Emir Omar (who looks like Alan Steel) is a brutal thug of a leader--stealing any young lady he finds attractive, shaking down local tribes and killing anyone who dares resist, etc. We see about ten-fifteen minutes of his barbarism when Gordon Scott--Kerim, son of the ruler of a small tribe threatened by the Emir AND someone whose sister was captured and killed by him--arrives on the scene to take on the evil Emir and unite the various tribes who have been crushed under his iron heel. Gordon Scott might not be the first actor who comes to mind when casting a middle-eastern role, but he does fine (in full beard) in the role. At first, he wears a full costume and head-dress, but he gradually wears less and less until he is bare-chested, and one remembers why this former Tarzan and peplum star was so popular at the time. Scott, who resembles his friend Steve Reeves in this film, was able to work well in a number of genres--jungle, peplum, costume adventure, western, and spy--and he has the charisma to carry a film on his own. There's a lot of attractive second-unit photography from Egypt, although since the Tigris River is mentioned, one presumes this is set in southern Iraq or Syria. The photography is quite colorful and the set design, while low budget, is complements the color scheme of the landscape. Gordon Mitchell is billed, but he's not much in evidence. I'm guessing that he is playing a mercenary leader who is hired by the Emir to get Scott and his followers, but that character's face is mostly hidden under a scarf and not much face is shown...and in any event the character's role is about four minutes long. It could be Mitchell--I'm not sure (I saw this on a small-screen TV, which didn't help). As a devoted fan of Italian sword and sandal cinema, I found this obscure film to be a pleasant surprise and I would recommend it to any fan of the genre. KERIM--SON OF THE SHEIK is certainly "above average," and it's always nice to see Gordon Scott again. Good luck in finding a copy!
