The Sheik’s Physique is a short that is a little over three minutes with Rudolph Valentino filmed sometime around 1925. It can be found on the special edition DVD of The Sheik/The Son of the Sheik.
I really love this because Valentino seems to be having fun playing up the camera and I’m sure it drove women wild.
It starts out with Valentino driving his car and parking it next to the beach. He gets out and stretches his arms with a big Valentino smile on his face. He’s dressed like a true gentleman. He takes his jacket off and climbs into the back seat of the car and shuts the door.
Next we see Valentino close up through the window. He takes his hat off and then his tie. He then starts to unbutton his shirt and right when he gets to his suspenders… stops. He looks out the window straight at the camera with a mischievous smile on his face that seems to say sorry no peeking. Swoon! Then he pulls the window shade down. Keep in mind this is 1925.
The next we see Valentino, he pulls the window shade up and steps out of the car in his swim attire still dashing as ever.
Valentino walks out onto the beach and sits in the sand looking out over the water. He decides to take a nap. While he’s sleeping someone finds his car parked along the beach and steals it.
Valentino wakes up and looks at his watch and by the look on his face he’s been asleep for a while. He’s obviously discovered his car has been stolen because in the next shot we seem him walking down the road, still in his swim attire with a robe on. He looks to be hot (no pun intended) from walking as he keeps wiping his forehead.
As a car approaches Valentino jumps up and down trying to get the driver to stop. Luckily the saying don’t pick up hitchhikers didn’t apply back then. We see Valentino sitting in the passenger seat of the car riding away and the short ends.
Timeless Hollywood 