Once I heard someone refer to Ben Turpin as a man who wasn't all that funny but was put in funny situations. Well, this seems right on point with "The Shriek of Araby"...a film with some funny moments though Turpin himself didn't have the same charisma and charm as some of his silent contemporaries. Still, while it's not perfect, the film is entertaining.
When the story begins, Ben is working for a theater advertising the newest hit movie, "The Shiek" with Rudolph Valentino. However, after dressing up in Arabian clothing, Ben falls asleep and dreams he's having some adventures. What all these adventures are, you can see for yourself.
The budget for this film must have been considerable for a comedy in 1923. While it must have been filmed in California, the desert sets and costumes were very nice and Mack Sennett probably borrowed them from some desert drama. Well worth seeing, though the run time for the film was considerably shorter than 50 minutes. Exact run times are hard to determine, as silent films were made at varying speeds (usually about 16-22 frames per secons) but this wouldn't account for over 10 minutes difference. Perhaps IMDB is wrong or a scene or two were shaved off the version I found.
