Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writer:

Edmund L. Hartmann (original screenplay)

Release Date:

14 January 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Wild nights of sheer delights! Burning days of bold adventure!

Plot:

A boy prince, raised by forty thieves, takes revenge on the Mongol invaders who murdered his father and stole his kingdom.

Plot Keywords:

Mongol | Boy | Cave | Fight | Girl

Cast

Maria Montez	...	Amara
Jon Hall	...	Ali Baba
Turhan Bey	...	Jamiel
Andy Devine	...	Abdullah
Kurt Katch	...	Hulagu Khan
Frank Puglia	...	Prince Cassim
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Old Baba
Moroni Olsen	...	Caliph Hassan
Ramsay Ames	...	Nalu
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Fat Thief
Scotty Beckett	...	Ali Baba as a Child
Yvette Duguay	...	Amara as a Girl
Noel Cravat	...	Mongol Captain
Jimmy Conlin	...	Little Thief
Harry Cording	...	Mahmoud
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ed Agresti	...	Mongol Captain (uncredited)
Richard Alexander	...	Mongol Guard (uncredited)
Jerome Andrews	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Robert Barron	...	Mongol Captain (uncredited)
Alphonse Bergé	...	Tailor (uncredited)
Eric Braunsteiner	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Ed Brown	...	Dancer (uncredited)
John Calvert	...	Thief (uncredited)
Fred Cavens	...	Thief (uncredited)
Dick D'Arcy	...	Dancer (uncredited)
William 'Wee Willie' Davis	...	Arab Giant (uncredited)
Dick Dickinson	...	Thief (uncredited)
Rex Evans	...	Arab Major Domo (uncredited)
Martin Faust	...	Thief (uncredited)
Alex Goudavich	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Hans Herbert	...	Thief (uncredited)
David Heywood	...	Thief (uncredited)
James Khan	...	Persian Prince (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Thief (uncredited)
Pierce Lyden	...	Guard (uncredited)
George Martin	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Don McGill	...	Guard (uncredited)
Art Miles	...	Mongol Guard (uncredited)
Belle Mitchell	...	Nursemaid (uncredited)
Alma M. Pappas	...	Princess Kanza Omar (uncredited)
Theodore Patay	...	Arab Priest (uncredited)
Joey Ray	...	Thief (uncredited)
Pedro Regas	...	Thief (uncredited)
Alex Romero	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Angelo Rossitto	...	Arab Dwarf (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim	...	Barber (uncredited)
Norman Willis	...	Guard (uncredited)
Harry Woods	...	Mongol Guard (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Lubin

Writing credits
Edmund L. Hartmann		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Paul Malvern	....	producer
Jack J. Gross	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Edward Ward

Cinematography by
W. Howard Greene
George Robinson

Film Editing by
Russell F. Schoengarth		(as Russell Schoengarth)

Art Direction by
John B. Goodman
Richard H. Riedel

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman		(as R.A. Gausman)
Ira Webb		(as Ira S. Webb)

Costume Design by
Vera West

Makeup Department
Jack P. Pierce	....	makeup artist (as Jack Pierce)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles S. Gould	....	assistant director (as Charles Gould)
Ray Taylor	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bernard B. Brown	....	sound director
Robert Pritchard	....	sound technician

Visual Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photography

Stunts
David Sharpe	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward Ward	....	musical director
Harold Zweifel	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
William Fritzsche	....	associate technicolor color director
Jamiel Hasson	....	technical advisor
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director
Stacy Keach Sr.	....	dialogue director (as Stacy Keach)
Paul Oscard	....	choreographer
Fred Cavens	....	fencing instructor (uncredited)
Jimmy Phillips	....	horse expert (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1944) (USA) (theatrical)
• M.P.E.A. (1948) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Realart Pictures Inc. (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal (1948) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films S. A..)
• Universal Pictures (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min | Argentina:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #9665) | West Germany:12 (nf) | Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Coral Pink Sand Dunes - Sand Dunes Road, Kanab, Utah, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Hulagu Khan was a real person - he was the brother of Kublai Khan, the conqueror of Asia, and the Mongol leader who conquered Iran and Baghdad, as shown in the movie. But he appears to have died of natural causes, not by murder.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the thieves are singing as they return to the cave the camera is leading them. The tire tracks of the camera car are plainly visible in the sand in front of the horse's hooves.

Quotes:

Abdullah:For a man's country or his stomach he might bid his life; even for his horse. Never, never for a woman.

Movie Connections:

Version of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1902)

Soundtrack:

Song of the Forty Thieves

Delightful Naive Adventure

In Baghdad, in the days of the Mongol invasion leaded by the cruel Hugalu Khan (Kurt Katch), the caliph Hassan (Moroni Olsen) is betrayed by Prince Cassim (Frank Puglia) and killed by the Mongols. His son Ali, who had just pledged love to Prince Cassim's daughter Amara, escapes and accidentally finds the magic cave Sesame, the hiding place of forty thieves leaded by Baba (Fortunio Bonanova). Ali is adopted by Baba, who assigns the strong Abdullah (Andy Devine) to protect him. For ten years, the Mongols held Baghdad, and Ali Baba (Jon Hall) becomes the leader of the forty thieves, now beloved by the population for challenging the invaders. When the thieves acknowledge that a caravan is bringing Lady Amara (Maria Montez) to marry the tyrant Hugalu Khan, Ali Baba meets her bathing and does not recognize her. The Mongols capture him and he believes she betrayed him. Amara's servant Jamiel (Turhan Bey) helps Ali Baba, and the thieves rescue him in Baghdad and abduct Amara. In the garden of Prince Cassim's garden, they have recollections of their childhood, but they do not recognize each other. When Ali finds the truth, he fights for his love and for the freedom of Baghdad.

"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is a delightful naive adventure that brings me back to my childhood, when I loved to see the movie because of the magic cave that opened and closed with the commands: "- Open, Oh Sesame!", or "- Close, Oh Sesame!". The story is simple, with the evil Hugalu Khan in the always invaded Baghdad; the traitor Prince Cassim; the forty bandits that become good guys; the hero Ali Baba and the heroine Amara, and lots of action for children and adults. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Ali Baba e os Quarenta Ladrões" ("Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves")