The Barbarian (1933)

Best movie of this year hands down!

As Good As It Gets

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's amazing to me how wrapped up in hysteria some people get. Yes, this film clearly implies rape. Rape happens. It's detestable. Films -- to varying degrees -- depict human life. Therefore, I expect films to sometimes depict unpleasant topics. And that should not be a reason that we give a positive or negative critique of a movie. What's important is how the film approaches a topic. Admittedly, this film doesn't approach it very well.Although I had often heard the name Ramon Novarro, I don't believe I had ever seen one of his films...I guess I thought of him as too much in the silent era. So this film was a learning experience for me...particularly after reading his bio on Wikipedia. In terms of his performance in the film, I found it interesting, but I was not exactly surprised when I learned that in real life he was gay. He doesn't seem very macho in this film, which sort of belies the character he was playing. He does come across -- at least in our time -- as a pervert, so I wonder how he would have been perceived in this film in 1933. But, despite his supposedly being a romantic lover, his gestures and behavior definitely suggest his gayness. But, still, it's interesting.Myrna Loy was very good, as she almost always was.Reginald Denny...well, he did okay here, but I never quite saw the attraction for him in films. It always nice to see the great character actor C. Aubrey Smith, and he's fine here...although in not so noble a role as we often saw him, and with little real screen time. A surprise was seeing Edward Arnold in a character role as an Egyptian...interesting.In terms of the plot and script, we first meet Ramon Novarro -- as an Egyptian gigolo -- at the train station, where it is clear that he has romanced a number of foreign female tourists...probably robbing them to some extent, as well. And then along comes Myrna Loy with friends and family...his next victim. Early in the film he seems to be annoying in his attempts to insert himself into situations, but alternately being very helpful...although in our time, it would appear to be stalking. And, that interpretation would be justified considering action later in the film. It seems pretty clear that rape does occur in the desert, although you only see the aftermath. Okay, it made sense with this script. But, the conclusion of the film makes no sense at all.Production values are quite high here, particularly considering it was 1933.All in all, worth watching at least once. I guess 1933 must have been a very different national psyche; so that makes it an interesting film.

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!

I am constantly amazed at how sexy the precode films of 1933 are (the last year before the Production Code was enforced, which resulted in all Hollywood actresses becoming virgins again overnight), including this intense movie, "The Barbarian", the story of an inter-racial attraction between a white British woman (Myrna Loy, looking exceedingly beautiful here) and an Arab prince (Ramon Novarro, in what has to be his sexiest role ever), who disguises his true identity as part of a coming of age tribal ritual. Myrna's character is attracted to Ramon's Arab the moment she steps off the train in Cairo, Egypt. Fireworks promptly ensue between the two but it is unclear that Ramon is actually falling in love with the woman he pursues until closer to the end of the picture.I completely disagree with another reviewer who called this movie "bilge" because of a certain scene in the desert. It is clear that Myrna finds the Arab desirable, so no real force was involved, it was mutual attraction right from the beginning. This was an important film role for Myrna Loy; she finally got to look beautiful and sexy on screen as the lead, instead of being cast in minor roles in silly exotic parts which didn't do much for her talents. It is not right to attack her memory, as the other reviewer here did, for a theme that has been repeated by Hollywood many times over the decades.Other cast members were perfect here, including dapper Reginald Denny as the fiancée who quickly realizes the Arab's true intents, and Louise Hale as the grandmotherly Powers, who comes off with some of the most hysterically funny lines in the picture.A wonderfully entertaining and intense film, and I give it a 10 out of 10. Excellent and very romantic. I just wish that Ramon's silent film "The Arab" from 1924, which was the basis for this re-make, was available to compare with this one, but unfortunately it is sitting in European archives and unlikely to ever be seen on video or DVD. Even "The Barbarian" is only available for viewing whenever TCM bothers to show it (usually once per year).

Kidnapped in the Egyptian desert, a beautiful American finds herself alternately loving & loathing THE BARBARIAN who abducted her.Taken solely as romantic adventure, this lavish little MGM film has much to offer, including good acting & fine production values. Considered only from the standpoint of the plot, the story is ludicrous, what with a heroine suffering histrionics among the sand dunes & a hero who is a completely unprincipled cad.Ramon Novarro does well in the title role, a reprise of his silent film THE ARAB (1924). MGM's Mexican star adds yet another ethnic stripe to his thespian escutcheon, this time portraying an Egyptian prince. Looking a little like a Valentino clone, he gets to sing & act in a variety of languages. Myrna Loy, who only gets billing below the title, is excellent as the Englishwoman caught-up in the allures & entrapments of the Nile Desert. After paying her dues in roles like this, she would very soon become a major Hollywood movie star.In the very able supporting cast Reginald Denny plays Loy's stuffy fiancé; Edward Arnold is an unctuous pasha; Hedda Hopper appears briefly as an American tourist very pleased with Novarro's attentions. Wonderful old Sir C. Aubrey Smith is well cast as Loy's eccentric uncle and elderly, tart-tongued Louise Closser Hale steals every scene she's in as Loy's peppery companion.This film is definitely pre-Production Code vintage, a fact made plainly obvious by Loy's lounge-in-the-tub scene. Considered rationally, many of THE BARBARIAN's implications are rather disturbing. That Loy could only be happy with the man who has humiliated, beaten, abused & raped her are decidedly unwholesome ideas to come from the pen of screenwriter - and liberated woman - Anita Loos.Novarro sings 'Love Songs of the Nile' quite well, but interminably. If it sounds suspiciously like his previous 'Pagan Love Song' hit, it may be because the two songs share the same composers, Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed.