Les mille et une nuits

While I could only get my hands on a French-dubbed version of this costumed romp (without even the benefit of any subtitles), I admit to having enjoyed it quite a bit – indeed, more than I anticipated! Bava's involvement notwithstanding, I had long wanted to check this one out, in view of a movie poster of it kept in a scrapbook by my father back from the time of its local theatrical release. I have watched many an Arabian Nights fantasy in my time, so that there was very little novelty in the way of plot here…but the cult director's hand definitely benefited the look of the film – with sets, costumes, special effects and overall color scheme all coming across as rather splendid within their modest confines. Apart from the obligatory Hollywood veteran brought in to act as 'supervisor', we also get an American lead in Donald O'Connor: his comic shtick may be an acquired taste, but the actor's irrepressible energy served the role well in action highlights (not to mention a dance sequence towards the end in which he assumes the garbs of a mannequin imbued with life by the villain's sorcerer!). Also exposing the movie's Italian/French heritage is the fact that the supporting cast is peppered with many an established and upcoming presence from both these countries: Fausto Tozzi as a particularly flamboyant Grand Vizier, Terence Hill (still bearing his pre-stardom name of Mario Girotti) as the romantic second lead, Vittorio De Sica as the ubiquitous genie-in-a-lamp, and a typically flustered Aldo Fabrizi as the Sultan; Michele Mercier, then, is Hill's regal intended and Fabrizi's daughter (naturally also coveted by the dastardly Tozzi) and Raymond Bussieres appears as the Sultan's adviser. As expected, the fantasy sequences – capped by a desert climax in which O'Connor duels with Tozzi (albeit managing to overcome him only through De Sica's helping hand, just as, at one point his dimensions are enlarged in order for him to turn the tables on some pursuers, with one of them even landing the post thereafter of the hero's servant/sidekick!) – prove the film's ultimate mainstay. That said, there are also comedic flashes of eroticism (O'Connor twice discovers his girlfriend hanging naked after being captured by the villain) and a couple more of outright sadism (people falling through a secret panel in the floor of Tozzi's palace are ripped apart by his vicious dogs) which are decidedly incongruous for what is essentially a kiddie film!

I first saw this in the early 90s. Revisited it recently. This film hasn't aged well. It has some good comedy, decent effects, hell lottuva babes n a funny faced Sultan (Aldo Fabrizi). It even has Terence Hill in a tiny role n the intimidating wrestler Milton Reid (Dr. No and The Spy Who Loved Me).

Agreeable, colorful fantasy adventure about Aladdin (O'Connor), a boy from Bagdad, who discovers a genie inside his oil lamp and travels to a wedding, which an evil schemer (Tozzi) intends to foil. Interesting for the involvement of Mario Bava, who gave the film a nice look. O'Connor is quite funny but one wishes this was a little more serious and less whimsical. Still, quite violent for a kiddie film. All in all, **1/2 stars (of four).

This has to be one of the finest comedies to feature Donald O'Connor that didn't feature him dancing or with a talking mule. When you look at it, he really isn't the smooth teen idol type that was portrayed in the classic animated feature that came out several years later, O'Connor played Aladdin more like an ordinary guy who gets involved in very unusual situations. Too bad this is rarely shown on television anymore, it is definitely a treat.

I had the remarkable experience of seeing this in a theatre. A local dollar movie got a copy of it about the time Disney's Aladdin came out and sh0wed it for matinees one weekend. Strangely, they didn't also get the LENS they needed for the widescreen presentation so it was all crunched horizontally and everybody was half as wide or twice as tall as normal. Add that to the fact that the movie itself is kind of dopey and absurd, with lots of good actors wasting their efforts, and the INSANE use of Vittorio De Sica playing the genie as a guy standing around in a choir robe, in footage shot elsewhere probably in about half an hour, and just matted into a cloud in the corner of the screen, and I'd classify this as one of the most frightening Mario Bava movie I've ever seen.