The Thief of Baghdad [Il Ladro di Bagdad] *** (1961, Steve Reeves, Giorgia Moll, Arturo Dominici, Edy Vessel, Antonio Battistella, Daniele Vargas, Fanfulla, Georges Chamarat) – Classic Movie Review 7326

Director Arthur Lubin and producer Bruno Vailati’s 1961 Italian adventure movie The Thief of Baghdad [Il Ladro di Bagdad] reworks the classic 1001 Nights story as a bright and effective vehicle for popular muscle man Steve Reeves, who stars as the thief Karim.

He falls for the Sultan of Baghdad (Antonio Battistella)’s daughter Princess Amina (Giorgia [Georgia] Moll), who is also targeted by the bad guy Prince Osman (Arturo Dominici). Reeves has to beat Osman (Dominici) and the wicked Kadeejah (Edy Vessel) to find the blue rose that will save the heroine’s life.

Though it naturally does not replace the two vintage versions, The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and The Thief of Bagdad (1940), it is still entertaining, often visually imaginative and certainly better than expected. Tonino Delli Colli’s cinematography (even in this odd Eastmancolor), Carlo Rustichelli’s music score and the location filming are strong assets.

It was shot on location in Tunisia and Italy, in the Titanus Studios, Rome, where filming started in August 1960.

An Italian, American and French co-production, it was financed by Joseph E Levine, Titanus and Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France.

Also in the cast are Daniele Vargas as Gamal, Antonio Battistella as the Sultan of Baghdad, Fanfulla (billed as Luigi Visconti) as Abdul, Giancarlo Zarfati as Farid, Gina Mascetti as Governess, Georges Chamarat as White Old Magician and Antonio Rosmino (uncredited).

It runs 100 minutes (Italy) and 90 minutes (US).

American film director Arthur Lubin recalled: ‘The location [Tunisia] was interesting but the picture was hard work. The producer [Bruno Vailati] had never made a movie before and the company was running out of money. I had a complete Italian crew and I didn’t speak the language so the work was difficult. By the time I got to Tunis, I had wised up. I had two assistant directors, one who spoke French and one who spoke Tunisian. We were 100 miles into the desert and got up at five in the morning before the sun got too high for us to work.’

In fact Egypt born Vailati had also produced Reeves’s Hercules Unchained (1959) and The Giant of Marathon (1959).

Arthur Lubin [Lubovsky] is remembered as the man who gave Clint Eastwood his first film contract.

Richard Wormser wrote a novelisation of the film, published by Dell Paperbacks in 1961. The novelisation and screenplay feature an unfilmed scene in which Karim battles a giant crab underwater.

The Thief of Baghdad [Il Ladro di Bagdad] is directed by Arthur Lubin, runs 100 minutes (Italy) and 90 minutes (US), is made by Titanus, Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France and Joseph E Levine, is released by Titanus (1961) (Italy) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (US) and (UK), is written by Augusto Frassinetti, Filippo Sanjust, Bruno Vailati, is shot in Eastmancolor by Tonino Delli Colli, is produced by Bruno Vailati, Joseph E Levine, Mario Basili and Mario Di Biase, is scored by Carlo Rustichelli and is designed by Flavio Mogherini.

It is the only Steve Reeves film unavailable in its original 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio on home video,

It is remade in 1978 as The Thief of Baghdad with Roddy McDowall, Peter Ustinov and Terence Stamp.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7326

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