Musical retelling of the "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" Arabian Nights tale.Musical retelling of the "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" Arabian Nights tale.Musical retelling of the "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" Arabian Nights tale.
Lawrence Hanray
- Kasim Baba
- (as Laurence Hanray)
Francis L. Sullivan
- The Caliph
- (as Francis Sullivan)
Kiyoshi Takase
- Entertainer at Feast
- (as Kyoshi Takase)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film's title was Stan Lee's inspiration for the Marvel Comics character of Fin Fang Foom.
- Alternate versionsWhen reissued by Lippert in the 1950s, the film was "revised" and cut, first to 93 minutes, then to 78. This version is titled "Ali Baba Nights."
- ConnectionsReferenced in The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Featured review
Energetic, Fun and Anna May Wong
Michael Balcon certainly pulled out all the stops for his production. Originally conceived by Oscar Ashe as a combination of Christmas pantomime and operetta, based on the success of KISMET, it had become the West End's biggest wartime hit, as soldiers on leave flocked to see it -- with the censors reading the mail to and from their girlfriends, I imagine some of them felt the closest they could come to discussing what their plans would be "Get some tickets for the show and a hotel room since it will be too late to return home after. Bert said he and his girl had a great time."
In any case, the show not only played for over 2,000 performances, it toured for decades. The movie had to compete with that, so director Walter Forde had enormous sets built. Cinematographer Mutz Greenbaum keeps his camera moving constantly, and a great cast, including George Robey as Ali Baba, Fritz Kortner, Anna May Wong, Francis L. Sullivan, and Frank Cochrane reprising his role of "the Cobbler" from the original stage show, keep things hopping.
There are lots of complaints about British musicals, but considering MGM was about to enter on a series of stolid and very successful operettas starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy the following year, this lively example of the genre is a lot of fun.
In any case, the show not only played for over 2,000 performances, it toured for decades. The movie had to compete with that, so director Walter Forde had enormous sets built. Cinematographer Mutz Greenbaum keeps his camera moving constantly, and a great cast, including George Robey as Ali Baba, Fritz Kortner, Anna May Wong, Francis L. Sullivan, and Frank Cochrane reprising his role of "the Cobbler" from the original stage show, keep things hopping.
There are lots of complaints about British musicals, but considering MGM was about to enter on a series of stolid and very successful operettas starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy the following year, this lively example of the genre is a lot of fun.
helpful•50
- boblipton
- Apr 21, 2018
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content