The Virgin of Stamboul

The Virgin of Stamboul is a 1920 American silent adventure drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring husband and wife team Priscilla Dean and Wheeler Oakman and featuring Wallace Beery in a supporting role.

Plot

Based upon a review in a film publication, Sari is a beggar girl of the streets of Stamboul, near Constantinople, who attracts the attention of Captain Pemberton, a soldier of fortune, who has recruited the Black Horse cavalry to maintain law and order. Sari overhears him being told that her soul is as filthy as the streets, so she goes to pray in a mosque although she knows Turkish women are not allowed to enter. There she witnesses a revenge murder by a sheik, who then attempts to lure her into his harem. She defies him, and he then tries to purchase her. Pemberton returns from the desert and has determined that he loves Sari. The sheik then carries both Pemberton and Sari to his fortified camp outside the city walls. Sari escapes and gets the Black Horse cavalry to attack the camp, resulting in a battle and rescue.

Cast

Priscilla Dean as Sari
Wheeler Oakman as Capt. Carlisle Pemberton
Wallace Beery as Ahmed Hamid
Clyde Benson as Diplomat
E. Alyn Warren as Yusef Bey
Nigel De Brulier as Capt. Kassari
Edmund Burns as Hector Baron
Eugenie Forde as Sari's Mother
Ethel Ritchie as Resha

Production

Universal Studios Carl Laemmle provided director Tod Browning with ample resources to create an authentic replica of Istanbul that featured “bazaars, harems, the desert, and elaborate costuming.”

Marketing

To market the film, Harry Reichenbach in a publicity stunt had a "sheik" from Constantinople with his entourage check into the Majestic Hotel in New York City on March 7, 1920. Newspapers carried the story of his visit looking for an American heiress who had left with a marine just as the first teaser ads for the film were being published. Several ads noted the film's reported production budget of $500,000.