The Golden Voyage of Sinbad ***½ (1973, John Phillip Law, Caroline Munro, Tom Baker, Douglas Wilmer, Martin Shaw) – Classic Movie Review 3520

‘Sinbad battles the creatures of legend in the miracle of Dynarama!’ ‘Dynarama means supreme adventure!’ Director Gordon Hessler’s 1973 British adventure movie does what it says on the posters and is exotic, colourful, fast-moving and fun.

John Phillip Law stars as the swashbuckling sailor Sinbad and beautiful Hammer Studios scream queen Caroline Munro co-stars as Margiana, both of them battling an array of monsters and an evil master magician called Koura (played by Tom Baker) for possession of a golden crown. Baker’s character Koura is trying to reach the Fountain of Destiny on the lost land of Lemuria in a bid to be crowned new leader of the Marabia.

Ray Harryhausen’s Dynamatronic creatures steal the show, while Law makes a dashing and attractive Sinbad. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is excellent of its old-fashioned kind. Also in the cast are Douglas Wilmer as the Vizier, the 28-year-old Martin Shaw as Rachid, Grégoire Aslan as Hakim, John D [David] Garfield Jr as Abdul, Kurt Christian as Haroun, Takis Emmanuel as Achmed and Aldo Sambrell as Omar.

Harryhausen also co-writes the screenplay with Brian Clemens and there’s a notable score from Hollywood veteran composer Miklos Rozsa. Harryhausen is paying tribute to The Thief of Bagdad (1940) here, with the same composer and Kali’s dance copying many moves of the six-armed robot.

It is again produced by Charles H Schneer, from Harryhausen’s 1963 Jason and the Argonauts.

As the posters suggest, it is filmed in the miracle of Dynarama and Eastmancolor.

John Phillip Law, star of Danger: Diabolik and Barbarella (1968), died on May 13 2008, aged 70.

British screenwriter Brian Clemens (The Avengers, The New Avengers and The Professionals) died on January 10 2015, aged 83. His mantra was ‘Arse to chair, pen to paper’.