Le fils de Sindbad

Bruce Cook in his review called Son Of Sinbad, "A girl watchers dream (and a fun movie too). Quaxo calls it, "One of the funniest & campiest films I ever saw". Both reviews are accurate. They could also have mentioned idiotic but, notwithstanding, it is still great fun to watch. When multi-millionaire Howard Hughes (famous for his Casanova love-life) bought RKO studio it seems he must have been inundated with young ladies eager to get into the movie industry. It looks like he decided to kill many birds with one stone & put them all in this single movie. 127 of them according to one reviewer. Burlesque star Lili St. Cyr, Mari Blanchard & Sally Forrest are three of the principal leading ladies all of whom were knockout beauties. The latter of the trio performs an erotic dance in which she wears a skin-tight, flesh-coloured costume &, at first glance, appears to be dancing naked. I read that this dance sequence only just squeaked past the censorship. Made in 1953 it wasn't released until two years later when it finally passed censorship. Of its two leading men Dale Robertson is OK as Sinbad but scene-stealing Vincent Price as Omar Khayyam is hilarious. Mr. Price was a very talented actor so the only reason he must have accepted a part in this dopey movie was that mega-rich Howard Hughes offered him a big fat pay cheque. He probably knew he was involved in a load of nonsense & he plays it with his tongue firmly in his cheek. Just get it done then take the money and run seems to be his attitude. I cannot recommend that this film has much going for any female viewers but for us lads it is a feast for the eyes, no a veritable banquet!.

False statements, repeated often enough, can reinforce false impressions. I believe this is what has happened to "Son of Sinbad". As a writer and aficionado of Grecianzed Near-Eastern adventures, I admire the construction of the plot, the dialogue, the characters and the execution of the visually-lovely little gem. I suppose some have fallen in with the maker's jest at Dale Robertson's Oklahoma accent; but in the main, he is charismatic, intelligent and virile in the part of the son of Sinbad, a man who loves adventure even more than he loves women and who is afraid of neither. The film is all but stolen by Vincent Price, essaying another bright comedic part as Omar Khayyam, poet and victim of Sinbad's ill fortune after he is caught leaving the Sultan's harem. Sally Forrest as Amir is lovely and does quite well with her difficult role as palace servant, secret agent, lover and jealous woman. Leon Askin is superb as the vainglorious Sultan, and Mari Blanchard is very good as a long-lost love, as is Jay Novello as the sinister court buffoon. The plot line is a good and straightforward one. The Mongols are threatening the Sultanate; Simon Aristides and his daughter come to court just in time to save Sinbad and Omar from being executed; when the old man is murdered for his secret of Greek fire, the atom bomb of the ancient world, Sinbad is allowed at his suggestion to take Omar with him and try to retrieve the weapon before the Mongol General who stole it can get its secret from Aristides' daughter and deliver it to his Mongol Khan. Enter Amir, and her organization, with whom Sinbad leagues to use the Greek fire in battle and destroy the Mongol general and his army. The satisfying conclusion of the film finds Sinbad second to the Sultan, his allies, female descendants of the forty thieves, as the Sultan's new bodyguards and Amir and Sinbad II united in matrimony. The film features four extended exotic dance numbers, with lovely music by Victor Young, rousing direction by action-film veteran Ted Tetzlaff, and a surprising number of interesting dialogue-rich scenes, some lovely outdoor scenery and some tongue-in-cheek humor at the Sultan's expense. The costumes are delightful, the art direction is colorful and very fine and Larry Germain's hairstylings are a great asset. This film was never intended to shock, as are so many bad recent films. Its maker, Howard Hughes, however, did intend it to violate silly taboos on the exhibition of females in film; the result is a movie than is fun, very attractively photographed and choreographed and a fine entertainment. If it has suffered, it is because those who have spoken most often about it have not seen it nor perhaps considered its many merits as an attractive "entertainment".

In Baghdad, Omar Khayyam (Vincent Price) is looking for his friend Sinbad (Dale Robertson), the son of Sinbad the Sailor. Sinbad sneaks into the Khalif's palace despite Omar's warning that he has a price on his head. Sinbad and Omar are captured. Greek scholar Simon Aristides and his daughter Kristina, Sinbad's childhood friend, are also brought before the Khalif. They have the formula for Greek Fire. Tamerlane threatens to invade and Murad is his ambassador.

This feels like a B-movie but the production is bigger than that. It's got that Technicolor gaudiness. It's the 50's version of Arabia. It's great to have Vincent Price but Sinbad is rather dull. There are plenty of beautiful ladies but the characters are not that interesting. It's not quite camp and it's definitely not good.

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.

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.