Son of Sinbad (1955)

Legendary pirate and adventurer Sinbad is in single-minded pursuit of two things: beautiful women and a substance called Greek Fire--an early version of gunpowder.

Director:

Ted Tetzlaff

Writers:

Jack Pollexfen, Aubrey Wisberg,

Stars:

Dale Robertson, Sally Forrest, Lili St. Cyr

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dale Robertson	...	Sinbad
Sally Forrest	...	Ameer
Lili St. Cyr	...	Nerissa
Vincent Price	...	Omar Khayyam
Mari Blanchard	...	Kristina
Leon Askin	...	Khalif
Jay Novello	...	Jiddah
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Simon Aristides
Nejla Ates	...	Dancer in market
Kalantan	...	Dancer in desert
Ian MacDonald	...	Murad
Donald Randolph	...	Councillor

Storyline

Sinbad was pursuing a secret weapon: Greek Fire. Attributed to the ancient Greeks, it was composed of pitch or bitumen, sulfur, and other ingredients. It was used in naval warfare and the Romans also made use of it but with the fall of the ancient Western world, it was temporarily forgotten, but it was rediscovered by the Arabs from whom European Crusaders also learned the method of making it.

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Plot Keywords:

sinbad | secret weapon | arab | fire | harem | 

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Taglines:

HOLD ON TO YOUR TURBANS! Here comes Adventure's boldest son!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 June 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nights in a Harem

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 1953, not released until 1955 mostly due to censorship troubles over Lili St. Cyr's risqué belly-dance.

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Quotes

Sinbad: [Outside a cave] Open Sesame, OPEN SESAME
Kristina: [to a donkey tied to a contraption that opens the doorway] Sesame

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Connections

Featured in Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies (2000)

User Reviews

As many girls with as little on as possible

Back when I first saw this, I was enchanted by the verses of Omar Khayyam (which I innocently supposed to be have been created for the script), excited by the spectacle, delighted to recognise allusions to so many familiar stories rolled into one, and heartily entertained by the comedy. Watching it again nowadays, I can't help noticing how the picture is completely dominated by the producer's desire to feature as many half-naked girls as can conceivably be shovelled into its slender plot.

Thanks to the engaging double-act of the two male leads (Vincent Price as Omar still steals the show) the film remains a watchable romp, but the extended dancing sequences threaten to wreck the otherwise brisk pacing. I suspect they either pall or enthral, according to taste. Where other "Sinbad" films will show you a few seconds of exotic dance as an establishing shot, this one lovingly retains the camera throughout the whole routine -- or several!

The heavy mining from other sources of legend -- whether the secret of Greek Fire (nowadays assumed to have been napalm), the conqueror Tamerlaine, the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, or well-known lines from the Rubaiyat -- also now tends to suggest a certain laziness in the writing of the script, rather than inspiring a delighted recognition of familiar allusions. I'm afraid I'm probably too sophisticated these days to be able to enjoy "Son of Sinbad" whole-heartedly any longer... which in a way is a shame. It's still a lively adventure with a saving sense of the absurd and an unabashed penchant for spectacle, but I can't in all honesty rank it above the rest.