Thief of Bagdad, The [1940 (MGM)]

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Ah, cherished memories of childhood. No, I didn't see this 1940 fantasy classic when it premiered, but I did see it in a theater as a return engagement in the early fifties, and it was "The Lord of the Rings" of my early years. I watched it every chance I could get on TV in the late fifties and sixties, finally getting a tape copy in the seventies.

I remember my wife showing it to the little girl next door one afternoon, and the girl was bored to tears. OK, so who are you going to believe, a mature and seasoned movie reviewer who treasures the film or a ten-year-old kid? Oh, well....

The first "Thief of Bagdad" was made in 1924, as a silent film by the swashbuckling Doug Fairbanks, and it was made two more times after this one, in 1961 with Steve "Hercules" Reeves and for TV in 1978. None of them is the equal of the 1940 Alexander Korda film with Sabu, John Justin, Conrad Veidt, June Duprez, and Rex Ingram. Surprisingly, though, it's the silent movie that comes next closest to capturing the dazzling spectacle of the "Arabian Nights" setting and atmosphere, but nothing in the end duplicates the sense of awe and wonder that Korda's elaborate production exudes.

The story is exactly what you'd expect from something inspired by the "Arabian Nights." There's a handsome young prince who's been duped out of his kingdom by a wicked wizard, his own Grand Vizier, and a beautiful princess for him to fall in love with. There's a poor little thief who befriends the Prince and helps him win his kingdom back. There are magnificent palaces, flying carpets, mechanical flying horses, an old Sultan with a roomful of elaborate toys, giant spiders, and, of course, a genie who grants wishes. What more could you ask for?

The prince, Ahmad, is played by John Justin, a slim young fellow whose only job in the film is to look attractive and distraught; he serves the part admirably while managing to win our affections, too. The thief, Abu, is played by fifteen-year-old Sabu, who would go on to play Mowgli in "Jungle Book" and other such roles. He is precious and precocious at the same time, and his adventure at the Temple of the All-Seeing Eye is a highlight of the movie. June Duprez plays the princess, probably the biggest role of her acting career, and like Justin she has only to look ravishing and innocent. She does. Rex Ingram plays the fifty-foot genie. He had just played Jim in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1939), and he would go on to play a giant in "A Thousand and One Nights." He's not only an unforgettable character, he has an unforgettable laugh. Veteran character actor Miles Malleson, who also wrote the movie's dialogue and screenplay, plays the old Sultan so enamoured of his mechanical toys. His scene with a six-armed, windup statue goddess is yet another unforgettable bit in an unforgettable film.

But the real star of the movie is Conrad Veidt as Jaffar, the very embodiment of evil. He is at first the prince's trusted minister of state, his right-hand man, but he is secretly one of the most ruthless villains in all the country. Veidt was one of cinema's premier bad guys, some years earlier having been Universal's first choice to play Dracula (a role eventually going to Bela Lugosi) and two years after "Thief of Bagdad" playing the venomous Major Strasser in "Casablanca." To watch Veidt sneer a phrase is to watch a supreme interpreter of archfiends in action. I can't even imagine the movie without him.

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