Der Sohn des Scheik

This desert epic was filmed in 1956, but wasn't released until two years later. The producers obviously put some money into this, as evinced by some of the epic-style footage, exotic locales, large numbers of extras and horses, costumes, etc. However, the film on a whole fails to hit the mark, showing to disadvantage in black-and-white, even though it was filmed originally in color. Like most drive-in prints, the film is only available in black-and-white, and Italy is no help in unearthing a color version. Riccardo Montalban plays well, but the beautiful Carmen Sevilla steals the program, as she secretly woos Montalban under the nose of her tyrannical father (played by Gino Cervi). Cervi acted suitably in low-budget, as well as high budget, adventure tales, but seemed to avoid the former, this one being an exception. As for the music, Sevilla sings a song entitled 'Destiny,' but the rest of the score is a tawdry re-hash which becomes repetitive after awhile. Fernando Cerchio was responsible for putting the finishing touches on this film, and perhaps for doing most of the directing as well. Overall it is a decent film, which enjoys an occasional second or third viewing.