Frauenraub in Marokko is a silent desert mess that I kind of liked

If you are in the mood for a silent movie where the plot is driven by people making the **worst possible choices**, then Frauenraub in Marokko is for you. It is great for fans of old-school desert adventures, but you will probably hate it if you cannot stand characters who are remarkably naive.

Elinor Clifford goes to Northern Africa basically looking for a 'vibe' and some romance. She is bored and wants something exciting to happen, which is always a bad sign in these old movies.

Her friend Bobbie and Daisy think it is a great idea to stage a fake kidnapping. They get their buddy Paul Ferris to pretend to be a notorious brigand named Abd-el-Rawak.

It is such a goofy plan. Like, who actually thinks faking a crime is a good romantic gesture for a friend?

Then the real Abd-el-Rawak shows up. The timing is so perfect it is almost funny, honestly.

Aruth Wartan plays the actual bandit and he has got this really intense face. He makes the fake bandit look like a guy who got lost on his way to a costume party.

There is this one shot where Elinor is looking out at the dunes and she looks so tired. Not 'damsel in distress' tired, but more like 'I wish I stayed at home' tired.

The desert scenery is okay, I guess. It is mostly just a lot of rocks and dust, which feels a bit like the backgrounds in The Birth of Patriotism but with more camels.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Frauenraub in Marokko (1928) through its definitive frames.

I noticed the editing gets really choppy during the escape scenes. One minute they are by a tent, and the next they are halfway up a mountain without much explanation.

Vladimir Gajdarov plays Paul, the guy who has to do the rescuing. He is fine, but he spends a lot of time looking worriedly at his own hands like he forgot his lines.

It is not quite as chaotic as something like The Play House, but it has its moments. The rescue scene at the end feels a bit rushed, like the film crew was running out of sunlight for the day.

If you have seen King of the Circus, you know how these 1920s adventures usually go. They always end with a big hug and everything being forgiven way too fast for my taste.

I did like the outfits, though. The costumes for the 'brigands' are very dramatic with the big robes and headgear that looks heavy.

There is a scene where a horse trips in the background and nobody seems to care. It is those little mistakes that make these old films feel more real to me.

Overall, it is a bit of a mess, but a short one. It is the kind of thing you watch when you want to see how people a hundred years ago imagined 'adventure' would look like. 🏜️

Not every movie needs to be a masterpiece, and this one definitely isn't. It is just a weird little relic about a prank that went sideways and a woman who got way more than she asked for.