Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Fantastic!

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This follow-up to "Arabian Nights" lacks the passion of it's predecessor, unrelated in plot and character, but still tied together. It's the old story of the prince who became a thief after his King father was assassinated, with orders for his own death. As he had already done, Jon Hall is the Caucasian actor supposed to be believable as an Arab. In hiding for years, he is reunited with childhood sweetheart Maria Montez as he strives to take back his legacy. There's comedy with portly Andy Devine, villainy with Turhan Bey, but no genie's, magic lamps or flying carpets, although Devine does mention them.Still entertaining, I'm sure that when I saw this at a Saturday matinée as a child, I enjoyed it far more than I did, and when I saw it after its VHS release, it ranked a 7. But in comparison to others of this theme, it is much weaker, both in continuity and believability. While the young actor playing Ali Baba is consistent with Hall's lack of any accent, the young actress playing the young Montez sounds as American as Hall, lacking any hint of a Spanish accent. Had this been "Road to Morocco" with Dorothy Lamour in the role of the lavishly dressed princess, at least the consistency would be there.This lavishly looking production, equivalent in scope to MGM's "Kismet" the same year, is probably one of Universal's most expensive films of the year, and as a colorful work of art, it is never dull. A well staged sword dance and several fight sequences speeds things up a bit, but it just is lacking one good spectacular sequence with special effects. Oh, should I mention the lack of Sabu as well and the corny dialog that made "White Savage" and "Cobra Woman" become camp classics? But it did leave me with a smile on my face, so that should count for something in its favor.

If "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" isn't quite the camp classic it might have been it is, nevertheless, a spirited adventure yarn that young kids should get a buzz out of; (their parents won't find it too much of a chore either). It's probably the best known tale of the Arabian Nights, at least as far as children are concerned, and this version, directed by Arthur Lubin and gorgeously shot in Technicolour by W. Howard Greene and George Robinson, is an enjoyably painless entertainment. Conceived as another vehicle for its trio of 'stars', Maria Montez, an aging but reasonably nimble Jon Hall as Ali Baba and a boyish Turhan Bey cast, yet again, as a sidekick, it also features those stalwart supporting actors Andy Devine, Fortunio Bonanova and Frank Puglia lending sterling support. Hardly memorable but good matinée fare.

The Alexander Korda production of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940) - still the quintessential Arabian Nights movie - led to a spate of colorful romps made by Hollywood studios to escape the grim everyday realities of WWII; this may not be the best or even the most enjoyable of the lot but is reasonably representative of this fantasy sub-genre.Actually, I had intended to watch this over last year's Christmas period as it was shown on Italian TV very early one morning but the transmission started even earlier than expected and consequently I had to abort the viewing; therefore, I am grateful that (in spite of some deficiencies which I'll get to later) I remedied this through a copy of the Asian DVD I've just gotten hold of.The film obviously deals with the famous tale of the title but here Ali Baba (Jon Hall) is the son of a deposed (and subsequently murdered) Caliph who as a boy (played by Scotty Beckett) found refuge in the thieves' hide-out inside the cave and was raised by their leader (Fortunio Bonanova) as his own son. Meanwhile, Ali's childhood friend grows up to be Maria Montez and is naturally coveted by the evil tyrant now in power at Bagdad (Kurt Katch). Andy Devine is also on hand to provide some mild comic relief as Baba's "nursemaid" and Turhan Bey (like Hall and Montez, also a regular in such diversions) is Montez's only male slave and sympathetic to Ali's cause.As I said, the film is fairly entertaining and, as can be expected from a grade-A Universal production, handsomely mounted but it mainly survives nowadays on its high quotient of nostalgia both to people of my father's generation (who were around when this subgenre was still in full bloom) and to others who, like me, grew up on these things when they played during the summer holidays on TV. To get back to the presentation of the film on the disc I watched: while the all-important colors were not as vibrant as a full-blown restoration job would have made them look, the print was serviceable all around...were it not for the very odd fact that it omitted the opening and closing credits completely! In any case, this satisfactory viewing has brought back fond childhood memories of similar costume pictures and has certainly whetted my appetite for more; I also received a bunch of Sinbad pictures at the same time that this disc arrived and I ought to purchase the recently released DVD of ARABIAN NIGHTS (1942) one of these days - although, frankly, I think Universal missed the boat when they didn't release it as part of an Arabian Nights franchise collection which could have also included, apart from ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES itself, any of the following: BAGDAD (1949), THE DESERT HAWK (1950), FLAME OF ARABY (1951), THE PRINCE WHO WAS A THIEF (1951) and SON OF ALI BABA (1952). This is not to mention many other such extravaganzas made by other film studios which are still unreleased on DVD like ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS (1945), SINBAD THE SAILOR (1947), THIEF OF DAMASCUS (1952), SON OF SINBAD (1955), THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1961; an Italian remake with Steve Reeves supervised by ALI BABA helmer, Arthur Lubin), THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN (1961; another Italian production which utilized the now legendary and multi-faceted talents of Mario Bava), etc. One final thing: I once missed out on a TV screening of the 1954 French version of ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES starring Fernandel and directed by Jacques Becker and, even though it doesn't have much of a reputation (especially within its director's considerable canon), I'd love to watch it for myself one day...

I first saw this movie as a child when it ran every night for a week (and extras on the weekend) on something called Million Dollar MOvie that used to show the same film all week. I watched it over and over until I had the script practically memorized. I was fascinated by the location, the exotic story, the love interest and the gorgeous costumes, even though I originally only saw it in black and white.Years later, I saw it in color, as a full grown adult and realized that this movie is one that can take me instantly back to my childhood, into a wonderful world of a fantastic story that still holds my interest today. With the eyes of the adult, I can see that it's sort of a "B" picture, but it does have really nice production values. Maria Montez is breathtakingly lovely and I adore the fact that she's so tall and statuesque. No skinny little model type, but a real womanly presence. Jon Hall is the perfect leading man. Actually the dialog is rather good, a sort of stylized script that lends itself very well to the story. There is a glaring anachronism in it, which just shows that Hollywood wasn't too concerned with accuracy back then. All the talk of Allah, and they bury Old Babba under a cross! In our world today, when there is so much hatred between the western word and the Muslim countries, it's rather wistful to realize that these characters were all Muslims, even if that word wasn't mentioned. They do refer to Ramadan and Allah and to realize that the country involved is Iraq does give one pause. Isn't it a shame that this lovely ancient world has such an unfortunate connotation today? This movie, for all its flaws, shows the Muslim world in a very good light.I so wish it was available on DVD. I would buy it, if for no other reason than it's one of my childhood films. And besides, I still can practically recite the script!