Sindbad der Seefahrer

This is not an action adventure movie like the more recent Sinbad the Sailor movies (with the Ray Harryhausen special effects). This is a movie with great wit and outstanding dialog. Grand set design makes it visually exciting; remember, it's from the 40's so don't expect the kind of special effects we're use to today.

This is really a romantic comedy set in the time of the Arabian Nights. Sinbad is more rogue than adventure hero. You get the impression that some of his exploits are more 'tall tale' than fact. Most of all I liked the dynamic between Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Maureen O'Hara. Walter Slezak and Anthony Quinn are also very good. If you like good dialog, and romantic adventure - give it a try.

Simply stated, Douglas Fairbank, Jr. makes this film an effective tribute to his father's much more enjoyable classic "The Thief of Bagdad". Everything from the setting, the story, and the characters mirror that classic silent film. Fairbank, Jr.'s gestures, movements, and most notably his mock laughter towards his adversaries denote his father's performance.

Sadly, the film itself does not so nobly mirror "Thief". From bad dialog, poor effects, and an uninspired story we're left with an average adventure film. Only the performances of the actors and the beautiful Technicolor photography raise this film from mediocrity.

Maureen O'Hara as the "princess" provides a strong, sexy female lead to this male dominant cast. Walter Slezak chews up the scenery as a slimy heavy. Even Anthony Quinn gets into the act as a competitor to Fairbanks for O'Hara and the inevitable "treasure".

Fairbanks provides the best performance of the cast, one more compelling if you've seen any of his father's films. He captures his father's charm brilliantly. Unfortunately, he lacks his father's physical prowess as is evident by the abundant use of stunt doubles.

I casually recommend this film to anyone who enjoys Fairbanks, Sr. films, pirate films, or to anyone who just likes looking at Maureen O'Hara--in Color! If you can find a copy of this film on video check it out.

When I assess the popularity of this film in the postwar period of its release and then compare viewers' reactions recently registered to that approbation, I must assert that U.S. viewers appear to have suffered two serious losses over the last 50 years. First, they apparently can no longer listen to intelligent dialogue nearly as well as they once could; and second, viewers seem to have abandoned categories of fiction for emotional predilections, for or against subject matter, actors, etc. I believe that "Sinbad the Sailor" is an interesting, beautifully-photographed and well-acted film. I suggest Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is very good in the title role, although he adopted a device of moving his hands often that is graceful but distracting. Contrary to some adverse comments, if one ignores Maureen O'Hara's Irish brogue, she is excellent, rising to one of her most rewarding earlier parts, one that taxes her to play several moods and many nuances. Walter Slezak is very fine as always as a charismatic villain, Anthony Quinn underplays a villain who only reveals his depths of evil gradually. Also, George Tobias makes nearly the perfect foil for Fairbanks' agile Sinbad. The production is much-admired, with a rich teal blue to the sea in the process shots that many never tire of enjoying.. The elaborate costumes by Edward Stevenson and Dwight Franklin are a delight; the cinematography by George Barnes and the art direction by Albert d'Agostino and Carroll Clark as well as the set decorations by Claude E. Carpenter and Darrell Silvera are all outstanding. Roy Webb contributed fine original music and the direction by Richard Wallace is to my mind intelligent and swift-paced throughout. In fact, he plays with rates of the passage of time unusually well. The convoluted script for the film retailing Sinbad's "eight' voyage" was written by John Twist from a story created by him with George Worthing Yates. The plot theme involves "being true to the best that is in oneself". To feature this, the story-line retails the finding of a derelict ship with a dead crew. Sinbad, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and his partner Tobias, boarding the ship after being marooned, manage to bring the vessel to port where it is impounded. They had found the crew had been poisoned by the ship's water. But who poisoned it, they wonder. The entire film is told as a flashback by Sinbad, recounting his unknown latest adventure. His hints about plague to potential buyers of the ship, causes no one to buy the vessel--except himself, using money stealthily stolen from the auctioneer's own purse. A beautiful woman, O'Hara, it turns out, wants to marry a wealthy prince and also wants the vessel. Meanwhile Sinbad is trying to solve a riddle, involving the broken half of an amulet that had been found about his neck when he was an abandoned baby. The image found there also appeared on a map to a fabled island where lies the treasure of Alexander the Great--a map that later disappeared from the vessel. O'Hara is being sought by the Emir, Quinn; and believes Sinbad can lead her to the wealth.And he Emir wants it and her very badly. What follows is Arabian Nights adventure I suggest at its best-- captures, ship chases, escapes, arguments between male and female, the revelation that Melik, who has sailed with Sinbad, is the poisoner, a man obsessed with the treasure also, etc. The uneasy allies all arrive at last at the mysterious island of Derriabar. Sinbad is discovered to be the ruler-philosopher's long-lost son. He must somehow save the island from the Emir, who plans to use its wealth to make himself master of the entire world. Melik has a fine death scene.Sinbad prefers honesty and O'Hara as Shireen prefers him and the ending is very obviously satisfying. This is a film about ethics, mystery, romance, adventure, dialogue, humor and misassumptions. I recommend it highly to anyone adult enough to listen to it; it was a big hit for RKO when first released. In the good cast also are Seldon Leonard, John Miljan, Jane Greer, Mike Mazurki, Alan Napier and George Chandler.

"Sindbad the Sailor" is a lovely film to look at and it's obvious that RKO really pulled out all the stops to get this made. While this was a lesser studio in Hollywood, here they use nice garish 1940s Technicolor (the type classic movie fans love--despite its being very unrealistic), lavish sets and tons of costumes. It was obviously a prestige picture--and one on which the studio lavished a lot of attention. Because of this, it's odd that the dialog totally stank. All too often, people talked like they were either making speeches or doing an antiquated play--and in the process, the whole thing came off as stilted and silly. It's a shame, really, as I wanted to like this film a lot, but with B-movie writing, it only was mediocre.

In the lead was Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and I assume he was chosen because of his father. Fairbanks, Sr. made a huge mark in the 1920s starring in fabulous action-adventure films like "The Thief of Bagdad" and "The Mark of Zorro" (among many others). His athleticism and wonderful screen presence must have played a huge part in their selecting his son for this 1947 film--especially since Fairbanks, Jr. was a very good actor but really was NOT known for this sort of film. However, despite being far less athletic than Dad, he was quite handsome and very good here...but his dialog....yecch! Overall, the film is an enjoyable escapist film with dialog that will make decent writers cry. The film has action, lovely sets, Maureen O'Hara (playing her rather clichéd petulant woman once again) and is pure escapism. But it plays like a B-movie with a great budget.

This movie is an adult oriented swashbuckling tale in the guise of a children's movie. The harem scene is quite erotic and suggestive for its time. The script is very literate, almost too much so for a children's film, but there is plenty of colorful action for the kids too. The relationship between the O'Hara and Fairbanks character is very fiery, at times a little over-abusive, but they seem to made for each other. Slezak uses his intelligence to take an over-the-top character and make him believable and interesting. There is a lot of romance, combined with an inner-spective questioning of what true treasure is, and where true happiness comes from; everyone can learn from this. In this sense, it is a very moralistic tale, without preaching, but "showing". Kids will enjoy the action, adults who can get into the spirit of the tale will enjoy the sexual excitement and subtleties of the story and script. And to the casual viewer, it's just a fun film. It is underrated, and deserves a view by the entire family.