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In the Tents of the Asra
(1912) United States of America
B&W : Short film
Directed by Hobart Bosworth
Cast: Hobart Bosworth [Mahomet, sheik of the Asra], Frank Richardson [Ibrahim, the Moorish sultan], Bessie Eyton [Jesda, Ibrahim’s daughter], Camille Astor [Jesda’s maid], George Chandler [Selim, a powerful sheik], Nick Cogley [the eunuch], Eugenie Besserer
The Selig Polyscope Company, Incorporated, production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Produced by William N. Selig. From a screen story by Hobart Bosworth. Presented by William N. Selig. / Released 15 August 1912. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? The Sultan Ibrahim had long been annoyed by the depredations of Mahomet, a powerful Sheik of the Asra, a desert wandering tribe of Bedouin Arabs, and when Mahomet, in a moment of carelessness was captured by the Sultan’s troops and brought before him, his joy knew no bounds. The good news was announced to him as he reclined in the court of his palace, attended by his favorite daughter, Jesda, and she, who had heard much of the prowess of the desert hawk, begged to be allowed to remain and see him. Ibrahim asked Mahomet which he preferred, service under the flag or death, and Mahomet fiercely chose the former. In her interest Jesda had unconsciously dropped the tarboosh that covers all Arabian women’s faces before strangers, and Mahomet saw her in all her beauty. These men love as fiercely as they fight and with Mahomet, to see her was to love her and sacrifice all for her sake. He accepted service at the hands of the astonished and delighted Ibrahim, and was set to watch the palace gate. Soon a new lover appeared on the scene, the great but repulsive Sheik Selim, and Jesda, seeing him, felt that she could not enter the harem of so ugly a man. Walking in her garden, she passed the gate kept by Mahomet and asked him his name. He replied, “I am Mahomet, of the Asra, who must die if they love in vain.” She decided, in desperation, to seize the chance to rid herself of Selim’s love, by the hand of the man who loved in vain, but Selim’s guards were vigilant, and Mahomet failed. Then in her peril Jesda realized that she cared for him and so saved the life of the brave and hopeless man, and also herself, from a fate worse than death, and they flew back to his desert home on a swift camel, pursued in vain by the Sultan’s Janissaries.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 31 December 2024.
References: Lahue-Selig p. 104 : Website-IMDb.
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