Les mille et une nuits

This ancient fantasy of two brothers who are caliphs-in-waiting is a dazzling, colorful film presented in lush Technicolor. Maria Montez is the beautiful and exotic Sherazade who desires the trappings of wealth and power as she aspires to marry a caliph. Jon Hall is a virile and likable hero and Leif Erickson and Edgar Barrier are also good in supporting roles but it is Sabu who leaves the best impression in this picture. Nature's beauty of deep blue skies, thick white clouds and golden desert sand dunes are well-served in this yarn of palace intrigue and murder as the brothers battle for the kingdom's throne. Chase scenes, sword fights and comedy are sprinkled throughout the story but it is the vibrant color interiors and exteriors that arrest all attention in this film.

I remember seeing this film when it appeared in 1942, during WWII, a time of tension and uncertainity. It was great escape. The villains were villainous, the heroes heroic. The drama was dramatic and the storyline warm and fuzzy. Seeing it on video has allowed me to revisit that past time when as a child the world was uncertain and it was possible to escape into a costume-splendoured fantasy where the hero gets the girl, saves the kingdom and justice is served. There's nothing ever wrong with that.

Since I've recently written an article on MARIA MONTEZ, let me quote directly from it to describe this Maria Montez/Jon Hall/Sabu outing:

"The fact that she couldn't sing or dance seemed to be no obstacle to Maria since she was brimming with confidence--although aside from voice dubbing, it was later revealed that a dance double was used to perform parts of her routine.

With Walter Wanger in charge of its lavish production, she was given "Arabian Nights" ('42), a classic fantasy tale that--fortunately--no one was expected to take seriously. As if to make sure of that, the trio of stars were supported by one of The Three Stooges (Shemp Howard) as Sinbad. Another supporting player in the cast was Turhan Bey who would eventually be promoted to co-starring roles with Montez. The boyish Sabu, no longer under contract to Alexander Korda, proved to be one of the most charming ingredients of the film and played a huge role in the story which had Montez captured by an evil caliph and rescued by Sabu who rides through the desert sands to rescue her.

With Montez in filmy silks, gaudy baubles and turbaned headdress looking like a fairy-tale princess and muscular Jon Hall sharing the romantic interludes, audience response was enthusiastic. The lavish production values, exotic settings and personable trio made the tale satisfying for patrons seeking easy-on-the-eye entertainment. Lee Mortimer of the N.Y. Daily Mirror noted: 'After her performance in this opus, Maria Montez climbs several steps in everybody's estimation.'

And apparently, the public agreed because it was a huge hit."

For pure escapism, you couldn't beat these Maria Montez-Jon Hall films with the accent on adventure and romance in exotic settings and all designed to showcase her Latin beauty. More discriminating viewers noted that the acting was on a grade school level despite the big budget of most of the technicolor films she appeared in.

By the way, the article will appear in an upcoming issue of CLASSIC IMAGES.

Arabian Nights is one of the best early Technicolor efforts out of Hollywood and it really shows. It is great fun with a little something for everyone. The DVD is an excellent transfer and the color is beautiful on my new plasma HD TV. For the kids, its a simple action film with good good caliphs and bad caliphs. For the men, there's the gorgeous Maria Montez (OK, so the boys will enjoy her too.) For the ladies, the costuming will simply amaze you. This film can be watched by everyone except small children (a couple of killings - non graphic and 1 torture scene - also non graphic). Highly recommend for families with children 8 and over yrs old. Us older folks will enjoy it too. You can watch this many times. It won't get old.

Provided you really don't know or want to know the real tale of Scheherazade, then you'll no doubt enjoy this film. The actual book, "The Arabian Nights" (also known as "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights"), was supposedly written by Princess Scheherazade and consists of many short stories she supposedly invented each night in order to save her life from her crazy husband. In this movie there is no reference to this and apart from some of the names of characters from the book (such as Sinbad and Ali Baba), there isn't much similarity between them. Additionally, if you think too much and question the silliness of it all, you'll probably hate the film since it is purely an escapist style film--not too much unlike a movie serial condensed into 90 minutes. As for me, I enjoyed the silly escapism and learned to ignore all the mistakes in the film and the rather limp love affair between Maria Montez and Jon Hall . It was nearly non-stop action and fun--complete with perhaps a bit too much slapstick provided by the very large stomach of Billy Gilbert. However, I did enjoy the references to Sinbad and Ali Baba--especially because over and over, Ali (John Qualen) would grab every lamp he found and rubbed it furiously hoping for a genie. Also, it was nice to see Shemp Howard in one of his many appearances before going on to replace his brother, Curley, as a Stooge.

If you liked this silly adventure film, try watching Hall and Montez in COBRA WOMAN or Sabu in THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD--both of which are better than ARABIAN NIGHTS.