The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Don Weis

Writers:

Richard Collins (screenplay)
James Justinian Morier (novel)

Release Date:

1 October 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

The girls pronounce it "Hotcha Baba!"

Plot:

In Ispahan, Persia, Hajji Baba (John Derek) is leaving his father's shop to seek a greater fortune,...

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Caliph | Barber | Dancing Girl | Caravan

Cast

John Derek	...	Hajji Baba
Elaine Stewart	...	Princess Fakzia
Thomas Gomez	...	Osman Aga
Amanda Blake	...	Banah
Paul Picerni	...	Nurel-Din
Rosemarie Stack	...	Ayesha (as Rosemarie Bowe)
Donald Randolph	...	Caliph
Peter Mamakos	...	Chief executioner
Kurt Katch	...	Caoush
Leo Mostovoy	...	The Barber
Joanne Arnold	...	Susu (as Joann Arnold)
Veronica Pataky	...	Kulub (as Veronika Pataky)
Linda Danson	...	Fabria
Robert Bice	...	Musa
Carl Milletaire	...	Captain

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Albanian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17119, General Audience) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Quotes:

[first lines]
[eyeing a bevy of beautiful slave girls]
Merchant: When is the auction?
Auctioneer: These girls will be sold in Masharif. They go today in Osman Aga's caravan.

Movie Connections:

Edited into À la recherche de Kundun avec Martin Scorsese (1998)

Soundtrack:

Hajji Baba (Persian Lament)

Dreadfully dumb D movie

This is one of those awful 1950s movies that was geared towards the teen drive-in movie crowd. It centers around John Derek as the goofy man-boy who falls in love with the spoiled princess and must rescue her from the ambitious and evil sultan that wants to marry her. This movie has lots of shots of John Derek flexing his muscles and looking boyishly cute for the camera close-ups. Fortunately, it also features lots of 1950s beauties in full make-up and with 1950s hair styles riding horses and camels in the desert. The lack of realism and the cheesy costumes are good for a few laughs. It seems like some of the costumes were borrowed from local night-club acts. The turbans are also good for a few hoots, as some clearly look like a towel was wrapped around a hat. It is funny to watch the cute Amazons riding their horses in the desert sun, considering the fact that all of these pretty ladies are incredibly pale with milky white skin. In some scenes you can notice the desert backdrops because of the shadows reflecting off of them.