The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Grade: 67
TOB is a lengthy, silent movie that moves slowly but is still very interesting to watch. The story is a classic of love not only conquering all, but also changing one's very nature.
Douglas Fairbanks Sr is the Thief, who is proud of his ability to take whatever he wants. He steals a magic rope that can be used to scale the highest walls. He raids the Royal Palace to steal the Princess' jewels, but falls in love with her from one gaze as she sleeps.
On her birthday, royal custom has it that she must choose a husband from among suitors, who must be princes. Four princes are the candidates. The first is nondescript, the second is very fat, the third is evil, the fourth is our hero, the Thief, who has stolen princely garment from a slumbering merchant to have dress for the occasion. He proclaims himself "Prince of the Isles and Seven Seas".
His fraud is discovered, and he is caught, beaten and released. But his efforts has won the love of the Princess. She does not want to wed any other Prince, so she stalls by saying she will choose the suitor who in seven moons brings the rarest treasure.
Our hero must overcome many obstacles to procure his treasure, a magic box from which any object desired can be removed. The other princes each also find rare objects: a magic crystal that can see the future, a flying carpet, a magic apple that can restore life to the dead.
The evil prince is the villian in this movie. He is oriental, and is always cunning and scheming. The other orientals in the film are also this way, actually a weakness of the film. He poisons the princess so that his apple can cure her. He stocks the palace with soldiers so that he can conquer Bagdad. Our hero the thief must overcome not only his treachery, but also his army.
The movie has reasonable special effects, although the monsters would be more scary if they did not simply loom over Fairbanks until he gets around to slicing them with his trusty knife.
http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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