Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1917)

The story of Aladdin and the Princess Badr al-badr's adventures as told through child actors.

Directors:

Chester M. Franklin, Sidney Franklin (as Sidney A. Franklin)

Writer:

Bernard McConville

Stars:

Francis Carpenter, F.A. Turner, Virginia Lee Corbin

Cast

Cast overview:
Francis Carpenter	...	Aladdin
F.A. Turner	...	Mustapha - the Tailor (as Fred Turner)
Virginia Lee Corbin	...	Princess Badr al-badr
Alfred Paget	...	The Sultan
Violet Radcliffe	...	Al-talib
Buddy Messinger	...	Omar - Al-talib's Evil Spirit
Lewis Sargent	...	Ali (as Lew Sargent)
Gertrude Messinger	...	Yasmini
Marie Messinger	...	Dancing Girl
'Baby' Carmen De Rue	...	Dancing Girl (as Carmen De Rue)
Raymond Lee	...	Boy of the Street
Lloyd Perl	...	Boy of the Street
Joseph Singleton	...	Muezzin (as Joe Singleton)
Elmo Lincoln	...	Magic Genie

Storyline

The story of Aladdin and the Princess Badr al-badr's adventures as told through child actors.

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Plot Keywords:

magic | fairy tale | genie | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Fantasy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1917 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aladdin og den underfulde Lampe

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 40 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

A Hidden Gem

I've seen many silent films in the past; but not a one so amusingly adorable as Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.

First thing you must know is that children portray the lead characters of the story. This is an artistic choice most famously found in Alan Parker's 1976 musical Bugsy Malone. But it seems that Chester and Sidney Franklin beat Parker to the punch almost 60 years prior. Sure it's silly a tad bit crude; however we are drawn to the delightfulness that is the child-acting of adult characters. This brings out a playful, innocent quality to the film that Bugsy Malone fails to capture.

Once again, the film is One-hundred years old and with age comes stress. This film is choppy, not only since editing wasn't even close to being perfected in 1917, but also because film preservation isn't exactly the easiest thing to accomplish. We should be thankful that a great film like this is even available to us. Many films from the same year are long lost or likely destroyed.

To my understanding, the film holds a much stronger resemblance to the original folk-tale than Disney's 1992 animated feature. I can appreciate both adaptations; though, I must weigh in favor of the Franklin bros. as my little way of raging against the machine (i.e. Disney) and since Aladdin is not one of Disney's strongest renaissance era films. I find that a lot of the blunders in Disney's Aladdin go unnoticed. And perhaps my claiming that the Franklin brothers' 1917 hidden gem is better than Disney's mainstream hit just might lure you into watching it yourself.