Sign In / Sign Up

A Thousand and One Nights

A Thousand and One Nights
Release date: 1945-07-20
Rating: 5.75
Votes: 16
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
On the run after being found sweet-talking the Sultan's daughter, Aladdin comes upon a lamp which, when rubbed, summons up Babs the genie. He uses it to return as a visiting prince asking for the princess's hand. Unfortunately for him, the sultan's wicked twin brother has secretly usurped the throne, someone else is after the lamp for his own ends, and Babs has taken a shine to Aladdin herself and is bent on wrecking his endeavours.

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

“Oh, if only I had a gun… No, wait, they haven’t been invented yet!”. Phil Silvers brings a distinctly pantomime effect to this retelling of the Sinbad meets Arabian Nights story. To keep up the swash and the buckle, we have the dashingly mischievous “Aladdin” (Cornel Wilde) who falls in love with the ultimate in forbidden fruit, the princess “Armina” (Adele Jergens). She is the daughter of the caliph Dennis Hoey who also doubles up as his own dastardly twin with designs on both the throne and his neice. “Aladdin” and his sidekick “Abdullah” (Silvers) have a wheeze going on that sees the former entertain the crowds whilst his pal surreptitiously relieves them of their valuables. When he spots his forbidden love and faces years in the dungeon, they abscond into the mountains where he finds a lamp. Of course he rubs it, and out pops “Babs” (Evelyn Keyes) to hear and to obey. Sure, she accommodates his wishes to impress at the court, but she also has taken a little bit of a shine to her new master and she is not averse to a little mischief of her own to get her man. Fans of Silvers and his screwball, bespectacled, humour might enjoy this but I’m more a fan of the Korda-style telling of these stories (indeed Rex Ingram appears in the same red costume here from “The Thief of Bagdad” from 1940) and I found the comedic antics and the breaks for obviously dubbed musical numbers spoiled the adventure element. That really only comes to the fore in the last ten minutes and isn’t up to very much. Wilde’s in his element and Keyes in clearly enjoying her role here, but if there is such a thing as a fantasy purist, that is me - and this just fell between too many stools. It does look great, though, and there are a few clever visual effects, but original is usually best and this is neither.

Movie Recommendation

  • Virtual Encounters
    Virtual Encounters
    1996-04-02
    Happy birthday, Amy. Amy's boyfriend Michael gave her the deluxe, super-duper virtual encounter. This is his way of removing her inhibitions and allowing her to fulfill the desires hidden deep inside. He finds he has a real tiger by the tail.
    More...
  • Sonic Youth: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (April 12, 2003)
    Sonic Youth: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (April 12, 2003)
    2003-04-12
    Filmed April 12, 2003 at a benefit concert held at and for The Anthology Film Archives, the international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of avant-garde and independent cinema. In addition to screening films for the public, AFA houses a film museum, research library and art gallery. The event, which raised money for the Archives and celebrated the life and work of avant-garde film maker Stan Brakhage, featured Sonic Youth providing an improvised instrumental collaboration with silent Brakhage’s films. The band performed with drummer/percussionist Tim Barnes (Essex Green, Jukeboxer, Silver Jews).
    More...
  • Mythica: The Godslayer
    Mythica: The Godslayer
    2016-12-17
    As the Lich King's zombie legions ravage the world, a cursed young sorceress embarks on a quest to obtain a weapon from the gods. But when she joins her sworn enemy in a desperate attempt to save the world, she must recover the good in herself before her friends are all dead, and defeat the Lich King before the gods are destroyed and the world forever enslaved.
    More...
  • A Dream of Christmas
    A Dream of Christmas
    2016-12-03
    When a restless young married woman is granted a wish by a Christmas Angel to be single again, she soon discovers her new life isn't what she bargained for, and embarks on a quest to win her husband back.
    More...
  • Doctor Who: Deep Breath
    Doctor Who: Deep Breath
    2014-08-23
    The newly-regenerated Doctor arrives in Victorian London, and Clara Oswald struggles to embrace the man he has become. All the while, they reunite with the Paternoster Gang to investigate a series of combustions that have been occurring all around the city.
    More...
  • Going for Gold
    Going for Gold
    2018-03-08
    Seventeen year old, Emma joins a high school cheerleading team when she moves to Australia with her dad who is a former Air Force Officer.
    More...
  • Xpiation
    Xpiation
    2017-07-01
    In a large isolated cellar, a mysterious aristocratic woman asks to a drug addict fascist – totally mesmerized by her – to torture a Hispanic guy, while she films the escalation of violence with a camera. The reason is hidden inside her, revealed slowly by memories of years of abuses.
    More...
  • Hatchet II
    Hatchet II
    2010-10-01
    Picking up right where the original ended, Marybeth escapes the clutches of the swamp-dwelling killer Victor Crowley. After learning the truth about her family’s connection to the hatchet-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher.
    More...
  • The Christmas Secret
    The Christmas Secret
    2014-11-23
    While her life is falling apart, single mother Christine finds a magical family heirloom that leads to love and good fortune during Christmas.
    More...
  • 1
    1
    2013-09-30
    Set in the golden era of Grand Prix Racing '1' tells the story of a generation of charismatic drivers who raced on the edge, risking their lives during Formula 1's deadliest period, and the men who stood up and changed the sport forever.
    More...
  • Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico
    Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico
    2003-09-30
    A friend of Fred's, Alejo Otero, invites the Scooby gang to Veracruz, Mexico. There they find a monster, El Chupacabra, terrorizing the town.
    More...
  • Max 2: White House Hero
    Max 2: White House Hero
    2017-05-05
    Max is assigned to the White House while Butch, the secret service dog, is on maternity leave. He meets TJ, a 12 year old boy, who is the President's son. Due to his father's high profile, he is trying hard to fit in and lead a normal life. During a state visit by the Russian President and his daughter, Alexandra (Alex), TJ is asked to accompany her, during their stay. TJ befriends Alex, but when they get into trouble, Max comes to the rescue!
    More...
  • Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown
    Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown
    2017-02-14
    When the Scooby gang visits a dude ranch, they discover that it and the nearby town have been haunted by a ghostly cowboy, Dapper Jack, who fires real fire from his fire irons. The mystery only deepens when it’s discovered that the ghost is also the long lost relative of Shaggy Rogers!
    More...
  • Love You Like Christmas
    Love You Like Christmas
    2016-12-11
    Maddie, a high-powered marketing executive, is on her way to a client’s wedding but her plans are derailed by car trouble. When a fork in the road leads her to Christmas Valley, a town in love with Christmas, an unexpected encounter and a group of strangers that start to feel like family will have her questioning what she’s really been missing in life.
    More...
  • After Porn Ends 2
    After Porn Ends 2
    2017-03-28
    After Porn Ends 2 picks up where its predecessor left off and not only turns back the clock to meet the oldest living stars in adult film's history, but goes in depth with some of Its most current retirees and juxtaposes their experiences in a life after porn. Delving deeper into society's ongoing stigmas of race, misogyny, and the reality of decreasing opportunities for these former VHS box cover stars. For some, their careers in adult entertainment is accepted proudly and without regret. In fact, it seems to have proven to be the pathway to their current happiness and inner peace. For others, however, a career in porn has proven to be a conduit to certain despair as they struggle to find a way to bury their past and emerge with a new career or calling.
    More...
  • Twitches Too
    Twitches Too
    2007-10-12
    Reunited witch twins Camryn and Alex adjust to their new life as supernatural beings while at the same time trying to maintain a normal existence in this sequel to the magical Disney Channel original movie Twitches. But they soon find themselves going head to head with the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy their world. Luckily, their birth mother, the powerful Miranda, is on hand to help out.
    More...
  • Prevenge
    Prevenge
    2017-02-10
    Ruth is a pregnant woman on a killing spree. It's her misanthropic unborn baby dictating Ruth's actions, holding society responsible for the absence of a father.
    More...
  • Watch Me Burn
    Watch Me Burn
    2018-11-05
    After being bullied for months at school, 16-year-old Jonathan douses himself with gasoline and lights a match. Now, in an induced coma, his body covered in burns, his life is on hold, his parents are in shock and the school is in turmoil.
    More...
  • Zaki Chan
    Zaki Chan
    2005-05-04
    Trouble follows Zaki wherever he goes, until he finds out that his father's boss needs a bodyguard for his kids and he decides to apply for the job even though he doesn't really fit the requirements.
    More...
  • Step Up All In
    Step Up All In
    2014-07-15
    All-stars from the previous Step Up installments come together in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and their careers.
    More...

Similar Movies