Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Hollywood's 1944 take on the Arabian Nights adventure—featuring a plucky prince raised by an army of rogue thieves with romantic souls, a beautiful captive princess, a villainous Mongol conqueror, and a magical cave of untold riches that responds to the command “open sesame”—is a B-movie painted in Technicolor splendor and saturated with Hollywood kitsch. Arthur Lubin directs a cast of second-rate stars—Jon Hall as the titular young hero, sultry Maria Montez as his ladylove, and Turhan Bey as the loyal slave who steals scenes from the attractive but vacuous stars—working with a script replete with floridly awful dialogue. Fortunio Bonanova gives the film its only dignity as the king of the thieves, and Andy Devine offers comic relief as the loyal second-in-command, Abdullah, who watches over Ali Baba with avuncular affection. Lubin juggles a cascade of plot complications and sloppily choreographed action—from dancing girls to sword-fighting men—with loopy energy. Forget the acting or the story: the joy is in the three-strip Technicolor visual mosaic of candy-colored studio art direction and delicious costumes. Gorgeous and campy, this goofy bit of Hollywood exotica is a gloriously cheesy fantasy that is more fun than it has any right to be. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)