The Sheik (1921)

Rudolph Valentino, in headdress and robes, sweeps an arm toward the tent door while Agnes Ayres shrinks back in The Sheik. The story has dated badly, but the film made Valentino the heartthrob of the decade and turned "sheik" into slang for a ladies' man. When people picture a silent-era screen idol, this is the costume and the smoldering stare they picture.