The Barbarian

The Barbarian, also known as A Night in Cairo, is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic drama film produced and directed by Sam Wood and starring Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy. Written by Elmer Harris and Anita Loos, and based on the 1911 play The Arab by Edgar Selwyn, the film is about an American woman tourist in Egypt who has several suitors, among them an Arab guide who is more than he seems. The film was released on May 12, 1933 in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The play had been filmed previously by MGM as The Arab (1924) with Novarro and Alice Terry. Plot A beautiful American socialite, Diana Standing (Myrna Loy) and her acerbic companion, Miss Powers (Louise Closser Hale), arrive at the train station in Cairo, Egypt, where they are met by her wealthy British fiancé Gerald Hume (Reginald Denny). Their plan is to be married in the city in a few weeks' time, once Gerald's mother arrives. At the station, she is noticed by Jamil El Shehab (Ramon Novarro), a handsome good-natured Egyptian dragoman who enjoys romancing a bevy of women tourists, in exchange for a hoard of their jewelry as love tokens. Jamil is immediately captivated by Diana, but is rejected by Gerald when he offers them his services. Undaunted, he snatches up her little laptog, Mitzi, when he sees she is unattended. Back at the hotel, Powers, who asks if everyone in Egypt is a Shriner (their official headgear is the same fez, or tarboosh, worn by Egyptian men), is upset to find Diana's wedding regalia didn't travel well. (Powers' role is that of comic relief, and her negative experiences with, and suspicion of, everything Egyptian is a running joke. Only the efficient Jamil meets with her approval.) This is forgotten when Diana realizes Mitzi is missing, but her panic is alleviated when Jamil appears with her dog, claiming credit for saving her from being hit by a train. Diana initially plans to send him away with a tip, but when the attractive Jamil again suggests she hire him as her guide, Diana pleads with a reluctant Gerald to indulge her. Born in Cairo of an Egyptian mother, but only now returning to it for the first time since she was a baby, Diana is apparently accepted by the British upper class despite her parentage. She is dismissive when Gerald asks her if the country feels like home to her, laughingly asking him if he expects her to break into a snake dance.