The breath-taking color photography wins massive acclaim here in the first of the Maria Montez/Jon Hall/Sabu pairings where mostly American actors (and certainly none of Arabic background) put on traditional Islam attire and play dress-up in this cartoonish adventure. Made with the mentality of teenaged boys, this silly but often entertaining adventure, is certainly outlandish, but if you go in expecting realism, you will be sorely disappointed. Not as well made as "The Thief of Bagdad", this still has enough spark to make for a 90 minute trip into the world of fantasy. It deals with two brothers who hate each other (Hall and Leif Erickson) fighting over the role of Caliph which Hall achieved through being the legitimate heir and Erickson has tried to claim through the assistance of loyal followers willing to resort to the most evil efforts in order to dethrone Hall. When first seen, Erickson is strapped, hanging in mid-air, having tried to overthrow his brother, with hungry vultures waiting for the moment of death to occur. Of course, this never comes, and when Hall visits his brother, he shows a kindness which Erickson literally spits back into his face.
Both Hall and Erickson are enamored of the beautiful dancer Montez who only wants to marry the true heir. When Erickson escapes, Hall is suddenly injured through a sudden thrust of an arrow, and Montez's acrobatic pal Sabu takes off his ring in an attempt to save his life. Not revealing his real identity, the recovering Hall must now reclaim his throne, and this leads to a battle between brothers to the death. In the meantime, there's a ton of juvenile style comedy, especially in the casting of Billy Gilbert as the head of Sabu's acrobatic troop. You know the only weapon Gilbert will most likely use is his big belly which as you guess gives an added sound effect every time he thrusts it out to "boink" somebody off of him. Then there's Shemp Howard as an aging Sinbad and John Qualen as an aging Aladdin, still searching for his lost lamp. One funny moment has Qualen rubbing a lamp he's found and the apparent emergence of a genie.
Still, the scene-stealer of this colorful caper is the always magnetic Sabu whose youthful personality and beautiful body are exposed while Hall seems to look on in envy. Sabu and Montez were created for movies like this, and even when they become too silly to believe, they retain a youthful innocence that makes them absolutely charming and a lot of fun to watch. It's always obvious how things are going to turn out, and there is about as much realism and historical fact as there is the believability of the casting, but ultimately, that does not matter at all. World War II audiences thrived on fantastic stories like this, and despicable villains that in the end we knew would be defeated and destroyed, much like the villains that the allies were determined to defeat all over the world.
Both Hall and Erickson are enamored of the beautiful dancer Montez who only wants to marry the true heir. When Erickson escapes, Hall is suddenly injured through a sudden thrust of an arrow, and Montez's acrobatic pal Sabu takes off his ring in an attempt to save his life. Not revealing his real identity, the recovering Hall must now reclaim his throne, and this leads to a battle between brothers to the death. In the meantime, there's a ton of juvenile style comedy, especially in the casting of Billy Gilbert as the head of Sabu's acrobatic troop. You know the only weapon Gilbert will most likely use is his big belly which as you guess gives an added sound effect every time he thrusts it out to "boink" somebody off of him. Then there's Shemp Howard as an aging Sinbad and John Qualen as an aging Aladdin, still searching for his lost lamp. One funny moment has Qualen rubbing a lamp he's found and the apparent emergence of a genie.
Still, the scene-stealer of this colorful caper is the always magnetic Sabu whose youthful personality and beautiful body are exposed while Hall seems to look on in envy. Sabu and Montez were created for movies like this, and even when they become too silly to believe, they retain a youthful innocence that makes them absolutely charming and a lot of fun to watch. It's always obvious how things are going to turn out, and there is about as much realism and historical fact as there is the believability of the casting, but ultimately, that does not matter at all. World War II audiences thrived on fantastic stories like this, and despicable villains that in the end we knew would be defeated and destroyed, much like the villains that the allies were determined to defeat all over the world.