Arabian Adventure *** (1979, Christopher Lee, Milo O’Shea, Oliver Tobias, Emma Samms, Mickey Rooney) – Classic Movie Review 10,134

Director Kevin Connor’s 1979 fantasy adventure film Arabian Adventure stars Oliver Tobias as Prince Hasan, who has a quest to rescue beautiful damsel-in-distress Princess Zuleira (Emma Samms) from the wicked sorcerer Alquazar (Christopher Lee), who seeks a magical rose to gain great power.

Arabian Adventure is a pleasing, brightly coloured reworking of The Arabian Nights, or the Arabian stories in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, with an attractive, easygoing cast.

Also in the cast are Mickey Rooney, Milo O’Shea, Elizabeth Welch, Peter Cushing, John Ratzenberger, Capucine, Art Malik, Suzanne Danielle and Shane Rimmer.

You’ll find engaging acting, handsome colour cinematography (by Alan Hume), beautiful set designs and costumes, and decent effects in this happy family film, only slightly let down by the sometimes-daft elements in Brian Hayles’s screenplay.

Hayles died before it was released and Keith Miles’s novelisation is dedicated to his memory.

It is a John Dark – Kevin Connor Production.

It is released by Kino Lorber (2019) (US) (DVD and Blu-ray).

 © Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,134

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