Thief of Damascus (1952)

A young man gathers a group of friends and adventurers to help battle an evil sultan.

Director:

Will Jason

Writer:

Robert E. Kent (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Henreid, John Sutton, Jeff Donnell

Cast

Cast overview:
Paul Henreid	...	General Abu Amdar
John Sutton	...	Khalid
Jeff Donnell	...	Sheherazade
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Sinbad (as Lon Chaney)
Elena Verdugo	...	Neela
Helen Gilbert	...	Princess Zafir
Robert Clary	...	Aladdin
Edward Colmans	...	Sultan Raudah
Nelson Leigh	...	Ben Jammal
Philip Van Zandt	...	Ali Baba

Storyline

In the world of Arabian Nights, Abu Amdar (Paul Henreid), head general of the Khalid, who is attacking Damascus, arranges a truce between the city and the Khalid's forces, and the Khalid (John Sutton') is furious. Amdar escapes to help the Persians, a decision prompted by his love for the Damascan Princes Zafir (Helen Gilbert). With the aid of Sheherazade (Jeff Donnell), Alladin (Robert Clary), Sinbad (Lon Chaney Jr., Ali Baba (Philip Van Zandt) and less-than-forty of his thieves, Abu Amdar soon sets things right in old Damascus...and Columbia's back lot.

---

Plot Keywords:

year 634 | 7th century | ali baba character | scheherazade character | sinbad the sailor character | 

---

Taglines:

Aladdin! Sinbad! Ali Baba! Scheherezade!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abu Andar, Held von Damaskus

Filming Locations:

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sam Katzman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Low Budget Adventure Film That Has Everything In Glorious Technicorlor!

Round up the usual suspects! This Columbia Film Saturday Matinée "B" Sand and Sandle flick features Sinbad (Lon Chaney Jr.), Aladdin (Robert Clary), and Ali Baba (Phillip Zandt) as a supporting cast to a very miscast Paul Henreid. While the film was for the most part entertaining it lacked the ingredients of some of it's more formidable predecessors that featured the likes of Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sabu, Jon Hall and various other Saturday Matinée icons of a much forgotten "B" "movies are better than ever past". This film was made after Lon Chaney Jr. grew tired of making "Wolfman" movies and demanded more versatile roles from Universal Studios. Consequently, he was released from his contract and wound up in a lot of these Columbia Technicolor wonders. On a personal basis, I had a lot of difficulty in accepting Paul Henreid as a "swashbuckling or sand and sandals" type of hero. I couldn't help the constant interruption of thinking of him as Victor Laszlo in the film "Casablanca", and the stunt double in the action scenes didn't look a bit like him. Another disrupting thought during the viewing was the fact that I kept thinking that many of the outdoor scenes seemed to be filmed at either the old Iverson Ranch or Corraganville (B Western Film Sets). The film uses all the wonderful gimmicks such as the magic door that opens when you say "Open Sessame!", complete with the 40 thieves and glorious Technicolor that make this film palatable. Give it a look for a pleasant visit to a "once upon a time" at the Saturday Matinée.