the audience applauded

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Copyright 31 December 1946 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Palace: 22 January 1947. U.S. release: 13 January 1947. U.K. release: 18 August 1947. Australian release: 25 September 1947. 10,724 feet. 119 minutes.SYNOPSIS: On his 8th voyage, Sinbad finds himself competing with a beautiful princess, a blood-thirsty emir, a scheming barber and a mysterious thug called the Jackal for a treasure buried in the long-lost palace of Alexander the Great.NOTES: Negative cost: a staggering $2,460,000 - all of which is up there on the screen to enjoy and admire. Initial domestic rentals gross: around $3 million, which after paying print, advertising and distribution costs, probably broke even or made a small loss which overseas rentals would have turned into a very modest profit overall.COMMENT: I don't suppose we should be surprised that Sinbad was not nominated for any prestigious Hollywood award, though it easily outshone The Yearling in both the Color Cinematography and Color Art Direction categories. The trouble is of course that Sinbad was conceived purely as entertainment, not as "prestige". And what great entertainment it offers. True, the script is a trifle wordy, but I mean, who's listening all that intently when such breathtaking scenery and exotic costumes are constantly drifting past the camera? The dialogue has a poetic ring to it, and a lightly perfumed flavor of the Arabian Nights. Not a heavily authentic flavor it is true, but it will pass with all but the most finicky Burton scholars. And the performances are totally right. Fairbanks is perfect as the bragging Sinbad, Miss O'Hara surprisingly comes through with flying colors in a tricky role as a scheming princess who uses her beauty and romance as a tool, whilst Walter Slezak gives one of the most riveting portraits of his villainous career as a double-edged barber with more than close shaving on his mind. The support cast is full of familiar (if impenetrably bearded) faces, which just adds further pleasure to an already overcrowded slice of derring-do. Roy Webb's lyrical music score is a further major asset.OTHER VIEWS: A cleverly written, impishly played, and lightly directed romp through the exotic pages of your Arabian Nights. Mr Fairbanks plays with the right tongue-in-cheek bravado, Miss O'Hara is a Turkish delight to dazzle the eye, Mr Slezak the sort of smooth-talking, fast thinking villain to keep the action simmering (with a slight assist from the more openly mercenary Anthony Quinn) for 117 minutes. Sumptuous sets and costumes round out the tale very nicely thank you, though we do miss a few of the more exotic creatures of the Nights such as giants and djinns, monsters and wizards. -J.H.R. in Photoplayer.

The trailer calls Sinbad "gay" and they are dead on.It's very hard to believe that he's interested in the extremely hot Maureen O'Hara. It also calls Maureen "the loveliest prize in Arab". I have no clue where Arab is but she sure is lovely. I assume this is the first Sinbad movie and although there are no Ray Harryhausen monsters,it's still a good movie. Sometimes they ramble and I found myself not paying attention but there's plenty of action to make up for that. As usual,Sinbad assembles a crew(not shown) but this time he has a Chinese barber that he doesn't trust. Why do they need a barber?Why let him shave you if you don't trust him?. It's your typical Sinbad story...adventure,action and plenty of hot girls. This is a movie you should see.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. stars as the legendary "Sinbad" who has sailed the waters of Persia and beyond with many great stories to tell. And that is exactly where this movie begins as he regales his audience with his latest voyage in search of the treasure of Deryabar which Alexander the Great had deposited there many years ago. It all starts with his finding a derelict ship which he sails to Basra to claim under the law of salvage. Alas, upon arriving there he has the ship taken from him and put up for auction to the highest bidder. Fortunately, Sinbad is quite clever and uses his wits to keep possession of it. In the process he meets a beautiful noble woman by the name of "Shireen" (Maureen O'Hara) who captivates his heart but also creates some minor problems for him along the way as well. Now, rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this turned out to be an okay movie for its time. Although Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was clearly the lead actor and certainly played his part well enough I happened to like the performances of Walter Slezak (as "Abdul Melik") and Maureen O'Hara slightly better. Along with that I also enjoyed the beautiful cinematography. On the other hand, there were some scenes which were quite dull and seemed to go on for much too long. In short, this was a fairly good movie which could have been better. That said, I rate this film as slightly above average.

This ¨Sinbad the sailor¨ (1947) displays an all-star-cast formed by Douglas Fairbanks Jr , Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn , among others . Riveting and swashbuckling film with amazing adventures in which Sinbad searches for a valuable treasure located in the Sea of Oman , the course followed by Alexander the Great . The picture talks about the hero Sinbad and his extraordinary and surprising adventures ; being based on loose recounting of ¨The 1.001 Arabian Nights¨ tale . O Masters , o noble persons , o brothers , know you that in the time of the caliph Harum-Al-Rassihd , there lived on the golden shore or Persia a man of adventure called Sinbad . Strange and wondrous were the tales told of him on his voyages . But who, shall we surmise gave him immortality ? . Who , more than all other songs of Allah , spread glory to the name of Sinbad? Who else , o brother but . And now , know ye , all believers of the world of Sinbad , that light voyage , this is the end . This imaginative flick based on ancient legends , deals with Sinbad The Sailor (Douglas Fairbanks) who travels until an island called Deryabar to discover a fantastic treasure of Alexander the Great . Simbad sets off in search for the magnificent treasure and aboard a ship along with a motley crew (Walter Slezak , George Tobias , Mike Mazurki) , but he evil Amir (Anthony Quinn) wants the treasure for himself to own the world. They will have to face off several dangers , villains and henchmen .In the movie there are mythology , emotions , adventures , fantasy , swashbuckling and it's pretty bemusing . It is an exciting fantasy-adventure and pretty amusing . Self-mocking and hamhanded , but some brief moment boring for its confusion . Don't see this one for the script , which almost doesn't exist ; otherwise mildly fun . Douglas Fairbanks Jr fits perfectly in his eminent daddy's swashbuckling shoes . Support cast is frankly good such as Walter Slezak , George Tobias , Jane Greer , Mike Mazurki , among them .The runtime is adequate with various incidents and sub-plots . Director Richard Wallace works his magic around a well-developed screenplay and engaging acting by the entire performers . The confrontation amongst the protagonist and enemies is mesmerizing and fascinating , plenty of leaps and bounds in which Sinbad runs , hits , fights and smiles . Cinematography by George Barnes is colorful , brilliant and shining . classic music composer Roy Webb creates a magnificent and astounding score . The motion picture was rightly directed by Richard Wallace , though confusing and sometimes dull . It's all in fun , and it is fun . The film obtained much success and achieved enough Box Office . The yarn will appeal to fantasy and fancy imagination buffs , well catching .Other pictures about the great hero Simbad are the followings : ¨Harryhausen's Sinbad trilogy¨ , all of them full of special effects with great monsters and breathtaking scale models that are made by the Dynamation system and stop-motion created by means of stop-motion technique by the magician Ray Harryhausen , Ray can once again claim credit for the unusual and marvelous mythical creatures springing to life , as : ¨The 7th voyage of Simbad¨ , directed Nathan Juran with Kerwin Matthews and Kathryn Grant ¨ , ¨Simbad and the eye of tiger¨ directed Sam Wanamaker with Patrick Wayne and Jane Seymour , ¨The Golden voyage of Sinbad¨ by Gordon Hessler with John Philip Law , Caroline Munro and Tom Baker . Furthermore , an Italian muscle epic titled ¨Sinbad of the seven seas¨ by Enzo G Castellari with Lou Ferrigno , Alexandra Martines and John Steiner . In addition , Hollywood cartoon movie ¨Simbad the legend of seven seas¨ (2003) produced by Dreamworks , a combo of computer generator and hand-drawn animation by Patrick Gilmore and Tim Johnson with voices from Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta Jones .