The Thief of Bagdad (DVD)

A spectacular accomplishment in production design and special effects, Raoul Walsh's The Thief Of Bagdad is a bold Arabian adventure starring Douglas Fairbanks as a carefree pickpocket who turns his appealing brand of mischievous thievery toward the attainment of happiness...and an exotic princess (Julanne Johnston). The only way he can win either is by retrieving the rarest treasures hidden within the mysterious Orient, a quest that grows more fantastic with every passing thrill, as the tenacious thief rises high above the city on a magic carpet, battles a fire-breathing dragon in caverns of flame and soars into the clouds on the back of a winged steed via innovative special effects.

As designed by William Cameron Menzies, The Thief Of Bagdad's mythical Middle Eastern kingdom is a wondrous page from The Arabian Nights, polished by a silvery Oriental aesthetic and spiced with occasional dashes of German Expressionism. Lest his all-American heroism seem anachronistic within this fanciful Arabian setting, Fairbanks cut the number of snappy intertitles to a bare minimum and flavored his performance with a heightened degree of physical grace, so that his every step and gesture evinces a distinctly balletic rhythm that enhances the film's fairy-tale quality.

Featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston, Snitz Edwards, Anna May Wong. Musical Setting by Gaylord Carter (1975).