The Thief of Bagdad

Saw The Thief of Bagdad, a 1940s film set in Persia, though of course really set in the nowhere-in-particular of Kipling's Just So stories. The film is a special effects driven story of adventure and so forth. It follows the Prince-become-beggar Ahmad and his far more competent boy-assistant, Abu. The prince Ahmad had been deposed by his evil vizier Jaffar. Jaffar and he both lust for the same princess (who isn't even given a name. In the credits it's just 'Princess') who is the daughter of a silly and childlike sultan who loves gadgets and toys. There's also a genie who grants wishes. All of these may ring a bell.

The film is kind of racist in parts (the prince is the most Caucasian-looking Indian beggar I've ever seen, but he has heavy eye-liner so, y'know, no one can tell. Abu, who is actually Indian, is never given props for bailing everyone out over and over again.) but then what do you expect? Especially of the 40s and this Orientalist story. The special effects are also a bit dated. They rely on sword-under-the-armpit technology and a blue-screen technique that makes many composite shots look like the holograms in Star Wars.

Largely however, the film holds up. It's a light and ripping yarn, so long as you accept that this "Persia" is supposed to be synonymous with Oz and Neverland, and is any way a lot of campy fun. Very imaginative and pretty (in a technicolor kind of way,) it yields noble princes, sneering villains, and happy endings. There's also some bit about the belief in the impossible that could be used as a launching point for a discursion on fiction and fantasy, but I'll spare you. Also there's a lot of nude male torso and boob-windows for all, so it's got that going for it. Which is nice.

Edit: Hah! Boob-window trivia: the production had to move to Hollywood halfway through filming because of the Blitz. The Hollywood shots closed the boob-windows to satisfy the Hayes office. So you can tell the studio location of any shot by the amount of cleavage showing!