Damn, that one is always escaping the corral!
One might say that the title The Thief Of Baghdad (1940) covers a multitude of tales, but that’s a question for another, errr, tale. In this story, the King of Baghdad, unconscious of the scheming of his grand vizier, Jaffar, and exploring his city undercover, befriends a thief, Abu. When the Princess arrives unannounced, Jaffar’s scheming comes to fruition, and he deposes and blinds the King, now known as Ahmad, and turns Abu into a dog. This permits him to pursue the Princess, who has attracted his lust.
But Ahmad and Abu, despite deportation and an existential storm, are not out of the game just yet. Abu recovers his human form, and Ahmad his sight, but are separated. Abu discovers the well-traveled genie of the bottle, and tricks him into granting wishes. Soon, he finds himself stealing the Jewel of an all-seeing god, which lets him find Ahmad. And from here, things get really fantastic, and just a touch silly. Insert deus ex machina warning here.
But there’s a lot to recommend this movie. The special effects are surprisingly good, the story, while not as tight as it could be, is still interesting, and the acting is more than adequate.
If you’re in the mood for an old, good movie, The Thief of Baghdad is not a bad place to start. I won’t recommend it for all, but if it’s what you’re looking for, you’ll enjoy it.
