Kismet [VHS]
Hollywood's excursions into Arabian Nights exotica don't come much  daffier thanKismet, a 1955 MGM adaptation of thehit Broadway musical. The score  includes two standards, "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads" and "Stranger in  Paradise," but the blend of Broadway razzmatazz and Middle Eastern culture is,  to say the least, awkward. (One comic number revolves around a man about to have  his hand chopped off for thievery.) There's plenty here for musical fans to  enjoy, and a well-cast Howard Keel does his chesty best as an itinerant poet who  fast-talks his way to riches; this was Keel's last starring role in an MGM  musical. Unfortunately, Vic Damone is a wet rag as the young prince, the garish  Eastman Color photography has not aged well, and director Vincente Minnelli  seems not entranced by the material. Still, there is something fascinating about  Dolores Gray belting out "Baghdad, this irresistible town!" as though singing  the praises of Vegas or Monte Carlo.--Robert Horton