The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.
- Raoul Walsh
- James T. O'Donohoe
- Richard Holahan
- Douglas Fairbanks
- Achmed Abdullah
- James T. O'Donohoe
- Lotta Woods
Rating: 7.3/10 by 158 users
Alternative Title:
Der Dieb von Bagdad - AT
Багдатският крадец - BG
Tyven fra Bagdad - DK
El ladrón de Bagdad - ES
Bagdadin varas - FI
O kleptis tis Vagdatis - GR
A bagdadi tolvaj - HU
Bagdad no Tôzoku - JP
Zlodziej z Bagdadu - PL
Le voleur de Bagdad - FR
Il ladro di Bagdad - IT
Tjuven i Bagdad - SE
O Ladrão de Bagdá - BR
The Thief of Bagdad: An Arabian Nights Fantasy - US
De Dief van Bagdad - NL
The Thief of Baghdad - US
Country:
United States of America
Language:
No Language
Runtime: 02 hour 29 minutes
Budget: $1,135,654
Revenue: $1,490,419
Plot Keyword: princess, treasure, magic, palace, flying carpet, rope, thief, suitor, black and white, disguise, apple, baghdad, silent film, arabian nights
This just goes to show - almost a century after it was made, that quality has longevity. The recently restored version of Raoul Walsh's fabulously lavish adaptation of the Arabian Nights fantasy was scored by the hugely imaginative Carl Davis (at times based around some really suitable Rimsky-Korsakov themes) featuring a charmingly athletic Douglas Fairbanks as the eponymous character who thrives as a petty thief. Soon, though, he espies the beautiful daughter of the Caliph (Julanne Johnston) who is to be married. He decides to impersonate a prince and become one of her suitors - without bargaining on the evil Mongol Prince who has designs on both the Princess and the throne of Baghdad itself. It is amazing how effortlessly the film still holds the attention - with only a minimal use of text boards - and the more you watch, the more delicate and clever the performances become. There is no script to moan about; just a hugely creative perception of the original fables - it is just a wonderful piece of imagination set to pictures and music that is a real must watch.
