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IMDbPro

Arabian Nights

  • 19421942
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Leif Erickson, Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942)
The caliph of Baghdad must go into hiding with a group of traveling performers when his brother usurps the throne. Both brothers desire a beautiful dancing girl, who is torn between power and true love.
Play trailer2:09
1 Video
14 Photos
ActionAdventureComedy
The caliph of Baghdad must go into hiding with a group of traveling performers when his brother usurps the throne. Both brothers desire a beautiful dancing girl, who is torn between power an... Read allThe caliph of Baghdad must go into hiding with a group of traveling performers when his brother usurps the throne. Both brothers desire a beautiful dancing girl, who is torn between power and true love.The caliph of Baghdad must go into hiding with a group of traveling performers when his brother usurps the throne. Both brothers desire a beautiful dancing girl, who is torn between power and true love.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
    • John Rawlins
    • Michael Hogan(story)
    • True Boardman(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Jon Hall
    • Maria Montez
    • Sabu
    • John Rawlins
    • Michael Hogan(story)
    • True Boardman(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Jon Hall
    • Maria Montez
    • Sabu
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 21User reviews
    • 25Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 4 Oscars

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:09
    Watch Trailer

    Photos14

    Jon Hall in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Leif Erickson, Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Jon Hall and Maria Montez in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Maria Montez in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Maria Montez in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Acquanetta in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Maria Montez in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Billy Gilbert, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Maria Montez in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Elyse Knox in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Leif Erickson, Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942)
    Leif Erickson, Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jon Hall
    Jon Hall
    • Haroun-Al-Raschid
    Maria Montez
    Maria Montez
    • Sherazade
    Sabu
    Sabu
    • Ali Ben Ali
    Leif Erickson
    Leif Erickson
    • Kamar
    • (as Leif Erikson)
    Billy Gilbert
    Billy Gilbert
    • Ahmad
    Edgar Barrier
    Edgar Barrier
    • Nadan
    Richard Lane
    Richard Lane
    • Corporal
    Turhan Bey
    Turhan Bey
    • Captain
    John Qualen
    John Qualen
    • Aladdin
    Shemp Howard
    Shemp Howard
    • Sinbad
    William 'Wee Willie' Davis
    William 'Wee Willie' Davis
    • Valda
    Thomas Gomez
    Thomas Gomez
    • Hakim
    Jeni Le Gon
    Jeni Le Gon
    • Dresser
    Robert Greig
    Robert Greig
    • Eunuch
    Charles Coleman
    Charles Coleman
    • Eunuch
    Adia Kuznetzoff
    • Slaver
    Emory Parnell
    Emory Parnell
    • Harem Sentry
    Harry Cording
    Harry Cording
    • Blacksmith
      • John Rawlins
      • Michael Hogan(story) (screenplay)
      • True Boardman(additional dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film marks the first use of three-strip Technicolor by Universal.
    • Goofs
      In the 'city' in the desert, there is a sulphur-crested cockatoo in the harem. This bird is a native of Australia, and not known elsewhere until several centuries later.
    • Quotes

      Aladdin: [to Corporal] If you have to leave, don't go until you come back.

    • Connections
      Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

    User reviews21

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    ARABIAN NIGHTS (John Rawlins, 1942) ***
    I had long wanted to revisit this one since my one and only viewing of it had occurred long ago (back in the mid-1980s) and given that I am partial to Arabian Nights extravaganzas. Frankly, I was very disappointed that Universal decided to issue this one on DVD by itself a couple of years ago instead of releasing a Franchise Collection comprising several of its equally colorful follow-ups from the same studio; in the end, I didn't pick the disc up but, in view of the problematic copy I eventually ended up with, it would perhaps had been wiser if I did! In fact, when I first acquired it on DivX, there were severe lip-synch problems; this was remedied when I eventually converted it onto DVD-R but then there was intermittent jerkiness to the picture. Furthermore, when I played it on my Pioneer model, the picture froze with a loud buzz…thankfully, this was not repeated when I placed it into my cheaper DVD player and even the jitters were less conspicuous!

    Anyway, this movie has a lot to answer for: it was the ideal form of cinematic escapism for WWII picturegoers and reaped big box office returns for Universal which ensured that they went back to the desert of Arabia for many more times thereafter in the next decade or so. Despite the generic title, the film isn't actually a filmic depiction of one of the classic stories but rather Universal's own concoction with every known ingredient thrown into the mix for added value: so it is that historical figures (Haroun-Al-Raschid) rub shoulders with mythical ones (Sinbad, Aladdin, Scheherazade) and are subverted or sanitized into the process. Dashing hero Jon Hall plays Haroun-Al-Raschid as a deposed Caliph seeking to regain his throne usurped by his villainous and seemingly love-crazed brother (Leif Ericson); the object of his unrequited affections is Scheherazade – which is actually misspelled in the credits! – played by the iconic "Queen of Technicolor" Maria Montez. Sinbad and Aladdin, then, are incongruously but humorously portrayed as amiable buffoons by familiar character actors John Qualen and Shemp Howard respectively; the latter is always on the point of spinning one of his seafaring yarns yet again before being shut up by his ill-tempered circus employer Billy Gilbert! The third lead role is taken by exotic Indian star Sabu who had already visited this territory in the quintessential Arabian Nights tale (and definitive film), the magnificent Alexander Korda production of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940); what the film under review lacks in comparison to the latter is the omission of wizardry and special effects.

    As I said, this formula proved so successful that Universal reunited variations of the star combo several times afterwards – WHITE SAVAGE (1943), ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES (1944), COBRA WOMAN (1944; see above), GYPSY WILDCAT (1944), SUDAN (1945; also helmed by Rawlins) and TANGIER (1946). Another measure of its being welcome at the time of release is the fact that ARABIAN NIGHTS was nominated for 4 Academy Awards in these categories: art direction-set decoration, cinematography (this was Universal's first three-strip Technicolor production and, over 60 years later, the colors still leap off the screen), music (Frank Skinner's score is appropriately rousing) and sound recording. In this context, the choice of John Rawlins as director – best known for the rather weak SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR (1942) – was a curious one but, in hindsight, he conducted the proceedings very capably.
    helpful•16
    3
    • Bunuel1976
    • Dec 21, 2008

    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 8, 1943 (Brazil)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Kanab, Utah, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Walter Wanger Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 26 minutes

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