Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Jon Hall | ... | Haroun-Al-Raschid | |
Maria Montez | ... | Sherazade | |
Sabu | ... | Ali Ben Ali | |
Leif Erickson | ... | Kamar (as Leif Erikson) | |
Billy Gilbert | ... | Ahmad | |
Edgar Barrier | ... | Nadan | |
Richard Lane | ... | Corporal | |
Turhan Bey | ... | Captain | |
John Qualen | ... | Aladdin | |
Shemp Howard | ... | Sinbad | |
William 'Wee Willie' Davis | ... | Valda | |
Thomas Gomez | ... | Hakim | |
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Jeni Le Gon | ... | Dresser |
Robert Greig | ... | Eunuch | |
Charles Coleman | ... | Eunuch |
Dancer Scheherazade was told by the stars that she will become wife of the caliph in Bagdad. She tells Kamar, brother of caliph Haroun. He planned a coup d'etat, which failed at first, but supported by the wazir he finally succeeds. Haroun is injured and gets help from Ahmad's actor troupe, where he is nursed by Scheherazade, who doesn't recognize him. When she hears that Kamar is looking for her she goes to him, but is sold with the complete troupe of actors to slavery. They're able to escape, but Haroun is still in danger. To save him, Scheherazade agrees to poison Kamar, but Haroun tries to establish his rulership first. Written by Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>
...with an unpretentious appeal to the child in many of us. In ancient times, the caliph of Baghdad, Haroun-Al-Raschid (Jon Hall), has his throne taken from him by his treacherous brother Kamar (Leif Erickson). The caliph is a fugitive marked for death, but he's rescued by acrobatic performer Ali Ben Ali (Sabu) who introduces the former leader to beautiful dancing girl Sherazade (Maria Montez). All three team up to win back the caliph's throne.
This goofy distraction was a big hit with wartime audiences looking to escape the horrors and worries of the time. And this is certainly "leave your brain at the door" entertainment, has little in common with the source stories, and is targeted at the least discerning of viewers. It fails to live up to the overheated camp heights of the noted Montez-Hall team-up Cobra Woman, though, and that lack of kitsch makes this a more tedious slog. Maria Montez may have been, to put it kindly, limited as an actress. But she had an exotic appeal that made her perfect for these kinds of cheesy sand-and-sex costume adventures churned out by Universal during the war.
Billy Gilbert's performance, in which he seems to scream most of his dialogue, also becomes nails-on-a-chalkboard irritating. As ridiculous as the movie is, it earned 4 Oscar nominations, for Best Score, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Art Direction.