Thief of Damascus ** (1952, Paul Henreid, Lon Chaney Jr, Jeff Donnell, John Sutton, Elena Verdugo, Helen Gilbert, Robert Clary, Philip Van Zandt) – Classic Movie Review 12,208

Columbia Pictures’ 1952 Technicolor adventure movie Thief of Damascus stars Paul Henreid, Lon Chaney Jr and Jeff Donnell, and features heroes Aladdin, Ali Baba, Sinbad and Sheherazade. 

Director Will Jason’s 1952 Columbia Pictures Technicolor adventure movie Thief of Damascus stars Paul Henreid, Lon Chaney Jr, Jeff Donnell, John Sutton, Elena Verdugo, Helen Gilbert, Robert Clary, and Philip Van Zandt.

Three heroes for the price of one – Aladdin (Robert Clary), Ali Baba (Philip Van Zandt) and Sinbad (Lon Chaney Jnr) – feature in this 634AD tale of a princess, Zafir (Helen Gilbert), a general, Abu Andar (Paul Henreid) and Sheherazade (Jeff Donnell) battling an evil caliph (John Sutton) to save Damascus and depose the ruler Khalid, and then Abu Andar can win the heart of Princess Zafir.

Thief of Damascus is complete nonsense that borrows second-hand clothes, sets and ideas from anywhere and everywhere, including generous use of stock footage from films like Joan of Arc.

But in its favour are the jolly tone, plotting, busy fast pace and tongue-in-cheek playing of actors who know just what they are in and what they have to do.

Also in the cast are Elena Verdugo as Neela, Edward Colmans as Sultan Raudah, Nelson Leigh as Ben Jammal, Leonard Penn, Larry Stewart and Robert Conte.

Writer: Robert E Kent (original story and screenplay).

The film is produced by Sam Katzman, and preceded by his The Magic Carpet and followed by his 1953 Siren of Bagdad, also with Paul Henreid.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,208

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