The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Ludwig Berger
Michael Powell

Writers:

Miles Malleson (screenplay)
Lajos Biró (scenario)

Release Date:

25 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

One Thousand and One Sights from One Thousand and One Nights

Plot:

Prince Ahmad is the rightful King of Bagdad but he has been blinded and cast out as a beggar. Now a...

Plot Keywords:

Flying | Princess | Magic | Flying Carpet | Thief

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Conrad Veidt	...	Jaffar
Sabu	...	Abu
June Duprez	...	Princess
John Justin	...	Ahmad
Rex Ingram	...	Djinn
Miles Malleson	...	Sultan
Morton Selten	...	The Old King
Mary Morris	...	Halima
Bruce Winston	...	The Merchant
Hay Petrie	...	Astrologer
Adelaide Hall	...	Singer
Roy Emerton	...	Jailer
Allan Jeayes	...	The Story Teller

Also Known As:

The Thief of Bagdad: An Arabian Fantasy in Technicolor (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #02749) | West Germany:6 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Norway:A | Australia:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:Btl | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

When filming began in the USA, the stricter US censorship codes were applied. One of the most obvious differences between the scenes shot in the UK and those filmed in the USA is that the tops of the actresses' costumes were buttoned up all the way to satisfy the Hays Office. That kind of clue makes it easier to identify the US-shot scenes than trying to spot differences in the sets.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Abu throws tomatoes at his pursuers as he flees though Baghdad. These would have been unknown on Arabia at this time as they originated in the Americas.

Quotes:

[At the pool]
Ahmad: Who are you?
Ahmad: Your slave.
Princess: Where have you come from?
Ahmad: From the other side of time, to find you.
Princess: How long have you been searching?
Ahmad: Since time began.
Princess: Now that you've found me, how long will you stay?
Ahmad: To the end of time.
Ahmad: For me, there can be no more beauty in the world, than yours.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Twilight Zone: Little Boy Lost/Wish Bank/Nightcrawlers (#1.4)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

Hungarian Lullabye

There is magic in the number three...

Three flash-backs introduce the main characters (Abu, Jaffar, and the Princess) who will interact with Ahmad; three are the songs, each linked to those same characters. Three times does Ahmad pronounce the absolute word 'Time', in his declaration of love to the Princess, answering her three questions at their first of three meetings. So strong is the impression he causes, that the Princess will resist the three attempts by Jaffar to conquer her - by three successive ploys: deceit, hypnosis, and memory erasing. Yet, Jaffar owns what he describes as the three inescapable instruments of domination over a woman: the whip, the power, and the sword. Three is the number of flying entities: the mechanical-horse, the Genie, and the The Genie and the magic carpet. The Genie offers three wishes to Abu at their first of three encounters; three times does the Genie laugh loud in the mountain gorges, and three are his considerations about human frailty, before he departs. Abu overcomes three obstacles in the Temple of Dawn (armed guards, giant-spider, and giant-octopus). Three are the instruments of justice: the magical eye that shows Abu the future, the magical carpet that transports him just in time to save Ahmad and the Princess, and the bow-and-arrow to execute Jaffar. There's magic in the number three, and there is magic in this movie.