A Seta de Ouro

Please ignore the negative reviews. Almost sixty (60) years ago The Golden Arrow film was released and after just watching this adventure film for the first time, I can assure you that I will be watching it again in the future. I have just ordered a Blu Ray copy to add it to my "favourites" film library.

I have always been a big fan of the adventure/fantasy/science fiction genres and when you add some light comedy and romance in as well then the certainly audience gets their moneys worth. Adding even more enjoyment to the film is the beautiful technicolor format and some classic fantasy scenes such as the three (3) genies / wise men, performing Ray Harryhausen type magic interspersed such as a magic carpet ride, massive concrete pillars tumbling and of course The Golden Arrow itself that actor and star Tab Hunter the lowly thief bends when no one else can to win the hand in marriage to the beautiful princess Jamila (Rossana Podestà).

It is a fun film for young and old alike and the film was finished so quickly that I found myself wanting more of the same. I give it a highly rated 8 out of 10 IMDB rating and forget about the negative reviews. This is a fun filled family adventure/fantasy film!

This film has the colors of a cartoon but much less excitement. The three genies are dull, everyone is dull.

The action and costumes and alligator dungeon might have some appeal, but strictly for children.

Even for kids, it is all quite saccharin.

The is much better out there.

This is a movie which borrows much of its plot from other movies or legends : the golden arrow is the equivalent of the sword in the stone ; the usurper subject is taken from the 1940 masterpiece "the thief of Baghdad " and countless other films whilst the princess' s desease and the characters who turn to stone are stolen from another "thief of Baghdad ",that starring Steve Reeves the precedent year ; the stars in the sky and the three magicians make one think of the magis ;or of the three good fairies in Walt Disney's "sleeping beauty" (1959) ; without their help,like prince Philip , the hero would be defeated all along the movie.

That said , the movie is eventful , full of special effects -which can seem quaint for today's audience ,that is the children under 12. Tab Hunter has plenty of go ,and he shows a good sense of humor (" the law says : "eternal slavery" !- Have it change !") and the trick of the feather and the final chase on the shrinking flying carpet are moderately funny .But as a blond ,he looks too Nordic for a story more or less inspired by "The Thousand And One Nights "; the make-up man should have had his hair dyed .

Beautiful colors , the landscapes remind you ,towards the end ,of the valley of the Nile and its feluccas ; it was aimed at the children 's market,if they are not too demanding ,they can enjoy it.

Heroic bandit Hassan (Tab Hunter), the rightful Prince of Damascus, falls in love with the Princess Jamila (Rossana Podestà) and, with the help of three genies, searches for the mysterious 'Golden Arrow' before returning (by magic carpet) to save the city from the evil Prince of Basra (Renato Baldini) and win Jamila's hand in marriage. Directed by Antonio Margheriti (the hand behind the 'Gamma One tetralogy' of colourful low-budget space operas), this moderately-budgeted sword and sorcery demi-epic is an odd mix of excellent and awful. The sets and backgrounds are often impressive (the opening scenes especially), as are the location shots in Egypt, the climactic battle scene (before the genies arrive and inject some slapstick into the fight), and the model city Hassan flies over. Some of the 'practical' effects (such as the burning men or the flying carpet that Jamila steps onto at the end) are quite convincing but the optical effects (mattes, superimpositions etc) are terrible (notably the scenes involving the magic arrow or the three genies). In a triumph of colour-blind casting, Hunter may be the least likely-looking 'Hassan' to ever don curly-toed shoes, but the double-dubbed American teen idol seems to be having fun in the improbable role, athletically avoiding the mostly incompetent palace guards and performing his own horseback scenes. The rest of the cast dutifully discharges what is expected from them in an English dubbed peplum although the 'comic relief' genie antics get tiresome quickly. A colourful silly time-passer for kid's not too spoiled by CGI and for aficionados of this sort of endearingly goofy shtick.

If you are looking for a mindless but entertaining fantasy film that would be great for children, has a lot of exciting twists and turns and magical happenings, THE GOLDEN ARROW fills the bill nicely. Tab Hunter is perfect visually as the outcast who must prove himself and defeat all foes to win the hand of his love. As this featured a major star, it had a bigger budget than many cheap Italian costume epics with lesser-known Americans (it's comparable to, say , a Steve Reeves movie), so it's colorful and visually exciting. Director Antonio Margheriti (aka Anthony Dawson) turned out all kinds of genre films in the 60s and after--westerns, peplums, horror, spy, erotic, giallo, science fiction, etc--and generally produced an exciting, fast-moving product. The only flaw with this film--and, unfortunately, it's a major one-- is that Tab Hunter did not dub his own voice in the English version of the film (at least in the one I'm watching). That seems odd because Hunter has a distinctive voice that would have been well-known to American audiences of the day (as opposed to, say, Brad Harris or Richard Harrison or even Steve Reeves--who would know what THEIR real voices sounded like?). Also, in other European films that are quite obscure and were certainly NOT made with the US theatrical market in mind--films like SHOTGUN and THE LAST CHANCE-- Hunter DOES do his own voice. He certainly is doing his own voice in Sidney Pink's Spanish-made FICKLE FINGER OF FATE (See my review). Why MGM, a major studio, would not have paid Hunter to spend a few days in post-synchronization I don't understand. The voice assigned him is not TOO ill-fitting for his character, but it clearly is not Tab Hunter. While I enjoy the film and have watched it a few times over the years, I find it difficult to forget this as I'm watching THE GOLDEN ARROW. Still, it's a fun way to kill 90 minutes on a rainy afternoon, and it looks great (my copy is letter-boxed, fortunately). If it had featured Mr. Hunter's own voice, I'd consider it a classic.