The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Ludwig Berger
Michael Powell
(more)

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frederick Burtwell	...	Unnamed Character (uncredited)
Joseph Cozier	...	Man selling fish (uncredited)
Henry Hallett	...	Unnamed Character (uncredited)
Glynis Johns	...	Unnamed Character (uncredited)
Alexander Laine	...	Urchin in Bagdad market (uncredited)
Cleo Laine	...	Urchin in Bagdad market (uncredited)
Sylvia Laine	...	Urchin in Bagdad market (uncredited)
Spoli Mills	...	Walk-on (uncredited)
Leslie Phillips	...	Urchin in Bagdad market (uncredited)
Norman Pierce	...	Unnamed Character (uncredited)
John Salew	...	Unnamed Character (uncredited)
Otto Wallen	...	Unnamed Character (uncredited)

Directed by
Ludwig Berger
Michael Powell
Tim Whelan
Alexander Korda		(uncredited)
Zoltan Korda		(uncredited)
William Cameron Menzies		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Miles Malleson		(screenplay and dialogue)
Lajos Biró		(scenario) (as Lajos Biro)

Produced by
Alexander Korda	....	producer
Zoltan Korda	....	associate producer
William Cameron Menzies	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(musical score and songs) (as Miklos Rozsa)

Film Editing by
Charles Crichton

Production Design by
Vincent Korda

Art Direction by
Vincent Korda		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
John Armstrong
Oliver Messel
Marcel Vertès		(as Marcel Vertes)

Makeup Department
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Tom Shenton	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
David B. Cunynghame	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Clayton	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
W. Percy Day	....	scenic backgrounds (as Percy Day)
Ferdinand Bellan	....	associate art director (uncredited)
W. Percy Day	....	associate art director (uncredited)
William Cameron Menzies	....	associate art director (uncredited)
Frederick Pusey	....	associate art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
A.W. Watkins	....	sound director
John W. Mitchell	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Jack Whitney	....	special sound effects (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lawrence W. Butler	....	special effects director (as Lawrence Butler)
Tom Howard	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Peter Ellenshaw	....	assistant matte artist (uncredited)
Wally Veevers	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Osmond Borradaile	....	associate photographer
Georges Périnal	....	chief photographer (as George Perinal)
Henty Henty-Creer	....	camera operator: exteriors (uncredited)
Robert Krasker	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)
Bill Wall	....	chief electrician (uncredited)

Editorial Department
William Hornbeck	....	supervising editor
Peter R. Hunt	....	associate editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	musical director

Other crew
Geoffrey Boothby	....	associate director
Charles David	....	associate director
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor director
Alexander Korda	....	presenter
André De Toth	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Ralph Faulkner	....	fight choreographer (uncredited)
Wendy Toye	....	dance instructor: mechanical doll dance (uncredited)

Production Companies

• London Film Productions

Distributors

• United Artists Corporation (1940) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Deutsche London-Film Verleih (1940) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Film Classics (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1961) (Finland) (TV)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Pioneer Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Finnkino (1997) (Finland) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (video)
• Nelson Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)

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:

Errors in geography: The Sultan of Basra's palace has many decorations in the form of Hindu iconography, which would be found in India, but not in the ancient Middle East. (It was considered "Oriental" enough to pass by a 1940s audience, but stands out for a modern audience.)

Quotes:

Doctor: But she loves the blind man.
Jaffar: Do you call the lisping of two children in the garden love? Love she has yet to learn. But I'm here to teach her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Uncensored (1987)

Soundtrack:

I Want To Be A Sailor

Probably the best "Arabian Nights" film ever made.

Most of the genre of "Arabian Nights" films were silly, cheesy, low-budget things, like "The Prince Who Was A Thief" starring Tony Curtis as an Arabian prince with a Brooklyn accent. This is an exception: A genuinely magical film, one of the best fantasy films ever made.

A beautiful film made in the most glowing of technicolors, it tells the simple story of a boy thief (Sabu) meeting a dethroned prince (the gorgeous John Justin), and helping him defeat the wonderfully evil usurper Conrad Veidt. Like "The Wizard of Oz" made the year before, the performances are so good that you believe in what you see on the screen. Flying carpets and horses, towering genies, dancing idols, it all seems perfectly believable and exiting. A classic.