The Thief of Baghdad

A rather shoddily produced Arabian Nights fantasy with a superbly camp Peter Ustinov - who must have used the same dialogue coach as Olivier did in "Khartoum" - as the Caliph trying his best to make a silk purse from a sow's ear! Despite having a good cast with Roddy McDowell, Frank Finlay, Ian Holm and a marvellously hammy Terence Stamp as the baddie "Jaudur" all trying their best, there is no denying that the script and direction are really poor. Ustinov's daughter, Pavla, adds some glamour as the Princess "Jasmine" and the costumiers and set designers have spared no effort/expense but in the end it's a waste of their craft.

The flying carpet scenes are pretty good, but apart from them this garrulous TV version of the classic Arabian Nights adventure is fairly short on special effects until Daniel Emilfork finally puts in a vivid appearance as a creepy-looking Genie painted green in the scene that comes closest to reviving memories of the classic 1940 version.

Roddy McDowall as Hasan the Thief is top-billed over hero Kabir Bedi, and Peter Ustinov as the Caliph is effectively playing the role Miles Malleson played in Korda's version of 1940; but the most welcome addition to the regular characters is foxy Marina Vlady as Perizadah, "mistress of the Caliph's harem". The Achilles heel of Terence Stamp as saturnine baddie Wazir Jaudur has plainly been lifted from 'Captain Sinbad'.

In this excellent depiction of a very old tale, Clive Donner's direction, Roddy McDowall's portrayal of Hasan (the actual thief of Baghdad), the stellar cast and the overall quality of this film, elevate this so-called TV movie. If you give yourselves a chance to listen to the dialog and watch the acting, you will be drawn into a wonderful story.

I loved it in 1978 and still do.

This movie was released 1978. That was years ago. Many of us weren't even born then. So I wonder why some are giving this movie a very low rating. Yes, it's not a classic or an extremely fantastic movie, but for a 1978 movie, it's pretty good. It's fun, exciting, good story with a mixture of action and fantasy. I enjoyed it when I watched it about 15 years ago or so. For anyone who wants to enjoy a good 1978 movie, it's a very lovely movie to watch.

Unsure why people are blasting the movies's special effects, they were done in the 1970s on a TV movie budget! Enjoy it for what it is, a typical evil Wazir wants to take over the kingdom and have the beautiful princess for himself, and the dashing prince must put a stop to it. With great though over-the-top performances from Roddy McDowell as the thief, and Peter Ustinov as the bumbling Caliph. Kabir Bedir does a decent job as the prince, far more believable and relatable than Oliver Tobias in Arabian Adventure (1979). A good fun and wholesome adventure film to watch with the kids.