User Reviews

Columbia Pictures may not have had the stars to populate this film like MGM or Warners would have, but they knew how to have some fun with what they had. Sure, it's splashed with expensive Technicolor and has lots of costumes and effects (the effects winning an Academy Award for Lawrence W. Butler), but its feeble cast features Evelyn Keyes, Cornel Wilde and Phil Silvers. Not exactly box-office, although Wilde was one of the hot new stars of 1945. But it's Keyes and Silvers who make this film enjoyable, even if their lack of star value keeps this film from being noticed today.

It's the umpteenth variation of the 'Aladdin and the Lamp' story, but this one is hoked up with plenty of anachronisms, chiefly in the form of Phil Silvers who plays Aladdin's thief buddy as an All-American wiseguy complete with the latest 40's slang and a pair of modern eyeglasses. And when Aladdin gets hold of the famous lamp (after a scene wherein he and Silvers dodge a giant played by Rex Ingram, who virtually reprises his character from 1940's 'Thief of Baghdad') out pops the genie played by Evelyn Keyes. And she's a sassy sprite who likes to be called "Babs." Since she's invisible to all but the owner of the lamp, she gets to mess around with others and sling wisecracks and warnings at Aladdin, to his discomfort. Sandwiched between Silvers and Keyes, poor Wilde is nothing more than a handsome grinning prop. At least his fencing skills come into play in a climactic duel.

The story includes the requisite villain, in this case played by Dennis Hoey (most famous as Inspector Lestrade in the Sherlock Homes series) in a duel role as a Sultan and his scheming twin-brother Prince. Adele Jergens plays the Sultan's daughter who naturally falls for Aladdin because he's so gorgeous and sings love songs to her (Wilde's singing voice dubbed). Jergens is not very interesting (looking like a pale imitation of Virginia Mayo) and to be honest, in my estimation, is strangely overshadowed by the striking looks of her chief maid played by Dusty Anderson. Neither of them became movie stars, but Anderson's looks and voice are so much more impressive than Jergens that it distracts from Wilde's pursuit of the Princess. In my view, why take a chance on being executed for trying to possess a moderately pretty Princess when the maid is a knockout, and likable too? (One small note: Shelley Winters plays a fellow handmaiden in this film, but good luck finding her. I think I spotted her in the back row of a group of maidens in a scene near the end of the film).

Interesting line: Phil Silvers looks into a sorcerer's crystal ball and sees himself robbing someone. He quips to Wilde re: the Sorceror: "This guy has run into television and don't know it." Since no pretense is made that this is anything other than a silly romp, Silvers gets to gag it up with plenty of other current references, including the absurd ending wherein he croons a Sinatra tune ("All or Nothing at All" and using the actual Sinatra recording) to handmaidens in bobbysoxer footwear. Needless to say, this a fun movie, easy to like.

As if the Maria Montez/Jon Hall/Sabu color fests dealing with similar tales over at Universal weren't camp enough, Columbia gives us this "Hellzapoppin'" type spoof,a jive-talking', slang filled satire that is only missing Robert Hays responding, "Shirley, You Can't Be Serious!". From the moment the bespeckled Phil Silvers comes on screen (glasses weren't invented until 500 years after this takes place!), you know you are in for a wacky ride. His references to Lana Turner and television simply confirm that. Cornel Wilde is Aladdin, the handsome beefy hero who loves the Sultan's daughter (Adele Jergens) after invading her caravan and has won her love as well. But evil is afoot, and after dealing with giant Rex Ingram (repeating his role from "The Thief of Bagdad"), Wilde and Silvers find the lamp an evil sorcerer has sent them looking for, and find it contains the beautiful but wise-cracking Evelyn Keyes. As far removed from "Gone With the Wind's" Tara (where Keyes played Scarlett O'Hara's younger sister) as she could get, Keyes falls in love with Wilde and schemes in her teasing way to prevent him from winning the princess. The story cleverly utilizes aspects of the Arabian Knights tales ("New lamps for old", in particularly) with genuine satire, and is as colorful as the Rita Hayworth musicals that Columbia was turning out. In certain shots, Jergens seems to be photographed and made up exactly as Hayworth was in "Cover Girl".

Columbia took a break from its string of Robin Hood adventure yarns for this sword & sandal fest, and came up with a winner. Wilde is a charming hero, Jergens a sweet but spunky princess, and Keyes going down Eve Arden territory with a touch of teenie bopper crush thrown in. Silvers provides some humor that may be considered dated, but some of his gags are timeless. There are enough villains to give Disney's "Aladdin's" Jafar a run for his money, although on closer examination, the plot of the movie resembles "The Lion King". The ending provides one of the funniest gags on screen imaginable.

Since having recently seen Vincent Price's fun Fantasy Adventure flick Bagdad,I've been in the mood of seeing a similar film.Taking a look at a fellow IMDbers posts,I noticed them praise an Adventure Fantasy title starring Phil Silvers,which led to me getting ready to stay up for 1000 and 1 nights.

The plot:

Running away with Abdullah after his friend has been caught pick pocketing, Aladdin decides to enter a passing litter that Princess Armina is being taken around the city in.After hearing about Armina's mythical beauty for years,Aladdin finds Armina to be more beautiful than he has ever imagined.Ignoring Abdullah advice,Aladdin decides after successfully escaping,that he will visit Armina later that night in her castle.

Getting captured, Aladdin and Abdullah are set to be killed,until Armina uses her charismatic skills to steal the jail key and free Aladdin & Abdullah.Hiding in a cave,the pals run into a sorcerer called Kofir,who gets Aladdin and Abdullah to go deep into the cave,in order to retrieve a lamp.Whilst wondering about why Kofi wants an old,rusting lamp,Aladdin rubs the object,which leads to a gene called Babs coming out of the lamp.Being told that every wish of his will be granted,Aladdin sets his sights on meeting Armina once again.

View on the film:

Whilst his role in the film is surprisingly not that prominent, Phil Silvers gives a wonderful performance as Abdullah,thanks to Silvers pushing the Fantasy elements aside to scatter Screwball Comedy moments across the screen,and also cleverly using Abdullah's pick pocketing skills for some quick-witted slap-stick Comedy set pieces. Supplying the movie with some likable songs, Cornel Wilde gives a very good performance as Aladdin,with Wilde balancing Aladdin's heart on his sleeve smile,with a charismatic swagger over seeing Princess Armina (played by a cute Adele Jergens) once again.Showing the guys that she can't be pushed around,the elegant Evelyn Keyes gives a great performance as Babs the genie,as Keyes rips apart Aladdin's dizzy love with hilariously sharp one-liners.

Covering the title in rich silk,director Alfred E. Green and cinematographer Ray Rennahan glide the film along a warm mystical atmosphere,by crossing the traditional Fantasy elements of genies and princesses with a modern Comedy take.Green joyfully takes the title from swooning song homages to the genie in distress outwitting all of the men.For their take on an Arabian Nights tale,the screenplay by Wilfred H. Petitt/Richard English and Jack Henley attempts to cross Screwball Comedy over with Fantasy Adventure.

For the magical Screwball Comedy moments the writers keep the film speeding along via clever 4th wall breaking gags that go from a desperation for the gun to be invented,to a proto-"TV" stone,which are all kept rooted by the sweet-natured friendship between Aladdin & Abdullah.Although the writers display a clear amount of energy in the comedic moments,the title is sadly never able to give the Fantasy Adventure sections the same sense of excitement,due to Aladdin & Princess Armina's dry relationship not being allowed to progress into a blossoming fairy tale.

"A Thousand and One Nights" (1945) is a fun, campy version of Arabian Nights. It is a visually stunning Technicolor film, with lavish costumes and sets, witty dialog, a red-haired female genie, a cute dog, a sinister giant, a sword fight, songs and exotic Arabian dancers.

Aladdin (played by Cornel Wilde) is dashing and athletic. He falls in love with blonde Princess Armina, daughter of the Sultan. Beautiful brunette Novira is one of Armina's many lovely handmaidens. Comedian Phil Silvers is great as Aladdin's friend Abdullah, who makes a lot of witty, 1940s slang wisecracks. (It is said that Abdullah was born 1,200 years before his time, hence his knowledge of 1940s culture.)

Aladdin finds a red-haired female genie named Babs to help him marry Princess Armina. However, things get complicated when the genie falls in love with Aladdin, and the Grand Wazir wants to marry the princess.

Aladdin and Abdullah have some interesting adventures. The two friends are chased on horseback at the Vasquez Rocks. In the spooky cave of a sorcerer, they are stalked by a giant (Rex Ingram). They also meet a tailor with six beautiful red-haired seamstresses.

Aladdin's sword fight is excellent. Cornel Wilde was on the U.S. Olympic fencing team in 1936, and the sword fight is very dramatic.

The costumes are over-the-top spectacular. Princess Armina and her handmaidens wear colorful glittery gowns. Her wedding dress, with fringe and a huge chiffon skirt, practically floats around her. Genie Babs looks great with her bright red hair and blue-green outfits. There are also exotic Arabian dancers, and songs.

The sets are lavish. The palace has ornate gates and balconies. Outside scenes were filmed at the Vasquez Rocks. This film received Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. I hope a DVD is released soon.

Bespectacled comedian Phil Silvers and flirtatious genie Evelyn Keyes steal the show in the Alfred E. Green romantic, tongue-in-cheek,Arabian fantasy "A Thousand and One Nights," a gorgeous Technicolored Columbia Pictures release that teems with anachronisms galore. Basically, the Phil Silvers character wears the right clothes but his dialogue bristles with 1940s slang, such as the use of the word groovy. Green, who helmed "The Green Goddess" as well as the Barbara Stanwyck classic "Baby Face," keeps the action breezing along and the atmosphere light-hearted.

The leading man, Aladdin of Cathay (youthful, Hungarian-born Cornel Wilde of "High Sierra"), spots a caravan entering the city with an elegant litter and steals within the contraption to feast his eyes upon the lovely daughter of the Kamar Al-Kir, Princess Armina (Adele Jergens of "Armored Car Robbery"), and he falls in love with her. Not surprisingly, she shares his affections. Later, Aladdin and his wise-cracking, pick-pocket thief sidekick, Abdullah (Phil Silvers of "All Through the Night"), are dispatched to find a lantern in a cave by a sorcerer who tries to cheat them out of it. Aladdin discovers that when he rubs the lantern, a genie named Babs (Evelyn Keyes of GONE WITH THE WIND) appears to grant him a wish. The circumstances under which Aladdin makes this discovery is when he refuses to give the sorcerer the lantern after he has trapped them in a cave. Early, our heroes had to elude Meanwhile, the villainous twin brother of the Sultan, Prince Hadji (Denis Hoey of "Uncertain Glory"), persuades the Grand Wazir AbuHassan (Philip Van Zandt of "House of Frankenstein") to join him and remain mum about his masquerade. They imprison the real Sultan in another of his palaces far away.but the evil twin brother overlooks a wound that brother acquired later that he did not know about. When they catch Aladdin flirting with Princess Armina, they imprison him, but Abdullah and he manage to escape through the intervention of the hand-maiden of the princess who slips them the keys to their cell while the guards are playing gin rummy. Aladdin persuades Babs to transform him into a noble man because Arminia is not allowed to marry below her station in life. Mind you, all this time Babs has a terrific crush on Aladdin and does everything that she can to dissuade him from marrying the princess. Eventually, Babs pulls a prank that robs Aladdin of her and he loses everything and is exposed. The fake Sultan orders both of them hanged, but Arminia promises to marry the Grand Wizir in exchange for him turning them loose. This prompts Aladdin to warble a misogynist song in the equivalent of an Arabian saloon while Abdullah contrives his own song where he describes all the women that he loves, including gay women. Clearly, gay in this instance did not refer to lesbians or the repressive Production Code Adminstration would have forced Columbia to remove it from the screenplay. Aladdin gets to swash and buckle in the last half-hour with the fake Sultan as they have a sword fight. For the record, Wilde was a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic fencing team so he knew how to handle foils.

The ending is a slick trick and the writing is above-average, except in one instance where are hero is sent on a wild goose chase to get the lantern after it is thrown out the window.

Scenarists Richard English, Jack Henley and Wilfred H. Petitt penned the lively screenplay that stipulates that anybody who uses the genie must retain the lantern if they want to maintain the changes in their respective lifestyle. If you lose the lantern, you loose everything that you received from the genie. Further, only the individual who rubs the lamp can see the genie. The genie, who likes to be called Babs, not only creates an army for the impostor but also makes him a man high enough in status so that he is allowed to see her. Lots of fun, especially Rex Ingram as a giant who menaces the heroes during their initial search for the lantern.