THE SHEIK (1921) Rudolph Valentino as Sheik and 50 similar items

Vintage original 8x10 in. US single-weight glossy photograph from the classic silent film drama/romance, THE SHEIK, released in 1921 by Paramount Pictures and directed by George Melford. Rudolph Valentino receives second billing (beneath Agnes Ayres) as a charming Arabian Sheik who becomes infatuated with an adventuress, modern-thinking Englishwoman and abducts her to him home in the Saharan Desert. The image features a great exterior long of the handsome Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino) standing outside the entrance to his desert oasis as three women sit quietly nearby. His tent is ornately decorated with a symbol of a crescent moon and a star in the top right corner and he is wearing the most recognizable costume from the film. Printed on single-weight stock with a glossy finish for the film's original 1921 US theatrical release, it is in fine- condition with a 1 in. diagonal chip on the bottom right corner; a tiny chip on the bottom of the left border; some smudges and foxing in the right border; and two 2 in. diagonal creases on the top right corner that go into the background area. The image quality is razor-sharp with fine detail and beautiful rich contrast. Provenance: The Chicago Valentino Memorabilia Club. The Sheik is the film that catapulted Rudolph Valentino to silent film super-stardom and also coined an expression to refer to a man who was popular with the ladies (as numerous silent films referred to male characters as a "sheik." There was even a silent film starring Bebe Daniels entitled She's a Sheik).