The Prince Who Was a Thief

I love this movie. Why do I like it so much? It is from the 50's when I was a little kid. Tony Curtis is in the movie....as an Arabian. (My friends like to comment on Tony's accent in Brooklynese in a role where it doesn't sound right... I don't notice.) He,(and Burt Lancaster, I think of together) was athletic, heroic and his youthful movies show a special promise, spirit that will pervade all of his movies. Piper Laurie is so thin and flexible.....she's awesome. Another Tony Curtis movie like this one is The Black Shield of Falworth. I recall seeing a Robin Hood sort of movie with Tony when I was young, perhaps that is partly why I like Tony and this movie. (What movie was it? I don't know. Maybe it wasn't Tony.) When he was older, a writer friend of my mother's met Tony and raved about how good looking he was and how nice. In the same vein as this movie, I also think of Burt's The Crimson Pirate.

Universal Studios provided many of this kind of features in the forties and fifties. After the magic duo Maria Montez - Jon Hall in the forties, who brought us in Arabia, ungles, paradise islands in the South Seas, the studio found Maureen O'Hara, Yvonne de Carlo, Piper Laurie, Tony Curtis, Jeff Chandler, Rock Hudson, to replace the mythical duo of the previous decade. The early Tony Curtis career will be prolific with such movies; you can find him in THE SON OF ALI BABA, Rock Hudson in THE GOLDEN BLADE, Jeff Chandler in FLAME OF ARABIA. So this One Thousand and One Nights like tale is enchanted for old timers audiences in search of their childhood memory, colorful, full of romance and dance, action, beautiful indoor settings, palaces with pools.... No matter the naive and predictable topic. Just dream for a eighty five minutes.

"The Prince Who Was A Thief" was a good movie---the story was interesting and entertaining. Best part of the movie: Piper Laurie. On a funny side, most of the stars were pretty convincing as Muslims (wink, wink; nudge, nudge). I for one was fooled! That notwithstanding, this movie deserves to be copied onto DVD--far worse movies have made the cut! Tony Curtis played Julna, a prince who was supposed to be killed by a good-hearted guard who balked at the last minute and decided to adopt the child instead. The kid grew up and eventually came under the eye of the evil ruler (boo, hiss). Finally he took his rightful place. If movies like "Arabian Nights" and "The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad" have made it to DVD why not the equally good "The Prince Who Was A Thief"?

Several years ago, many viewers rediscovered this lively, literate gem with script by Gera;d Drayson Adams, direction by Rudolph Mate. It was show as a rerun on a local TV Aos Angeles station hosted by Jackie Joseph, and ignoring critics who look down on all adventure genres, she and many of her crew fell in love with the movie. And why not? Theodore Dreiser's noted story has here been turned into a well-acted and entertaining movie; and master director Mate draws a very fine performance from a very young Piper Laurie indeed. The storyline is a sense-of-life piece, one where the hero, ably played (if one ignores his accent) by young, handsome Tony Curtis who has been raised by the thief who spared his life years before discovers that he is the rightful Prince of the kingdom. To save his adopted father from death, he helps him catch the man who has stolen the great pearl on which the safety of the city from a hostile army depends. This mission involves him with two women, Tina, thief, daughter of a thief played by Laurie and the princess, ably played by Peggie Castle; of course there are thefts, escapes, arguments, misunderstandings, fine dialogue scenes, a Guild of Jackals who are both help and hindrance and an usually satisfying climactic battle and denouement to a romantic ending. Admas' script is masterful, the direction very smooth, and all the technical aspects unusually satisfying, specially Hans J. Salter's music. Those in the cast besides the leads include talented Everett Sloane, Bettey Garde, Donald Randolph,Hayden Rourke, Marvin Miller, and Jeff Corey. There are some dancing girls seen here, but there are also scenes in the great souk, first-rate comedy, a robbing of the Treasury that is a classic caper, and enjoyably-three-dimensional characters. Favorite line--the Prince appoints his father to be the new keeper of the keeper of the new keeper of the Treasury--the Master of the Guild of Jackals. Colorful, abounding in action and very memorable, this treat is deserves to be a favorite with all those who enjoy uncomplicated adventure and the Grecianized-Near-eastern genre particularly.

Tony curtis will and always be remembered as a fun loving Actor from Some Like it hot to the Persuaders and the this film showed what he could do and I wonder how many female fans he aquired after this was released good few I remember watching this when I was a child and wishing I could watch it all over again there's not many kissing scenes which make you shudder but this one does,