A Thousand and One Nights (1945 film)

Last updated
A Thousand and One Nights
A Thousand and One Nights FilmPoster.jpeg
original film poster
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Screenplay byWilfred H. Petitt
(as Wilfrid H. Pettitt)
Richard English
Jack Henley
Story byWilfred H. Petitt
(as Wilfrid H. Pettitt)
(original story)
Produced by Samuel Bischoff
Starring Evelyn Keyes
Phil Silvers
Adele Jergens
Cornel Wilde
Cinematography Ray Rennahan
Edited by Gene Havlick
Music by Marlin Skiles
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • July 20, 1945 (1945-07-20)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Thousand and One Nights is a 1945 tongue-in-cheek American adventure fantasy film set in the Baghdad of the One Thousand and One Nights , directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Evelyn Keyes, Phil Silvers, Adele Jergens and Cornel Wilde. [1]

Contents

It was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Art Direction, Color (Stephen Goosson, Rudolph Sternad, Frank Tuttle) and Best Special Effects (Ray Bomba and Lawrence W. Butler). [2]

Plot

Vagabond singer Aladdin has his hands full keeping his pickpocket friend, Abdullah (Phil Silvers), out of trouble. Abdullah is thought mad as he claims to have been born 1200 years too early, speaks in 1940s slang and knows about television.

The beautiful Princess Armina, the daughter of the Sultan (Dennis Hoey), is borne through the streets in a covered litter. Despite knowing the punishment is death for a commoner to see her face, Aladdin cannot resist. He distracts the guards and slips into the litter. He persuades Armina to let her veil be lifted and is delighted to discover the stories of her beauty are true. He falls in love instantly. She is not so enamored of him, but does not raise an outcry when he slips away.

Later, Aladdin returns to the palace to woo Armina. He is caught and thrown in a cell (where he finds Abdullah) to await execution the next day. A distraught Armina has her trusted servant Novira steal the key to the cell from the jailer and slip it to Aladdin. Aladdin and Abdullah flee the city, pursued by the Sultan's guards. They hide out in a cave, where Kofir the sorcerer is waiting for them. Kofir persuades Aladdin to enter the bowels of the cave to fetch a magic lamp. Aladdin and the uneasy Abdullah dodge a laughing giant (Rex Ingram, dressed and coiffed the same as the genie he portrayed in the 1940 film The Thief of Bagdad ) and return with the lamp, only to find that Kofir has blocked the entrance with a giant boulder. Kofir demands the lamp before he will let them out, but Aladdin does not trust him. The sorcerer leaves them to die of thirst and starvation.

When a frustrated Aladdin throws the lamp away, a redheaded female genie appears and instructs him to rub the lamp, which makes him her master. She explains that only her master can see or hear her. She insists he call her Babs, and like Abdullah, behaves and talks like she is from the twentieth century. He orders her to get them out of the cave. He then decides to go back for the princess, much to the genie's disappointment (as she has fallen in love with him), and has her conjure up a retinue of servants, clothes and rich gifts.

Meanwhile, the Sultan's twin brother, Prince Hadji (also played by Hoey, with a British accent in both roles), who has already tried to overthrow his brother once before, makes the Sultan his captive and takes his place undetected. Hadji is aided by the treacherous Grand Wazir Abu-Hassan, who is promised Armina's hand in marriage as a reward.

When Aladdin shows up pretending to be a prince of Hindustan, however, the Sultan changes his mind, preferring a rich son-in-law. The genie does her best to derail the romance. Spotting Kofir, who has watched the proceedings through his magic crystal and is pretending to be a merchant offering new lamps for old, the genie arranges for the unsuspecting Novira to exchange the magic lamp. Once Kofir becomes the genie's master, everything that Aladdin wished for disappears, including the gift robe the false Sultan is wearing for the wedding. Armina realizes the man is not her father, but Prince Hadji, as he does not have a scar on his arm. Aladdin and Abdullah are taken away to be hanged, but Abu-Hassan offers to spare their lives if Armina agrees to marry him.

Aladdin is set free, believing Armina was only toying with him. Later, however, Novira tells him the truth. He and Abdullah track Kofir down and discover that he was overcome with excitement and died of a stroke. They steal the lamp from its next owner, a tailor, and return to the palace. At the end of a sword fight (in which Wilde gets to display his fencing skills), Hadji dies, and the grateful Sultan agrees to Aladdin and Armina's marriage.

Aladdin frees the heartbroken genie. She has an idea. She conjures up Aladdin's twin, who is in love with her. To reward Abdullah, she gives him Frank Sinatra's voice to entrance the harem girls.

Cast

Uncredited Cast

Reception

Dennis Schwartz described the film as "an attractive looking but buffoonish satire on the Arabian Nights" and stated "the laughs are hard to come by and are more unintentional than intentional." [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Aladdin</i> (1992 Disney film) American animated musical fantasy film

Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution under Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Arabic folktale "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights. The film was produced and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements from a screenplay they co-wrote with the writing team of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Featuring the voices of Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried and Douglas Seale, the film follows the titular Aladdin, an Arabian street urchin who finds a magic lamp containing a genie. With the genie's help, Aladdin disguises as a wealthy prince and tries to impress the Sultan of Agrabah to win the heart of his free-spirited daughter, Princess Jasmine, as the Sultan's evil vizier, Jafar, plots to steal the magic lamp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aladdin</span> Middle-Eastern folk tale

Aladdin is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with One Thousand and One Nights, despite not being part of the original text; it was added by the Frenchman Antoine Galland, based on a folk tale that he heard from the Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab.

Jafar (<i>Aladdin</i>) Disney character

Jafar is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Aladdin (1992). He is voiced by Jonathan Freeman, who also portrayed the character in the Broadway musical adaptation. Jafar also appears in the 1994 sequel to Aladdin, but he is not in the 1996 third film or the television series, although he does return in the latter's crossover Hercules and the Arabian Night.

<i>The Return of Jafar</i> 1994 American film

The Return of Jafar is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to Disney's 1992 animated feature film, Aladdin, made by combining the planned first five episodes of the Aladdin animated television series into a feature-length film.

<i>Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights</i> 1994 television film

Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights is a 1994 made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, and aired on syndication on September 3, 1994. It is an adaptation of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights and features appearances by Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers, in wrap around segments.

<i>Arabian Nights</i> (miniseries) 2000 multi-national TV series or program

Arabian Nights is a two-part 2000 miniseries, adapted by Peter Barnes from Sir Richard Francis Burton's translation of the medieval epic One Thousand and One Nights. Mili Avital and Dougray Scott star as Scheherazade and Shahryar respectively. Produced by Dyson Lovell and directed by Steve Barron, the serial was produced by Hallmark Entertainment and originally broadcast over two nights on 30 April and 1 May 2000 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and ABC in the United States.

<i>Aladdin</i> (1992 Golden Films film) Short animated film

Aladdin is a 1992 animated fantasy film. It is based on the classic Arabian Nights story Aladdin, translated by Antoine Galland. Aladdin was produced by Golden Films and the American Film Investment Corporation. Like all other Golden Films productions, the film featured a single song, "Rub the Lamp", written and composed by Richard Hurwitz and John Arrias. It was released directly to video on April 27, 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video and was reissued on DVD in 2002 as part of the distributor's "Collectible Classics" line of products.

<i>Aladdin Jr.</i> 2005 musical

Aladdin Jr. is a one-act, eleven-scene theatre musical adapted from the 1992 Walt Disney Animation Studios film Aladdin which is an adaptation of the folk tale Aladdin. The production runs between 60 and 80 minutes and includes five female parts, six male parts, and a chorus.

<i>Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp</i> (1957 film) 1957 Indian film

Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp, also known by its Telugu-language title Allauddin Adhbhuta Deepam, its Tamil-language title Allavudeenum Arputha Vilakkum, and its Hindi-language title Alladdin Ka Chirag, is a 1957 Indian fantasy film produced by M. L. Pathy on Jai Sakthi Pictures banner and directed by T. R. Raghunath. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Anjali Devi. It is an adaptation of the story of Aladdin from One Thousand and One Nights and a trilingual, filmed simultaneously in three different languages. Allavudeenum Arputha Vilakkum was released on 29 March 1957, and Allavuddin Adbhuta Deepam followed on 13 April. Alladin Ka Chirag too, came in the same year.

<i>Aladdin</i> (2011 musical) Broadway musical

Aladdin is a stage musical based on Disney's 1992 animated feature film of the same name with a book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Beguelin. It resurrects three songs written by Menken and Ashman for the film but not used, and adds four songs written by Menken and Beguelin.

<i>Aladdin and His Lamp</i> 1952 film by Lew Landers

Aladdin and His Lamp is a 1952 American fantasy adventure film directed by Lew Landers and starring Johnny Sands, Patricia Medina and Richard Erdman. It was shot in Cinecolor and produced by Walter Wanger for distribution by Monogram Pictures.

<i>1001 Arabian Nights</i> (1959 film) 1959 film

1001 Arabian Nights is a 1959 American animated comedy film produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Released to theaters on December 1, 1959, the film is a loose adaptation of the Arab folktale of "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights, albeit with the addition of UPA's star cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, to the story as Aladdin's uncle, "Abdul Azziz Magoo". It is the first animated feature to be released by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp</i> (1982 film) 1982 Japanese film

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp is a 1982 Japanese anime fantasy film produced by Toei Animation, based on the Middle Eastern folk tale of Aladdin. The film was released in Japan on 13 March 1982 by Toei Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genie (Disney)</span> Character from Disneys Aladdin

The Genie is a fictional character who appeared in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Aladdin (1992), later appearing in other media of the Aladdin franchise as one of its main characters, as well as throughout other Disney media. He was voiced by Robin Williams in the first film, on whom the character's mannerisms were based. Following a contract dispute between Williams and Disney, Dan Castellaneta voiced the Genie in the direct-to-video feature The Return of Jafar, as well as the television series. Williams reprised the role for the final film installment Aladdin and the King of Thieves, and the character's own educational mini-series Great Minds Think for Themselves.

<i>Aladdin</i> (2019 film) 2019 film by Guy Ritchie

Aladdin is a 2019 American musical fantasy film directed by Guy Ritchie from a screenplay he co-wrote with John August. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Rideback, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film Aladdin, itself based on "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp", a French addition to the Middle Eastern folktale collection One Thousand and One Nights. The film stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott with Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, and Billy Magnussen in supporting roles. The plot follows Aladdin, a street urchin, as he falls in love with Princess Jasmine, befriends a wish-granting genie, and battles the wicked sorcerer Jafar.

<i>Aladdin and His Magic Lamp</i> (1967 film) 1967 Soviet Union film

Aladdin's Magic Lamp is a 1967 Soviet fantasy film directed by Boris Rytsarev based on the tale Aladdin from One Thousand and One Nights.

<i>Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga</i> 2018 Indian fantasy TV series

Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga is an Indian fantasy television series loosely based on the Arabian Nights story Aladdin. The series premiered on 21 August 2018 on Sony SAB. The series involves Aladdin, a kind-hearted thief, as he falls in love with Princess Yasmine, befriends a wish-granting Genie of the Lamp, and battles Zafar and later the evil enchantress Mallika, and again with Zafar after his rebirth. While it incorporates many elements from the traditional Aladdin story, such as a young thief, a genie and a princess, it deviates significantly in its narrative and character development. The show's plot introduces new story arcs, original villains, and reimagined character relationships that set it apart from the more linear Disney adaptation. The series went off-air on 5 February 2021.

<i>Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp</i> 1906 French silent short film

Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp, is a 1906 French silent trick film directed by Albert Capellani, inspired by the folk tale, "The Story of Aladdin; or, the Wonderful Lamp", first known in Europe through its 18th century populariser, Antoine Galland, who added the tale to his translation of One Thousand and One Nights. His version, the first appearance of Arabian Nights in Europe, was published as Les mille et une nuits, between 1704 and 1717. Galland had heard the "Aladdin" story from the Maronite traveller and storyteller Hanna Diyab, in Paris, probably in the French language. The film is the oldest surviving cinematographic adaptation of this tale.

References

  1. "Cornel Wilde, Evelyn Keyes In New Technicolor Arabia". Christian Science Monitor. 1945-07-13. p. 4. A traditional Arabian Nights romance, some modern spoofing comedy, and a bit of trick photography have been put together in a lavish Technicolor production to make "A Thousand and One Nights," the new feature at the State and Orpheum.
  2. "NY Times: A Thousand and One Nights". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  3. Dennis Schwartz (February 11, 2007). "Silly escapist romantic fantasy film that's played with a wink and a nod". Ozus' World Movie Reviews.