Why so much hype?

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Don't listen to the negative reviews

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Let's start with the positives – you have the very beautiful Myrna Loy appearing in a bathtub for goodness sake, a suave Ramon Novarro wooing her with beautiful songs, and an exotic pre-code tale set in Egypt. Where modern viewers will struggle is with the scenes in the desert, where Novarro mistreats and later rapes Loy. What started out as a forbidden romance, albeit with borderline creepiness in Novarro's persistence, becomes cringe-inducing, and I have to say, I also hated the ending. Men forcing themselves on women until they gave in was de rigueur for the time, and the fantasy about Arabs post-Valentino was still strong in America, but the film would have been stronger had it either had Novarro's character been truly honorable ('Barbarian' indeed), or Loy's ultimately capable of resisting him if he wasn't. As it is, one feels conflicted and kind of icky with the message it conveys about both Arabs and women. And yet, Loy and Novarro are both pretty compelling, and make it worth watching. Did I mention Loy appears in a bathtub?

This is one pre-Code movie I will miss should I ever come across it again.****This may contain spoilers**** The reviews seem to be divided between whether Myrna's character (Diana) is British or American. The movie tells us she is half Egyptian.Whatever her nationality, what she endures is much more obvious. Lured to a house under false pretenses by Roman Navarro's character (Jamil), where she is subjected to being whipped (we hear the off screen screams), a whip that Navarro himself hands to Edward Arnold (Pasha), she is "rescued" by her betrayer and bought back. This leads to a trek across the desert with Jamil wistfully repeating "you called for me". Right, Diana called for him rather than her no where to be seen fiancé or the police.Then after a fight with some of Pasha's men sent to bring back Diana, Jamil, the winner of the fight, makes Diana walk across the desert to the oasis.After all of this comes the much debated scene. Jamil grabs her and forcefully kisses her, completely with pulling hair scene. She tries to fight him off. Did he or did he not rape Diana?The movie makes this very plain in the very next scene. A close up of Diana, face tear stained, eyes vacant, she recoils when Jamil talks to her, offers her a cloak to cover herself for the rest of the trek in the desert. He graciously offers to let her ride the horse this time.At his father's camp, Jamil reveals he is a prince and that he adores Diana, even wanting to marry her. She goes so far as to go through the ceremony until it is her turn to drink from the wedding cup. She throws the water in his face and storms out. Humiliated, Jamil grabs a whip and strikes her. A second whipping! Yes, this is love. Then he relents and sends her home.Back with her people, and her fiancé, Diana is getting ready to be married that day. The movie gets in one more subtle hint to what happened to Diana. Her close confident, overcome by emotion at seeing her friend ready to be married responds to Diana's request to be alone by saying "yes, your last moment of virgin solitude" then turns away from Diana suddenly realizing the import of her words indicted by her gasping and whispering "virgin".And at the end of all of this, Diana runs away with Jamil!Another reviewer commented that we shouldn't judge a movie made so long ago by our century's standards. I disagree adamantly. Eighty years or eighty centuries, rape is rape, abuse is abuse.Skip this one and watch one another of Myrna Loy's pre-Code movies such as "Penthouse" or "When Ladies Meet".

Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy get caught up in a torrid romance in one of the last of the pre-code "sheik" films. To anyone who has not seen "The Sheik" or "The Son of the Sheik", the two most famous examples, the plot is simple. Sexy Arab guy (or white guy posing as an Arab) falls for a Western girl and abducts her across the desert sands where red hot (for the time) romance blooms. Fan magazines of the 1920's would gravely discuss the pros and cons of the "cave man approach" to love. "The Barbarian" must have seemed like something of an anachronism when it was released in the early 30's.Myrna Loy plays Diana, an American girl with an Egyptian mother. Neatly removing any objections to an interracial romance, this sets the stage for Jamil to enter her life. Novarro's character is a prince posing as a driverman. What exactly he is prince of is unclear since the script will alternately talk about Egypt, Mecca and Tehran as his domain. Quite a cosmopolitan, it seems.But to Diana, he is a servant and she treats him accordingly. That is, when she is not swooning over his admittedly pleasant singing. But station is station and Jamil's love for Diana takes a decidedly warped turn when the inevitable abduction occurs.There seems to be disagreement among the viewers as to whether or not Jamil forced himself on Diana. It seems pretty clear to me that he did. Whether or not she liked him at the time is up to the opinion of the viewer. That does not, however, alter the fact that she was raped. If the viewer believes that she liked him, merely add "date" before the verb. Same crime, different circumstances. For an interesting comparison, try seeing the "love" scene in the equally silly "Fountainhead".The rest of the film concerns the reactions of Diana's fiancé (Reginald Denny), who isn't really given much to do but stand about and look outraged, and the rest of the cast, who are divided into pro and anti-Jamil camps. Which man Diana will choose is fairly obvious if you know anything at all about Hollywood movies of this time. After all, he IS a prince and she IS half-Egyptian and they DID, well, you know...So, how was it? Myrna Loy is lovely and tries her best but one gets the impression that she is smarter than the script, provided by the overrated (and supposedly liberated) Anita Loos. As for Ramon Novarro, he is a personal favorite for his silent work but he is miscast here. Novarro, by all accounts, was a very pleasant man and he just is not convincing in the smoldering roles. He just seems too nice. He was far better with sincere, heroic characters and in light comedy. Sadly, his dark good looks and last name ending in a vowel condemned him to a certain number of Latin Lover roles. He is very charming at the beginning of the film, when is character is more of a rascal. I particularly liked the scenes of him romancing female tourists in English and German! Is it worth it? Yes, for the glimpse of pre-code Hollywood and just how much they could get away with. It is fun to see big stars in non-typical roles. It will certainly start many discussions of race and gender relations in classic Hollywood. My interest is, frankly, more for research than entertainment. If the plot sounds romantic to you, go for it. If it horrifies you, stay away. If you're like me, you will enjoy the context and theory of the film more than the film itself. It would certainly make a fascinating selection on a DVD set concerning race in early Hollywood. Hint, hint.PS, does anyone know what language everyone is speaking? It doesn't sound like Arabic but I am no expert.

Originally meant to be a steamy romance filled with temptation and scandal, The Barbarian comes off today as antiquated and shocking but for all the wrong reasons. Diana Standing (Myrna Loy) is a wealthy woman from America who comes to Egypt to visit the land of her heritage. Her mother was half Egyptian. There she meets a ruthless womanizer who cons himself into being her guide. Jamil El Shehab (Ramon Novarro) has a history of romancing women and taking their money. He sets his eyes on Diana who no matter how she resists, cannot escape the watchful and menacing eye of Jamil.Beginning in the 20s, America went wild for all things Arab and mysterious. Women fainted at the thought of men like Rudolph Valentino ravaging them in the desert, something they feared but also longed for. These kinds of stories became commonplace both in Hollywood and in trashy romance novels. Thus, we have The Barbarian. What better subject (rape, brutality, forbidden desire) for a pre-code film? Although she wore a nude bodysuit in the scene, Loy takes a bath in a tub with no bubbles and few flower petals inside to cover her. The soft focus says it all; this movie is all about sex.Unfortunately today, many women see Novarro as a brute and a savage. Their negative reactions to him make for difficult viewing. His character was intended to be representative of the nagging desire for the unattainable, but by todays standards, Jamil is creepy and bothersome.Despite these obstacles, the film has some undeniably merits. Novarro's singing enhances the story with a lovely ballad that strains throughout. The direction by Sam Wood leaves the audience with just enough information to tell the story, but not too much as to be smutty. One shot in particular of Diana after her rape is movingly beautiful.