Le fils de Sindbad

I just saw "Son Of Sinbad". According to Robert Osborne of TMC(Turner Classic Movies) there were a total of 127 women in this film. It is a girl watchers paradise but, arabian type women with zippers on their costumes and high heels in the dessert! It doesn't get any better than this. When Vincent Price the comic relief, as Omar Khayyam, sells the availability of men to the raiders he literally is on top of what you may call a soap box. This movie could well push the cause of Women's Lib back 50 years. No one but Howard Hughes could have produced a sexest, yet tongue in cheek, film like "Son Of Sinbad". I recommend it for anyone who wants to laugh out loud at the antics and Vincent Price's double takes. He is "Priceless". The film was originally made in 1953. Due to the risque costumes of the women Hughes held up the release in order to cash in on the publicity. Also, according to Mr. Osborne, the film was made in, that Edsel of film processes, 3D but release in regular format in 1955 after the hipe died along with those awful glasses! See it. I couldn't stop laughing.

A couple years ago I taped Son of Sinbad but gave up on it when two of the early scenes involved a surprisingly long, mediocre dance sequence and a surprisingly long dialog between Lil' Sinbad and Omar Khayyam. But I'm an inveterate fan of the Eastern genre, and by 8 July 2008, when TCM ran a morning of Sinbad movies, I'd forgotten my earlier dismissal and gave the film a longer chance. The Houston Chronicle's TV Week gave it only one star, which is close enough, but a little patience is redeemed by offbeat treats and occasionally upscale production values.

As for the treats, Dale Robertson is a game Sinbad, Vincent Price is a trooper as Omar Khayyam, and eventually the onslaught of female pulchritude becomes embarrassingly charming in its exuberant abundance of blonde and redheaded Arab harem girls, sheer hosiery, intensive coiffures, and tear-away clothing that makes many of the dances more like G-rated strip routines. Wordsmith is right that the extended dance scenes throw off the film's pacing, but the action keeps recovering its pace, and the sets glow with the candy colors of 50s childhood.

In Baghdad, the poet Omar Khayyam (Vincent Price) is seeking out his friend Sinbad (Dale Robertson), who is wanted by the caliph (Leon Askin), wandering through the streets and markets of the city. When Omar finds his womanizer friend, Sinbad asks for poems to seduce Nerissa (Lili St. Cyr), who is one of the caliph's wives, in the palace. Sinbad encounters Nerissa in the harem and the slave Ameer (Sally Forrest) is jealous of him since she loves the sailor. Another slave sees Sinbad and beats the gong summoning the guards.

Sinbad and Omar are arrested. They are brought to the caliph, together with the wise Simon Aristides (Raymond Greenleaf) and his daughter Kristina (Mari Blanchard) that are Sinbad's old friends and are unfairly accused of theft, to hear their sentences. However, the ambassador of the Tartar leader Tamerlane, Murad (Ian MacDonald), arrives in the palace and the caliph's adviser Jiddah (Jay Novello), who is a traitor, advises the caliph to not resist to the violent army that intends to invade Bagdad. Nevertheless, Sinbad tells to the caliph that Simon and Kristina know the secret of the powerful explosive Greek Fire and the caliph offers their freedom for the formula. But Jiddah and Murad see the demonstration of the explosive and kill Simon and kidnap Kristina. Sinbad offers to help the caliph to bring Kristina back and he rides with Omar through the desert. Ameer that belongs to the brotherhood of the forty thieves helps Sinbad and together with the army of the forty female thieves, they fight against the Tartar warriors to save Kristina and Bagdad.

"Son of Sinbad" is a highly entertaining adventure with a funny story and a incredible cast of beautiful actresses, including Kim Novak in an uncredited participation. Vincent Price "steals" the film in the role of a poet that helps the seducer Sinbad with the women, recalling the romantic poet Cyrano de Bergerac helping his friend Christian de Neuvillette to seduce Roxane. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Filho de Simbad" ("The Son of Sinbad")

Back when I first saw this, I was enchanted by the verses of Omar Khayyam (which I innocently supposed to be have been created for the script), excited by the spectacle, delighted to recognise allusions to so many familiar stories rolled into one, and heartily entertained by the comedy. Watching it again nowadays, I can't help noticing how the picture is completely dominated by the producer's desire to feature as many half-naked girls as can conceivably be shovelled into its slender plot.

Thanks to the engaging double-act of the two male leads (Vincent Price as Omar still steals the show) the film remains a watchable romp, but the extended dancing sequences threaten to wreck the otherwise brisk pacing. I suspect they either pall or enthral, according to taste. Where other "Sinbad" films will show you a few seconds of exotic dance as an establishing shot, this one lovingly retains the camera throughout the whole routine -- or several!

The heavy mining from other sources of legend -- whether the secret of Greek Fire (nowadays assumed to have been napalm), the conqueror Tamerlaine, the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, or well-known lines from the Rubaiyat -- also now tends to suggest a certain laziness in the writing of the script, rather than inspiring a delighted recognition of familiar allusions. I'm afraid I'm probably too sophisticated these days to be able to enjoy "Son of Sinbad" whole-heartedly any longer... which in a way is a shame. It's still a lively adventure with a saving sense of the absurd and an unabashed penchant for spectacle, but I can't in all honesty rank it above the rest.

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.