The Wonders of Aladdin
The Wonders of Aladdin (Italian: "Le meraviglie di Aladino") is a 1961 Italian-French-American comedy fantasy film directed by Henry Levin (with second unit direction by Mario Bava) and produced by Joseph E. Levine for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Donald O'Connor as the title character. Production. O'Connor signed to make the film in October 1960. O'Connor said "The story of Aladdin has been done by everyone but this is its first time around as a comedy." "The Wonders of Aladdin" was produced in tandem with two Steve Reeves vehicles, "Morgan, the Pirate" and  The Thief of Baghdad, with producer Joseph E. Levine, set designer Flavio Mogherini, cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli and special effects artist Mario Bava working on all three films; Levine packaged and sold their worldwide distribution rights to MGM. Shooting. The film was shot in location in Tunisia with studio work in Rome. Filming started December 1960. The Tunisian government were keen to attract filmmakers to the region and provided much assistance, including the loan of their army as soldiers. According to camera operator Marcello Gatti, Henry Levin directed "80%" of "The Wonders of Aladdin", while Bava's on-set contributions  consisted of second unit direction and supervising the film's special effects. Because Bava was also in charge of the film's post-production process in Italy, such as its dubbing, Italian and French prints use the credit "A film by Henry Levin, directed by Mario Bava". English language prints only credit Levin with direction. While filming in Tunisia in December, Donald O'Connor suffered a blood hemorrhage on this throat and had to be rushed to hospital. Vittorio De Sica played a small role. It only took a week but the actor said it was "very tiring because of the  tricks." In January, three Americans on the film - O'Connor, Levin and writer Henry Motofsky - accidentally crossed the Tunisian border into Algeria 20 miles south of Tozeur while scouting locations in the Sahara Desert and were arrested. They were held for three hours then returned to the film unit. Filming finished in March 1961. "From now on I'll do nothing but drawing room comedies," said O'Connor, "and the only location I'm going on is in my backyard". Reception. Critical reception. AllMovie, while not particularly favorable toward the film, called it "a fun movie". Box office. According to MGM records  the film made a loss of $276,000.