tortured with his feelings for his wife and for Dona. He tries to tell Dona he does not want to see her anymore but his feelings of love and hate are too strong for him. 

Juan arrives in another town for a fight. Dona follows him and claims that her car is broke down and must stay with him until the car is fixed. Juan is not comfortable with her there at all. The next day his wife comes to the house. Dona’s plan has worked in making Carmen jealous. Juan begs Carmen to believe him when he tells her what has happened. 

At the fight Juan is distracted by someone in the crows. He cannot shake himself off with everything that has happened between his wife and Dona and also the bad omens that surround the temptress. He does stab the bull in time and he is hit in the stomach with the bull’s horn. Juan is brought to a bed. His last words are to Carmen to forgive him and that he loves her. 

Blood and Sand was quite boring. I think I was waiting for Valentino to be the world’s greatest lover and man whore like he usually in his films and he was the nice superstitious guy. This time it was Nita Naldi looking to tempt Valentino. There are better Valentino films than Blood and Sand. Go and find one of those instead. 

Silent Sundays: The Sheik (1921)

“Marriage is captivity- the end of independence. I am content with my life as it is.”

            Marriage is not something I think about. Hell, I do not even have a boyfriend why on earth would I even want to think of marriage! I guess because I have never really been in a serious relationship I kind of feel the same the character who spoke the quote above. But the poor character actually became a captive in a “marriage” she could and would never see herself wanting to or even seeing herself live through. She was taken away by The Sheik.

            The Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino), the leader of a desert tribe, can have his pick of any woman his heart desires. He was unlucky in a latest parade of women. The one he desired was already deeply in love with another man who pleaded with the Sheik to let him have his love. Ahmed did not want to see any of them unhappy so he let the couple stay together.

            Lady Diana Mays is a reckless young Englishwoman. She is holding a farewell party for her friends before she is to head off into the desert with only Arab guides with her. Her solo adventure is all anyone can gossip about in the city. Ahmed comes into the city to entertain Arabs only at the casino. Diana is told that Ahmed is a wealthy tribal prince. She wants to meet him so she has her mad get her a dancer’s costume and sneaks into the party. Ahmed figures Diana out at the party and uncovers her from veil. She tells him she wanted to see the savage who bans her from the casino. He leads her to the door. At the door one of Ahmed’s men tells him that he is to take Diana out into the desert the following day.

            During the nigh Ahmed sneaks into Diana’s room and looks at her things. Diana wakes up feeling a presence in her room. She walks to the balcony that Ahmed has just climbed down and not knowing Ahmed is the one singing listens to him.

            While out in the desert Ahmed and his army storm Diana. He chases her and puts her on his horse when he catches up to her. He takes her back to his tribe. Both Sheik and lady are used to getting what they want and neither are giving into the other’s demands. Ahmed wants to marry her while she wants to go back to the city. That night Diana tries to runaway in a ferocious sand storm. Ahmed manages to catch her and tells her that she would not last an hour out in the storm. Diana replies that she would rather die than stay with him.

            Diana has been with Ahmed for a week when he tells her he is having his old school friend from Paris come to visit him. She is embarrassed that she is to meet someone from her class in the Arab clothes Ahmed has her dressed in and begs for her own clothes. Raoul (Adolphe Menjou), Ahmed’s friend, is upset with him for treating a white woman the way he has been as if he were a savage. Raoul is on Diana’s side and wants to try to help her get back to the city to her people. Ahmed becomes worried about spies from another tribe who may want to steal Diana. He agrees with Raoul that Diana must return to her people so harm will come to her. Diana and Raoul are sitting in the desert waiting to leave. She writes in the sand “Ahmed, I love you.” A shot rings out and Raoul is hit. Omar, the man from the other tribe, has sent his bandit to bring Diana to him.

            Ahmed was walking in the direction of where Diana and Raoul had been. He sees Diana’s message and then looks to the side to see his friend. Ahmed gets some of his men together and heads to Omar’s tribe. He gets there just in time as Omar is struggling to have his way with Diana. In the fight Ahmed is hurt. Back at his tent, Ahmed is asleep with Raoul and Diana watching over him. Raoul tells Diana that Ahmed is the son of an English father and a Spanish mother. They had been lost in the desert when their guide abandoned them. The older Sheik took the family in and had Ahmed take his place when he died. This new bit of information now makes it officially alright for Diana to love The Sheik.

            The Sheik was a very slow moving story. The acting was not that bad. In some scenes the actors definitely hammed it up. If you can get passed those hammy scenes the actors were alright. I can definitely why women in the 1920s were crazy about Valentino he was so handsome as an exotic middle eastern man. I was a little on edge with Diana being held captive beyond her will. At least she was a little tough and stood her ground for a bit until she fell in love with Ahmed. The Sheik is one of those silent films that everyone hears about most likely just because Valentino is in it. I say watch the film only if you really like watching silent/classic films or Valentino. It is definitely not mandatory viewing.

 

Silent Sundays: Cobra (1925)

“I dare you to kiss me- then let me go.”

Whenever you hear the name “Valentino” it is associated with a great lover or most often to a man who thinks he is a great lover. The real Valentino, Rudolph Valentino, was the first screen sex symbol. In his film Cobra you can see why he held the title of “The World’s Greatest Lover” and why so many women in the 1920s adored him.

            A man named Manardi want to get money out of Count Rodrigo Torriani (Valentino). Rodrigo has been seeing Manardi’s daughter Rosa. He has a letter Rodrigo wrote her. Manardi goes out looking for Rodrigo. He comes upon an American man named Jack and thinks the American is Rodrigo. Rodrigo comes to the rescue telling Manardi Jack is not the man he is looking for. To thank Jack for his help and to also hide him Rodrigo takes the American back to his family’s ancient home. Jack, an antique broker in New York City, is impressed by the family’s collection and Rodrigo’s knowledge of antiques. Manardi has no idea what Rodrigo looks like. He takes his daughter to the old home. He still wants his money. Rodrigo pays for the letter and the man and his daughter leave. He tells Jack that he tries to behave with women but trouble runs in his family. Jack offers Rodrigo a job in his antique store in New York.

            Rodrigo tries to be on his best behavior as soon as he sees Jack’s secretary Mary. As soon as he sees Mary he begins to flirt with her. While out at a night club a group of men try to fight Rodrigo after he receives a letter to meet one of their girlfriends. The girl is the niece of a woman named Mrs. Palmer who goes to the antique store. The niece’s name is Elsie Van Zile (Nita Naldi). Mrs. Palmer and Elsie come over to Jack’s place for tea. Rodrigo thinks Elsie is a good girl and does not want to mess things up with her. He tells Jack to let Elsie and her aunt know that he is sick so he will not be around her but Jack convinces him to come and makes him promise to be good. Elsie has arrived by herself. The aunt never shows so Elsie wants to leave. Jack takes her home. The next morning Rodrigo gets a telegram from Jack letting him that he and Elsie have gotten married.

            A year goes by. Rodrigo does not really visit Jack and Elsie. Jack says it is because Rodrigo is a bachelor and they are an old married couple. Rodrigo has been very good in that year. He takes Mary home one night and finds happiness for the first time in his life.

            Elsie goes to see Rodrigo at work. She sees him talking to Mary. Elsie tells him she now knows why he does not come around anymore. She warns Mary about Rodrigo. Mary replies that she likes Rodrigo but not in the way he likes her. Rodrigo is gutted when he calls Mary into his office as a friend, she misunderstands him and says she is not that kind of girl. He wants her to forget his past but she cannot.

            After a concert Elsie goes to see Rodrigo. He is not very happy to see her. Elsie has written to him that she is still in love with him. Rodrigo wants nothing to do with her. He tells Elsie that she is like a cobra attacking its prey. They go to a hotel. Rodrigo is furious with himself saying that he is a cad for going this far. When he leaves Elsie she calls another man she knows to come to her room.

            The next day Jack goes to Rodrigo telling him that Elsie was not home the night before when he came home. Rodrigo calls the hotel but he does not hear anything good. He reads in the paper that there was a fire at the hotel and twelve people had died but could not be identified. Rodrigo cannot tell Jack the type of woman his wife had been especially because Jack is headed for a nervous breakdown. Jack eventually goes through Elsie’s things. He finds letters from other men and that she went to the hotel Van Cleve where she died. Jack also finds a letter from Rodrigo refusing her love. Rodrigo bursts out that he was the one who took Elsie to the hotel the night of the fire. Jack is not mad at his friend. Rodrigo says he wants to go away for a while and Jack says he can but to come back.

            After some time Rodrigo returns to New York. He finds Jack is in love with Mary but she is in love with someone else and that someone else is him. He tells Mary that he had a good time in Italy where he met some girls. Mary tells him he has not changed and he replies that he never shall. Rodrigo tells Mary to let Jack know that he will not be back for the rest of the day.

            The film ends with Rodrigo on a ship heading back to Italy.

            I think Valentino is every woman’s fantasy in this film. He starts off as this outrageously gorgeous womanizer and is reformed by true love. What woman does not want a bad boy who reforms for them? Valentino was so handsome he had the perfect movie star looks of a “great lover” yet he looks like he could have been a womanizer in Italy and be a man you might know. He was very good in this film. He showed great emotion and was absolutely charming without seeming to have put any effort into doing so. I can see why he was a sex symbol just from this film. I am looking forward to seeing more of Valentino’s films. It was, for me, interesting to see Gertrude Olmstead because up to this time I have only ever seen her in photographs. She was not too bad but her character really did not have too much to do. Nita Naldi who played Elsie was like a femme fatale.

            Cobra had an interesting story although not completely original even for a 1920s silent film. I like the character of Rodrigo how he was such a womanizer but then changed for love. Alright, call me a sentimental woman if you want but trust me I do not usually fall for the usual sentimental crap like this. I think Rodrigo was a good friend and that he had met a friend and a woman he really cared for and who cared for him so he wanted to be good. Cobra is a good silent film and one of my favorites that I have so far watched. It is available to view in full or in parts on Youtube.