The Thief of Bagdad

Plot synopsis:
Ahmed (Douglas Fairbanks) robs as he pleases in the city of Baghdad. Wandering into a mosque, he tells the holy man (Charles Belcher) he disdains his religion; his philosophy is, "What I want, I take."
That night, he sneaks into the palace of the caliph (Brandon Hurst) using a magic rope he stole during ritual prayers. All thoughts of plunder are forgotten when he sees the sleeping princess (Julanne Johnston), the caliph's daughter. The princess's Mongol slave (Anna May Wong) discovers him and alerts the guards, but he gets away.
When his associate (Snitz Edwards) reminds the disconsolate Ahmed that a bygone thief once stole another princess during the reign of Haroun al-Rashid, Ahmed sets out to do the same. The next day is the princess's birthday. Three princes arrive, seeking her hand in marriage (and the future inheritance of the city). Another of the princess's slaves foretells that she will marry he who first touches a rose-tree in her garden. The princess watches anxiously as first the glowering Prince of the Indies (Noble Johnson), then the obese Prince of Persia (an uncredited Mathilde Comont), and finally the Prince of the Mongols (Sojin Kamiyama) pass by the rose-tree. The mere sight of the Mongol fills the princess with fear, but when Ahmed appears (disguised in stolen garments as a suitor), she is delighted. The Mongol slave tells her countryman of the prophecy, but before he can touch the rose-tree, Ahmed's startled horse tosses its rider into it.
That night, following ancient custom, the princess chooses Ahmed for her husband. Out of love, Ahmed gives up his plan to abduct her and confesses all to her in private. The Mongol prince learns from his spy, the princess's Mongol slave, that Ahmed is a common thief and informs the caliph. Ahmed is lashed mercilessly, and the caliph orders he be torn apart by a giant ape, but the princess has the guards bribed to let him go.
When the caliph insists she select another husband, her loyal slave advises her to delay. She asks that the princes each bring her a gift after "seven moons"; she will marry the one who brings her the rarest. In despair, Ahmed turns to the holy man. He tells the thief to become a prince, revealing to him the peril-fraught path to a great treasure.
The Prince of the Indies obtains a magic crystal ball from the eye of a giant idol, which shows whatever he wants to see, while the Persian prince buys a flying carpet. The Mongol prince leaves behind his henchman, telling him to organize the soldiers he will send to Bagdad disguised as porters. (The potentate has sought all along to take the city; the beautiful princess is only an added incentive.) After he lays his hands on a magic apple which has the power to cure anything, even death, he sends word to the Mongol slave to poison the princess. After many adventures, Ahmed gains a cloak of invisibility and a small chest of magic powder which turns into whatever he wishes when he sprinkles it. He races back to the city.
The three princes meet as agreed at a caravansary before returning to Bagdad. The Mongol asks the Indian to check whether the princess has waited for them. They discover that she is near death, and ride the flying carpet to reach her. Then the Mongol uses the apple to cure her. The suitors argue over which gift is rarest, but the princess points out that without any one gift, the remaining two would have been useless in saving her life. Her loyal slave shows her Ahmed in the crystal ball, so the princess convinces her father to deliberate carefully on his future son-in-law. The Mongol prince chooses not to wait, unleashing his secret army that night and capturing Bagdad.
Ahmed arrives at the city gate, shut and manned by Mongols. When he conjures up a large army with his powder, the Mongol soldiers flee. The Mongol prince is about to have one of his men kill him when the Mongol slave suggests he escape with the princess on the flying carpet. Ahmed liberates the city and rescues the princess, using his cloak of invisibility to get through the Mongols guarding their prince. In gratitude, the caliph gives his daughter to him in marriage.

Tags: fantasy, murder

Review:
This is an exception:  A genuinely magical film, one of the best fantasy films ever made.A beautiful film made in the most glowing of technicolors, it tells the simple story of a boy thief (Sabu) meeting a dethroned prince (the gorgeous John Justin), and helping him defeat the wonderfully evil usurper Conrad Veidt.
The malignant vizier Jaffar (magnificently played by Conrad Veidt)with powerful magic faculties imprisons the prince Ahamad of Bagdad(attractive John Justin)who loses his throne, then he escapes thanks a little thief named Abu(sympathetic Sabu).
The story accumulates several fantastic ingredients such as transformation of the starring, a flying mechanic horse, magic bow, flying carpet and of course the colossal genie(overacting performed by Rex Ingram) who gives three wishes to Sabu , the magic eye, the figure of goddess Kali with several hands, among others.This remarkable picture ranks as one of the finest fantastic films of all time.
The WWII outbreak caused the paralyzing shooting, then the three Korda brothers and collaborators traveled USA continuing there the filming in especial on Grand Cannon Colorado.The splendid visual and glimmer Technicolor cinematography , setting and FX provoked the achieving three Oscars : Production design by William Cameron Menzies and Vincent Korda ,Cinematography by George Perinal and Special effects by Osmond Borradaile though today are dated and is urgent a necessary remastering because the colors are worn-out.
Those effects still work their charm.No less than six directors are listed for the technicolor movie which starred Sabu as the boy thief, Abu, John Justin as the dreamily in love deposed monarch, Ahmad and June Duprez as the lovely princess sought by Ahmad and pursued by the evil vizier, Jaffar, played by a sinister Conrad Veidt.
Their adventures through the gaily decorated Hollywood backlots are fun but the special effects make this film work.Two men were responsible for everything from a magic flying carpet to the gargantuan genie who pops out of a bottle with a tornado-like black swirl: Lawrence W.
It was great to see computer-besotted kids in an affluent community respond with cheers and applause to special effects that must seem primitive to them."Thief of Bagdad" is a pre-war Hollywood classic from a time when strong production values often resulted in enduringly attractive and important releases.
He plots with lies and magic spells to obtain the kingdom from its rightful ruler the young King Ahmad, and a gorgeous princess from her father...He falls victim in the end, as all tyrants do (in books and legends) to love and of the common man whom he ignored, here embodied by the little thief (Sabu).The armies of good and evil, black and white, are superbly realized in both visual and literary terms...The script is poetic, simply and very beautiful...
The costumes of the magician and his men rising and falling like the wings of black birds, attacking suddenly in the night to inflict destruction and create terror...The radiant hero wears white turbans and robes, and his princess is dressed in pinks and pale blues...For spectacular scenes it matched all that had gone before, while through its use of color, it brought to life a world such as had not seemed possible before...With flying carpet and flying white horse, with a giant genie (excellently played by Rex Ingram), with evil wizards, and with the good acting of Sabu and Veidt, "The Thief of Bagdad" captures the quality and true atmosphere of the Arabian Nights...
"The Thief of Bagdad" had everything that you could want from a fantasy films: An exciting, unpredictable story, charming and likable characters, and an incredible, beautiful atmosphere and incredible visuals (That still look pretty good)I wish there were more movies like this.
Sabu, who plays the young thief, Abu, also measures up to any of today's teen actors in appeal, judging from the number of times I heard my oldest daughter say, "He's c-u-t-e!" In 1940, the film won Oscars for cinematography and special effects.
By the '90's my daughter and I had seen it many times on TV but still went to the pictures when it came to the local art-house cinema  when it had finished we came out starry eyed with heads full of poetry and Miklos Rozsa's stirring music wishing it could have lasted a couple of hours longer and thinking what a beautiful world it suddenly was again.Idealistic Prince Ahmad wants to slum it amongst his people for a while to check things out, but evil Vizier Jaffar takes his chance to imprison him and seize the throne.
The special effects must have been mesmerising in 1940, but Time has taken its toll and lessened their impact especially since digital cartoonery has taken over even live action  but they still hold up well compared against films like Superman from 40 years later.
He is the perfect embodiment of a fairytale villain and gives the film the extra punch it needs.June Duprez has never been more beautifully photographed as the princess and John Justin and Sabu do well as the prince and thief (respectively) who have to settle a score with Conrad Veidt.
Few movies appeal to both adults and children.This one does .Although there are three directors,it is most likely Michael Powell who's the brains here,his later work proves it in a definite way.There are already the incredible color search and the fabulous settings which will emerge again in such works as "a matter of life or death"(1946).Magic is everywhere and there are plenty of visual strokes of inspiration :every picture is magic itself.The script writers adapt stories from the Thousand and one Nights but make them their own .The special effects ,although absolutely extraordinary for 1940,remain tasteful ,which is not often the case today when they mainly serve to hide the weakness of the screenplays.Conrad Veidt is a delightful villain,who might have inspired Walt Disney for "Aladdin" .June Deprez,whose talent is essentially decorative ,will play the part of Vera Claythorne in "and then there were none" (René Clair,1945).Sabu is certainly one of the best young actors of the era.
Korda also finished the interiors in Hollywood, all in time for a release on Christmas Day 1940.The spectacle of the thing earned The Thief Of Bagdad four Academy Award nominations and three Oscars for best color cinematography, best art&set direction for a color film, and best special effects.
Abu, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, helps King Ahmed regain his kingdom from a wicked sorcerer.As Europe was going to war and significant sections of the world was going up in flames, Sir Alexander Korda's London Films unveiled this lavish escapist fare from the legends of The Arabian Nights.
It also is a fine piece of film making, featuring good acting and an intelligent script.Conrad Veidt gets top billing and he deserves it, playing the evil magician Jaffar.
In 2016, "The Thief of Bagdad" is still delightful with impressive special effects for a 1940 film with magic flying carpet, jinn, flying horse and fantastic journeys.
I loved this film from the first moment I saw it, when I was a boy of six who had started reading "The Arabian Nights." I remember walking into the TV room in the middle of Sabu's battle with the giant spider and being instantly beguiled.Rarely has so much beauty, magic, and wonder been captured on film.
Sabu and John Justin are superb as the dashing heros, Conrad Veidt is throughly delightful as the wicked villain Jaffar, and Rex Ingram is a joy to watch as the sardonic genie.
One of the three credited directors is Michael Powell, a filmmaker who has been rightfully heralded by the critics but is often overlooked by audiences for his remarkable films, including "A Matter of Life and Death" (aka "Stairway to Heaven") and "The Red Shoes." He is one of the true masters of the camera, right up there with David Lean, Akira Kurosawa, and Orson Welles.As with all great works of art, the beauty of "The Thief of Bagdad" lies in the detail.
John Austin is the very likable hero known as Ahmad, and Sabu gives a spirited performance as Abu. I will also say the length didn't bother me at all, this is a truly fantastic film in every way, no matter how old it is, and is easily the definitive version of the 1001 Arabian Nights tale it is based on.
Alexander Korda's "The Thief of Bagdad" is one of the most beautiful looking films from the 1940s; and, like good art, time does not diminish its appeal.
A line from the film sums it up perfectly: "Everything is possible when seen through the eyes of youth." ********** The Thief of Bagdad (12/5/40) Alexander Korda ~ John Justin, Sabu, Conrad Veidt, Rex Ingram.
It's as simple as that.Every thing you could want in a fantasy, The Thief Of Bagdad has.Sabu is perfectly cast as the boy thief.John Justin who plays Ahmad the King is brilliant and let's not forget villain Conrad Veidt and genie Rex Ingram in standout performances.Many might complain about the special effects but you must remember that this is 1940,long before Industrial Light and magic came out.Another standout is the beautiful musical score by the great Miklos Rozsa.A true masterpiece.
"Thief of Bagdad" is an Arabian Nights romance, interspersed with light comic moments and spiced up with a flying mechanical horse, a magic carpet, a scary 60-foot tall genie (played with magnificent aplomb by Rex Ingram), a Sultan with a childish fascination for lifelike toys (Miles Malleson, who also wrote the script), and a demonic Grand Vizier named Jaffar.Conrad Veidt makes this last character particularly nasty.
While there Jaffar had Ahmed arrested as a mad man and planned to kill him, while he Jaffar mounted the throne.But in prison Ahmed met a resourceful thief named Abu and together they broke out of jail.On their getaway, Ahmed got to meet and fall in love with a beautiful princess that Jaffar had eyes for and so Jaffar did all that he could to get Ahmed out of the way, and Ahmed with the help of Abu did all that they could to save the princess, which include meeting a Genie, getting a magic carpet and a crystal that can show you anything you want.This British classic made use of the best of the best in effects in the 40s it won the Academy Awards for Cinematography, Art Direction and Special Effects.
The Thief of Bagdad marks the first major use of bluescreening in the film industry, all due to Larry Butler who introduced and pioneered it.This movie has greatly influenced many other movies after it's time especially those released about The Book of One Thousand and One Nights tales, let's not forget Disney's Aladdin and its franchise and The Prince of Persia video game franchise.
My children's book comes to life spectacularly in this terrific Alexander Korda production and while director's duties are shared in the title, I suspect the bulk of the work was done by the marvellous Michael Powell, just before he hitched up with Emrich Pressburger for that wonderful series of "The Archers" productions, which turned out some of the greatest films ever to grace the cinema ("A Matter Of Life And Death", "Black Narcissus", "The Red Shoes" and many more).Don't look for characterisation - all you need to know is that the little thief Abu (Sabu) is mischievous, Prince Ahmad (John Justin) is good, the Princess (June Duprez) is beautiful and the usurper Jaffar (Conrad Veight) is evil, then mix them all together in a wonderfully episodic story which throws in almost every Arabian Night tale you can remember.
This is a film you can grow up with and never get bored with no matter how many times you watch it - it has everything, fun, music, romance, special effects (not bad for a film nearly sixty years old, either), great Technicolor and a cast who are just on the perfect side of overacting ...
Populated by fine actors, most notably the exuberant Sabu and deliciously sinister Conrad Veidt, this is a fantasy classic which has stood the test of time in the ways that matter.Sure the special effects, cutting age in 1940, are dated now; but that is inevitable, even with our modern blockbusters and all their CG action.
Sabu, playing Abu the young thief, and Rex Ingram, playing the djinni, are outstanding.But the real star, which shocked me for a 1940 film, is the special effects.
Co-directed by Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelen (along with three uncredited co-workers, Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda and William Cameron Menzies), this lavish fantasy-adventure tells the tale of blind beggar Ahmad (John Justin), who spins a yarn about his life as king before the evil current king Jafar (Conrad Veidt), usurped his place and left him desolate.
The first half of the film's outdoor shots were filmed on location in Morocco, but was interrupted in the middle of production by World War Two. The second half of the film uses Hollywood soundstages and locations in the United States (the scene were Sabu is reunited with John Justin after capturing the All-Seeing Eye was filmed at the Grand Canyon).Special effects were cutting-edge at the time the film was made and are still passable by today's standards (though come off a bit cheesy).
It's been a while since I was so thoroughly entertained and thrilled as when I just watched Alexander Korda's 1940 masterpiece of adventure hokum.Achmad, Prince of Bagdad, is manipulated out of office by his evil grand vizier, and takes refuge amongst his subjects with his new best buddy, an irrepressible teenage thief, Abu. He worships the Princess of Basra, also coveted by the vizier, and he and Abu summon all powers natural and supernatural to win the day.Korda's film is infinitely superior to the famous Douglas Fairbanks version from 1924.
From the very beginning of the film with the trumpets-and-brass choir, the human choir singing the exotic wordless parallel portamento chords and the striking songs with the totally pedestrian words ("I want to be a sailor, sailing out to sea, No plow-boy, tinker, tailor's any fun to be..." And it gets even worse!), Miklos Rosza's score sweeps you along into this hokey but rather wonderful Arabian Nights adventure and, in its memorable images, it still has never been equaled.In few other films has the heroine (June Duprez) been so beautiful, (I don't know why she should be expected to act as well but she gets the job done well enough.) the villain (Conrad Veidt) so hissable, the hero (John Justin) so dreamily handsome and the real hero Sabu so exotically lovable (And he can sing too!).
Yet the final result is pretty much as close to tight knit seaming as you could hope to see.This Arabian knight heavy leaned story sees bulging eyed nasty vizier Jaffar tricking Prince Ahmad (the rightful heir to the throne of Bagdad) out of his crown, but after a meeting in prison with young urchin thief Abu, their respective destinies are about to encompass magic in all its wonderful forms.If this wasn't made in 1940 one could view it now and shout out at the screen that it's a collage of genre staples, but this is 1940!
The clarity and color of this version have only enhanced the value of this singular film that dates from the Golden Age of Filmdom.Conrad Veidt -- that incomparable film villain, Princess (June Duprez) more beautiful here, I am convinced, than Elizabeth Taylor ever was; genie Rex Ingram and of course the little "Thief" Sabu, only a short time before tending the elephants of the Sultan of Mysore, along with the rest of the cast, do a splendid job.
It has it all, the beautiful princess (June Duprez) the eager prince (John Justin) and the most sinister villain (Conrad Veidt)one can imagine...and of course, the young thief (Sabu).
And he was totally obsessed with keeping this fantasy-extravaganza film under a tight budget and remaining in full control of its simpering story-line.This, of course, placed Korda in repeated conflict with each subsequent film-maker who took over the direction and, in turn, who Korda promptly fired for non-compliance.Anyway - With "The Thief Of Bagdad" now being 77 years old - I really did try to cut it some slack (even though its visuals didn't even come close to those of 1939's "The Wizard of Oz") - But - The truth is - This picture really did stink, big-time.*Note* - I'd say that the absolute, most hilarious highlight of this picture was the totally cheesy "monster spider" scene..
This glorious fantasy piece, filmed in a Technicolor which has never looked so good, is a movie which is effectively the ultimate Arabian adventure.
Evil viziers, deposed kings, genies in bottles, flying horses and carpets, huge palaces, swordfighting and much more besides – THE THIEF OF BAGDAD sets the template for many a fantasy film to come with special effects which even hold up today.Even though the film's now over seventy years old, it remains hard to fault.
A colorful and downright trippy version of the Arabian nights tale about a street urchin who stumbles upon a magic lamp and is granted three wishes by an all-powerful genie.Actually, that's only part of the story as presented here, but it's the part of the film that provides the craziest and most spectacular special effects.
The color photography is splendid, but then everything else is as well -- wardrobe, makeup, production design, special effects, and the magical mystery score by Miklos Rozsa.It's got just about everything in it that we associate with Arabian legends -- the genie in the bottle, the flying carpet, the jewel in the idol's eye, the luscious and exotic princess (June Duprez), the handsome blind hero whose sight is returned (John Justice), the black-clad bearded villain (Conrad Veidt), the giant spider, the laughing little thief (Sabu).