Die Tochter des Kalifen

A classic "B" movie from the 50's, this film features numerous women dressed up like a Vargas painting. I don't remember much about the movie other than a slave girl gets tied down to a table and the soles of her feet are lightly cropped, that Haji encounters a band of Amazon-style women warriors, and that Elaine Stewart's character is captured and bound to a frame until Haji comes to her rescue. No nudity, no harsh language, nothing offensive, just the usual damsels in distress. Since the film was made in the fifties, you can bet that those scanty costumes are sewn onto flesh-colored bodysuits. Still, the slave girl cropping is a bit risque for the time and may be worth seeing.

The technical quality of this example of exotica is superb. This is probably the best looking exotica movie produced by Hollywood in the 50s, far more lavish looking than Rock Hudson's The Golden Blade. The attack of the Amazons in the desert is astonishing with the women standing on their racing horses and strangling male soldiers with a garrot.

Priceless junk that is pretty much explained by its title. John Derek was a good looking man and at times an adequate actor but not here although the script such as it is doesn't really lend itself to major thesping. Elaine Stewart as the princess is even worse enacting her role with all the passion of a petulant schoolgirl and showing that her eventual participation in numerous game show as a hostess was probably the best use of her talents. The only cast member to emerge with any kind of distinction is Thomas Gomez who chews the high grade ham as an good hearted but opportunistic trader. The costumes are just about what you would expect from this sort of sword and sandal flick but keep an eye out at about the hour mark for a young slave maiden wearing what truly appears to be a mop on her head!! The most baffling aspect of the whole thing is that it has a score conducted by Nelson Riddle and an (awful) theme song sung by the great Nat King Cole that is repeated over and over again throughout the flick. Enjoyable once in a mindless colorful way.

At least, in France, this adventure film from One Thousand and One Nights tales was very famous, and I understand why after watching it. Full of charm because of the photograpjy, production design, music score and above all Nat King Cole's song. No matter the story, the plot, focus only on the overall film, not details. The best material from director Don Weis, forget the rest. Anyway this director was especially a TV director, more than a big screen film maker. Even if his real influence was not important for this film, it is still a good adventure film and it is very important to consider it in terms of other movies of this kind, as good - but different though - as the Universal ones from the forties and fifties, starring Maria Montez and Jon Hall or Yvonne De Carlo or Maureen O'Hara.

Sure, many of the performers read their lines as if they had just learned them five minutes before. The plot had already been used to death by 1954, and it was quite juvenile to begin with. But:

It had a catchy Nat Cole song which had been a hit when this movie was released In its own way, it is a protofeminist film Female desert brigands attacked on horseback, many of then standing on their horses, wearing only bra type tops Preternaturally attractive leads; exotic looking feature players (esp. Blake and Stack) Some great lines (e.g. Female outlaw leader to captured woman dancer: can you ride and use a sword? Dancer: I have other ways of conquering men) Nice color Quick and simple entertainment.

What is impressive about this not-very-expensive looking film is that all stunts were done by real people. Much more fun than computer generated effects.