The Thief of Bagdad is a fantastic silent film, produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks. It really is a film of epic proportions, running for 139 minutes and costing over $1,000,000.00 to produce in 1924.
Fairbanks features in most scenes and it is easy to see how he was such a star in the industry’s formative years.
Ahmed the Thief (Fairbanks) and his buddy (Snitz Edwards) enjoy life until he sets upon Bagdad’s Princess (Julanne Johnston). It just so happens that the time of year has come that suitors come from all over the east to ask for her hand in marriage. Of these, the Mongol Prince (Sojin) plans to have Bagdad either by marriage or by force. Sounds like time for a plan.
Ahmed formulates a scheme, joining the other suitors in an attempt to best impress the Princess. Along the way, he makes use of a magic rope, magic chest and a magic carpet to save Bagdad, but only after the suitors are sent all over the countryside by a Princess who doesn’t know what she wants. I won’t give too much away but poor Ahmed works hard and deserves to live happily ever after.
The Thief of Bagdad’s sets and backdrops are mammoth, while a cast of literally thousands were used to comprise the marauding and defending armies. The special effects used throughout this movie helped set the tone for other silent movies to follow in the ’20s.
EXTRAS
Film historian R. Dixon Smith narrates a 15-minute essay on The Thief of Bagdad, encompassing how it was produced and where it stood in the overall Hollywood picture. This is good at giving some background and should be watched before the main feature.
OVERALL
If you like your flicks to have stunts where the stuntman probably really hurt themselves, this is your movie. It appears to have had no expense spared and is quite enjoyable from the outset. HAVING to actually watch this movie and take it all in as opposed to blandly staring at the `box may not appeal to some, but I am sure that most will find The Thief of Bagdad very rewarding.