The Sheik is a 1921 American silent romantic drama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky, directed by George Melford, starring Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres, and featuring Adolphe Menjou. It was based on the bestselling romance novel of the same name by Edith Maude Hull and was adapted for the screen by Monte M. Katterjohn. The film was a box-office hit and helped propel Valentino to stardom. In the 1926 sequel The Son of the Sheik, Valentino played both the Sheik and his son, while Ayres reprised her role. A third film in the series, She's a Sheik, was produced in 1927 by Paramount and starred Bebe Daniels in a comedic role reversal of the original film. Cast Rudolph Valentino as Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan Agnes Ayres as Lady Diana Mayo Ruth Miller as Zilah, the serving girl George Waggner as Yousaef, a tribal chieftain Frank Butler as Sir Aubrey Mayo, Diana's brother Charles Brinley as Mustapha Ali Lucien Littlefield as Gaston Adolphe Menjou as Raoul de Saint Hubert Walter Long as Omair Loretta Young as Arab child (uncredited) Polly Ann Young (uncredited)
The Sheik is a 1921 American silent romantic drama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky, directed by George Melford, starring Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres, and featuring Adolphe Menjou. It was based on the bestselling romance novel of the same name by Edith Maude Hull and was adapted for the screen by Monte M. Katterjohn. The film was a box-office hit and helped propel Valentino to stardom. In the 1926 sequel The Son of the Sheik, Valentino played both the Sheik and his son, while Ayres reprised her role. A third film in the series, She's a Sheik, was produced in 1927 by Paramount and starred Bebe Daniels in a comedic role reversal of the original film. Cast Rudolph Valentino as Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan Agnes Ayres as Lady Diana Mayo Ruth Miller as Zilah, the serving girl George Waggner as Yousaef, a tribal chieftain Frank Butler as Sir Aubrey Mayo, Diana's brother Charles Brinley as Mustapha Ali Lucien Littlefield as Gaston Adolphe Menjou as Raoul de Saint Hubert Walter Long as Omair Loretta Young as Arab child (uncredited) Polly Ann Young (uncredited)