IMDb user comments for
Arabian Nights (1942)

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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Splendid sand and sandal epic in glorious technicolor..., 30 May 2001
Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

Since I've recently written an article on MARIA MONTEZ, let me quote directly from it to describe this Maria Montez/Jon Hall/Sabu outing:

"The fact that she couldn't sing or dance seemed to be no obstacle to Maria since she was brimming with confidence--although aside from voice dubbing, it was later revealed that a dance double was used to perform parts of her routine.

With Walter Wanger in charge of its lavish production, she was given "Arabian Nights" ('42), a classic fantasy tale that--fortunately--no one was expected to take seriously. As if to make sure of that, the trio of stars were supported by one of The Three Stooges (Shemp Howard) as Sinbad. Another supporting player in the cast was Turhan Bey who would eventually be promoted to co-starring roles with Montez. The boyish Sabu, no longer under contract to Alexander Korda, proved to be one of the most charming ingredients of the film and played a huge role in the story which had Montez captured by an evil caliph and rescued by Sabu who rides through the desert sands to rescue her.

With Montez in filmy silks, gaudy baubles and turbaned headdress looking like a fairy-tale princess and muscular Jon Hall sharing the romantic interludes, audience response was enthusiastic. The lavish production values, exotic settings and personable trio made the tale satisfying for patrons seeking easy-on-the-eye entertainment. Lee Mortimer of the N.Y. Daily Mirror noted: 'After her performance in this opus, Maria Montez climbs several steps in everybody's estimation.'

And apparently, the public agreed because it was a huge hit."

For pure escapism, you couldn't beat these Maria Montez-Jon Hall films with the accent on adventure and romance in exotic settings and all designed to showcase her Latin beauty. More discriminating viewers noted that the acting was on a grade school level despite the big budget of most of the technicolor films she appeared in.

By the way, the article will appear in an upcoming issue of CLASSIC IMAGES.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Spectacular spectacle, 15 November 2000
Author: artzau

I remember seeing this film when it appeared in 1942, during WWII, a time of tension and uncertainity. It was great escape. The villains were villainous, the heroes heroic. The drama was dramatic and the storyline warm and fuzzy. Seeing it on video has allowed me to revisit that past time when as a child the world was uncertain and it was possible to escape into a costume-splendoured fantasy where the hero gets the girl, saves the kingdom and justice is served. There's nothing ever wrong with that.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
A beautiful fantasy adventure, 24 August 2003

Author: NewEnglandPat from Virginia

This ancient fantasy of two brothers who are caliphs-in-waiting is a dazzling, colorful film presented in lush Technicolor. Nature's beauty of deep blue skies, thick white clouds and golden desert sand dunes are well-served in this yarn of palace intrigue and murder as Kamar usurps the throne that rightfully belongs to his brother Haroun. The beautiful and exotic Sherazade aspires to marry a caliph and is instrumental along with Ali Ben Ali in rescuing Haroun from his brother's henchmen and nursing him back to health. Chase scenes, sword fights and comedy are sprinkled throughout the story but it is the vibrant color interiors and exteriors that arrest all attention in this film. Jon Hall is a virile and likable hero, Maria Montez a lovely girl who vows no man will ever win her heart, Leif Erickson a narrow-eyed plotter and Edgar Barrier's Hadan is a dark shadow who hovers about the story as an evil opportunist.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Good old mindless fun, 12 July 2007

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

Provided you really don't know or want to know the real tale of Scheherazade, then you'll no doubt enjoy this film. The actual book, "The Arabian Nights" (also known as "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights"), was supposedly written by Princess Scheherazade and consists of many short stories she supposedly invented each night in order to save her life from her crazy husband. In this movie there is no reference to this and apart from some of the names of characters from the book (such as Sinbad and Ali Baba), there isn't much similarity between them. Additionally, if you think too much and question the silliness of it all, you'll probably hate the film since it is purely an escapist style film--not too much unlike a movie serial condensed into 90 minutes. As for me, I enjoyed the silly escapism and learned to ignore all the mistakes in the film and the rather limp love affair between Maria Montez and Jon Hall . It was nearly non-stop action and fun--complete with perhaps a bit too much slapstick provided by the very large stomach of Billy Gilbert. However, I did enjoy the references to Sinbad and Ali Baba--especially because over and over, Ali (John Qualen) would grab every lamp he found and rubbed it furiously hoping for a genie. Also, it was nice to see Shemp Howard in one of his many appearances before going on to replace his brother, Curley, as a Stooge.

If you liked this silly adventure film, try watching Hall and Montez in COBRA WOMAN or Sabu in THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD--both of which are better than ARABIAN NIGHTS.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
A well presented oriental adventure..., 23 July 2005

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

After her adoring audience had grown up, they discovered that Maria Africa Vidal de Santo Silas (born 1920, died 1951) hadn't done her own singing (she was dubbed), nor her own dancing; her ability as an actress was also put into question, but her spell was not tarnished...

Maria Montez was still the madly glamorous South American 'Queen of Technicolor'. What her roles (all of them variations of Scheherazade) required were ingredients she had a surplus of: statuesque bearing, regal demeanor, fiery beauty and, best of all, an unassailable confidence in herself… When one weighed all the things she couldn't do against the thing she did so well, the balance came out in her favor…

Her film, "Arabian Nights," is a well presented oriental adventure which has nothing to do with its source material but entertained multitudes in search of relief from total war and was followed by several vaguely similar slices of hokum with the same stars...

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Superlative Technicolor effort, 13 July 2007

Author: Bill-ray from United States

Arabian Nights is one of the best early Technicolor efforts out of Hollywood and it really shows. It is great fun with a little something for everyone. The DVD is an excellent transfer and the color is beautiful on my new plasma HD TV. For the kids, its a simple action film with good good caliphs and bad caliphs. For the men, there's the gorgeous Maria Montez (OK, so the boys will enjoy her too.) For the ladies, the costuming will simply amaze you. This film can be watched by everyone except small children (a couple of killings - non graphic and 1 torture scene - also non graphic). Highly recommend for families with children 8 and over yrs old. Us older folks will enjoy it too. You can watch this many times. It won't get old.

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4 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
action-packed adventure, 9 November 2005

Author: rebeljenn from Bath, England

This action-packed adventure film is worth a watch, but it is not exactly a memorable film, and the story line suffers - secondary to all of the action taking place. (The basic summary is about a man who ends up getting revenge and banding together with some close friends, including a slave girl who is his love interest.) It is a fun film, and the picture (shot in Technicolour) is beautiful. (Excellent landscapes, colourful costumes, and much more come to life in the vibrant colour that this film was shot in.) If you want to watch something fun that doesn't require much thinking, then this movie won't let you down.

5/10

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2 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Maria Montez and Sabu in splendid technicolor, 17 November 2001
Author: ctosangel-2

I do not understand why the video movie pack shows John Hall when really movie 80% begin to Maria Montez and 20% to Sabu. The story (Boardman and Hogan), an inoffensive comedy in the orientalism way from the 40', the same that decorates and costumes. Very caracterist in that Hollywood era. Splendid technicolor and adequate music from Frank Skinner.

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