El hijo de Simbad

A couple years ago I taped Son of Sinbad but gave up on it when two of the early scenes involved a surprisingly long, mediocre dance sequence and a surprisingly long dialog between Lil' Sinbad and Omar Khayyam. But I'm an inveterate fan of the Eastern genre, and by 8 July 2008, when TCM ran a morning of Sinbad movies, I'd forgotten my earlier dismissal and gave the film a longer chance. The Houston Chronicle's TV Week gave it only one star, which is close enough, but a little patience is redeemed by offbeat treats and occasionally upscale production values.

As for the treats, Dale Robertson is a game Sinbad, Vincent Price is a trooper as Omar Khayyam, and eventually the onslaught of female pulchritude becomes embarrassingly charming in its exuberant abundance of blonde and redheaded Arab harem girls, sheer hosiery, intensive coiffures, and tear-away clothing that makes many of the dances more like G-rated strip routines. Wordsmith is right that the extended dance scenes throw off the film's pacing, but the action keeps recovering its pace, and the sets glow with the candy colors of 50s childhood.

Sally Forrest's lush legs are wonderfully on display in a dance scene where she appears "Almost Nude!" Yummy. Corny but colorful not-so-serious adventure is enhanced by a dance scene that tends to tip it's hand to strip club dancing (complete with pole!) This segment is not as polished as her dance scene in "Excuse My Dust!" but she shows a lot more skin. Once again: Yummy!

In Baghdad, the poet Omar Khayyam (Vincent Price) is seeking out his friend Sinbad (Dale Robertson), who is wanted by the caliph (Leon Askin), wandering through the streets and markets of the city. When Omar finds his womanizer friend, Sinbad asks for poems to seduce Nerissa (Lili St. Cyr), who is one of the caliph's wives, in the palace. Sinbad encounters Nerissa in the harem and the slave Ameer (Sally Forrest) is jealous of him since she loves the sailor. Another slave sees Sinbad and beats the gong summoning the guards.

Sinbad and Omar are arrested. They are brought to the caliph, together with the wise Simon Aristides (Raymond Greenleaf) and his daughter Kristina (Mari Blanchard) that are Sinbad's old friends and are unfairly accused of theft, to hear their sentences. However, the ambassador of the Tartar leader Tamerlane, Murad (Ian MacDonald), arrives in the palace and the caliph's adviser Jiddah (Jay Novello), who is a traitor, advises the caliph to not resist to the violent army that intends to invade Bagdad. Nevertheless, Sinbad tells to the caliph that Simon and Kristina know the secret of the powerful explosive Greek Fire and the caliph offers their freedom for the formula. But Jiddah and Murad see the demonstration of the explosive and kill Simon and kidnap Kristina. Sinbad offers to help the caliph to bring Kristina back and he rides with Omar through the desert. Ameer that belongs to the brotherhood of the forty thieves helps Sinbad and together with the army of the forty female thieves, they fight against the Tartar warriors to save Kristina and Bagdad.

"Son of Sinbad" is a highly entertaining adventure with a funny story and a incredible cast of beautiful actresses, including Kim Novak in an uncredited participation. Vincent Price "steals" the film in the role of a poet that helps the seducer Sinbad with the women, recalling the romantic poet Cyrano de Bergerac helping his friend Christian de Neuvillette to seduce Roxane. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Filho de Simbad" ("The Son of Sinbad")

Son of Sinbad is a dull film, more or less only watchable at scan speed. But what redeems this film is the performances by some of the top names in burlesque during the 1950s. A big thanks to Howard Hughes and those responsible for making this film. Burlesque Queen Lili St. Cyr is breathtakingly beautiful, and wears some of the most glamorous and lavish costumes seen in any harem-themed movie. Wonderful exotic dancing sequences featuring Nejla Ates and Kalantan make this film a must-see for fans of burlesque. Unfortunately, there's no stiptease here, but Son of Sinbad features a bevy of beauties in colorful costumes that make for some delectable eye-candy. There's no doubt the girls are the main attraction here, with a little story, plot, and action built around them.

Fans of Howard Hughes will appreciate this colorful little gem -- but even if you haven't got the slightest interest in the famous capitalist, there's a lot in this lost classic to grin at. Allow me to adjust your expectations. . .

Imagine how many lovely starlets must have said to the amorous billionaire, `Gee, Howard, I'd do just ANYTHING to get into motion pictures!'

Well . . . they DID it -- and Howard made this one to satisfy all those promises he made to seventy or eighty gorgeous, desperate young ladies who wanted to break into the movies. Okay, sure, the plot is weak, but it moves along moderately well, and the true stars of this Arabian Nights tale (Howard's harem of young starlets) are given plenty of chances to strut their stuff.

For example: the first ten minutes of the film are dedicated to a slinky belly dancer who wiggles and jiggles for costar Vincent Price. Price plays poet Omar Khayyam, the loyal comic side-kick of Sinbad, played wonderfully tongue-in-cheek by Dale Robertson. Price contributes a wealth of humorous moments, doing dead-pan double takes at Robertson's single-minded pursuit of amorous conquests.

Think of this as Howard Hughes' personal fantasy, with Robertson portraying the Arabian alter-ego of America's most notorious girl-chasing billionaire.

Sexy Sally Forrest is captivating as the girl who steals Sinbad's heart. The provocative dance she does for Robertson near the end of the film is extremely daring for 1955. Lovely Mari Blanchard (star of `She Devil' and `Abbott and Costello Go to Mars') sweetens the scenery with her attractive presence. Lilli St. Cyr is positively slinky as the Arabian ruler's main squeeze who has a yen for Sinbad.

The production has other strong points besides the girls. The rousing music is by veteran composer Victor Young. Famous 1950s voice-man Paul Frees has a brief but funny role in the opening scenes as a fortune teller. In fact, the cast is loaded with notable character actors who make this low budget (but slick-looking) production a joy to watch. Don't blink or you'll miss Woody Strode in a very brief role as a harem guard!

But there's no denying the fact this is a girl-watcher's movie. Anyone who makes an honest effort to count the number of gorgeous girls in the cast will agree that there has never been a film packed with more pretty faces ( -- etc.). If you doubt this claim, go to IMDBs' `full cast and crew' and count the number of young ladies listed as `raiders' in the cast. These are the daughters of the `Forty Thieves' of Arabian legend -- and there's almost fifty of them in the cast, alone! Add to this a herd of harem girls and other lovlies, and the result is a girl-watcher's extravaganza, unequaled in Hollywood!

You might not be thrilled by the plot, but if wall-to-wall babes can hold your interest, this one won't bore you.

P.S. If you're hankerin' for a suitable second feature to match this unique film, try `Princess of the Nile', starring a young and breath-taking Debra Pageant. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.