La fiancée du désert

Very average film, chiefly of note for being considered lost for close to 90 years. Everything in it is decently done, but no character stands out, the romance is tepid and the fight at the end fails to excite. Glad it has been rediscovered, as the great majority of silent films from that time have been lost, and the BluRay print we now have is excellent, but the film itself is very much by-the-numbers.

That's about all there is to say about that, really. I can tell you right now I'm laid up in bed with a sore throat and wheezy cough and feel a little too weak to get out of bed and fix some food, but I'm perfectly willing to accept you didn't come here to hear that.

Alas, The Desert Bride (1928) just isn't very good despite having the wonderful Betty Compson as its star.

Standard tale of the Middle East. In a French colony (probably Syria) Compson is visiting her military uncle (Edward Martindel) and meets the "dashing" Captain Deveraux (a very UN-dashing Allan Forrest). Their love is played out against the "revolting natives" who are planning to attack the military post and take back their ancient land.

In the end, the Captain is captured and tortured but won't talk, so the rebels grab Compson and threaten to torture her too. He still won't talk, so they dress her up in Arab gear and put her up for sale on the auction block. THAT does it!

Everything about this Columbia release looks cheap (just my opinion). Otto Matieson plays a rebel boss and Roscoe Karns is the comedy relief, mostly chasing local women. On the plus side, Betty Compson is very beautiful.