AllMovie

The 1921 Rudolph Valentino box-office smash The Sheik suddenly made Hollywood "desert conscious." Burning Sands, in 1922, was directed by George Melford, who'd also called the shots on The Sheik. The burnoosed hero is Milton Sills, who unlike Valentino is more philosopher than lover. Against all odds, Sills wins the hand of provincial governor's daughter Wanda Hawley (who co-starred with Valentino in The Young Rajah). Burning Sands was adapted from the romantic novel by Arthur Weigall.