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.
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.