More contemporary 8x10 in. US single-weight glossy copy photograph (not a vintage original photo printed at the time it was taken) 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 dramatic interior shot inside the desert oasis of Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino) as his captive, Lady Diana Mayo (Agnes Ayres), tries desperately to fight-off his unwanted advances. This "full bleed" photograph, which may have been printed in the 1980's, was printed without any outer borders and is in very fine+ condition without any pinholes, tears, stains, or other flaws.
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).
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