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The Thief of Bagdad

The Thief of Bagdad

  • Status: Released
  • 18-03-1924
  • Runtime: 149 min
  • Score: 7.3
  • Vote count: 168

A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.

Douglas Fairbanks

The Thief of Bagdad

Snitz Edwards

His Evil Associate

Charles Belcher

The Holy Man

Julanne Johnston

The Princess

Sôjin Kamiyama

The Mongol Prince

Anna May Wong

The Mongol Slave

Brandon Hurst

The Caliph

Tote Du Crow

The Soothsayer

Noble Johnson

The Indian Prince

Sam Baker

Sworder (uncredited)

Laska Winter

Slave of the Lute (uncredited)

Etta Lee

Slave of the Sand Board (uncredited)

Mathilde Comont

Persian Prince (uncredited)

Charles Stevens

Persian Prince's Awaker (uncredited)

Eugene Jackson

Child (uncredited)

Jesse Lasky Jr.

(uncredited)

David Sharpe

(uncredited)

Paul Malvern

Gigantic Bat (uncredited)

Scotty Mattraw

Eunuch (uncredited)

Jess Weldon

Eunuch (uncredited)

K. Nambu

Mongol Prince's Counselor (uncredited)

CinemaSerf

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.