The Barbarian

The team of Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy did not strike any sparks at the box office with this throwback film The Barbarian. The property had two silent versions and it was originally entitled The Arab. Novarro and Loy were ships passing in the night on the MGM lot, her on the way up and him on the way down;.

Loy is in Egypt with her stuffy British engineer fiance Reginald Denny. But when Novarro as an ever eager Arab guide insinuates himself in their company. she's gradually drawn to him.

After that it's a throwback to the silent screen when Rudolph Valentino was stealing the hearts of women everywhere. During the Depression era 30s this sort of stuff wasn't going over.

Novarro who had a pleasant singing voice gets to sing the Love Song Of The Nile. And since interracial romance was a big old no-no back in those days a most convenient excuse is provided for the happy couple.

Some similarities for Loy to the role she later played in The Rains Came, a much better film.

I am a big fan of classic films, so I was looking forward to seeing what I thought would be a good screwball comedy. Myrna Loy is a frequent performer in that kind of film. However I didn't find this to be very enjoyable at all. In fact I found it to be insulting. All throughout the film I was hoping it would get better but it gets worse. The biggest insult is how it ends.

I will not spoil the film but I will say that the way the Prince treated Myrna Loy's character is offensive. If you would like details, please read other reviews that contain spoilers.

I give it 3 stars only because the production quality of the film is excellent. It looks like it could have been made in the early 1950s.

I loved this pre-code romance with Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy as it hearkened back to the days of similar stories such as Valentino's Sheik movies.

Ramon has never been sexier than as the Egyptian prince who's moonlighting as something of a cad and a gigolo, but who really only has eyes for Myrna! And Myrna has never looked lovelier than as the high class American who is initially repelled by The Barbarian who abducts her. It's no wonder that she changes her mind in the end when you get a load of her future mother-in-law! The only problem that I had with the story was that the prince abducts Myrna's character which involves her at first being taken against her will, and the trek through the desert seemed to go on forever! This is a finely acted movie with great production values, including gorgeous sets and excellent secondary performances by Reginald Denny as Myrna's fiancé and Louise Hale as Myrna's no nonsense companion! Her tart tongued barbs steal every scene she's in! Ramon has a soft, melodious voice perfectly suited for sound and he gets to sing in several languages! Also look for Myrna in a bathing scene that could only have been done pre-code! Wonderful, escapist pre-code fare!

Pesky Arab conman Jamil (Ramon Navarro) relentlessly pursues Englishwoman Diana (Myrna Loy), who is due to be married.

The Barbarian is bad. How exactly this one got past the drawing board at MGM is beyond me. Novarro is good enough as the titular character, and Loy is her usual dependable self. Good old C. Aubrey Smith is around as well.

The script (co-written by Anita Loos!) is chock-full of bad romantic dialogue. Being an MGM film, the set design and costumes are excellent, but even the MGM glitter can't save it.

About the only reason I recommend watching The Barbarian is that you get to see Myrna Loy taking a bath. First time viewing. 2/5

In Cairo, Jamil El Shehab (Ramon Novarro) is a gigolo-conman working out of the train station. He spots his next target, Diana Standing (Myrna Loy), stepping off the train. Her mother is Egyptian. She is met by her wealthy British fiancé Gerald Hume.

This is pre-Code with Myrna Loy in a skimpy nightgown. One's opinion on this depends on how one takes Jamil. He's a cad and a scoundrel. That could be a romantic lead but Diana needs to be up to the challenge. Myrna Loy has that well within her acting range but the character is written a little soft with a healthy dose of western superiority complex. The portrayal of Arab culture is a bit superficial but I expected much less from that era in Hollywood. The chauvinism is interesting. The oasis drinking scene is both brutal and enlightening. This is taming of the shrew on steroids.