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 | Flying Carpet | Dungeon | Princess | 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:

Filming began in Britain, but because of the Blitz, the production relocated to Hollywood.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Despite taking place in the ancient Middle East, several scenes show local people speaking in Hindi, which is spoken in India. (Again, it's "Oriental" enough for a 1940s audience not to notice.)

Quotes:

Genie: You're a clever little man little master of the universe, but mortals are weak and frail. If their stomach speaks, they forget their brain. If their brain speaks, they forget their heart. And if their heart speaks
[laughter]
Genie: ... they forget everything.

Movie Connections:

Featured in SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Want To Be A Sailor

STUNNING DVD!

I first discovered Alexander Korda's (1940) Fantasy, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD in the early 1950's on a re-issue billed as "The Wonder Show of the Century!" Both Korda Technicolor films, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD and JUNGLE BOOK were shown on one never to be forgotten program. The music of Miklos Rozsa enhanced both films. The Technicolor in each was incredibly beautiful! THE THIEF OF BAGDAD has remained on my list as the best fantasy film ever made. As the years passed, it became more difficult to enjoy the film's color in the way it had originally been presented in. True Technicolor gave way to a Eastman Color process in the middle 1950's. Both Kino and Samuel Goldwyn reissued the film both theatrically and on video. But the Eastman Color prints were more pastel in nature and muted the vibrancy of the original Technicolor. The Laser Disc release of this title also has the pastel look to it -- nice, but not as it should be. NOW comes the M-G-M DVD (3 Dec 2002) issue. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD again has the wonderful Technicolor look to it on a DVD that is nothing short of STUNNING!!! It was so exciting to see it like this once again that after viewing the DVD once, I watched it a second time. The only "Extras" are a Spanish Dubbed version, Sub-Titles in both English & Spanish, and a beautifully done original theatrical trailer. Thank you M-G-M for this EXCEPTIONAL DVD release. Now, one can only hope that Korda's FOUR FEATHERS and a restored version of Korda's JUNGLE BOOK (to replace to poor public domain prints in circulation) will soon follow on DVD.