Sinbad, the Sailor

This ¨Sinbad the sailor¨ (1947) displays an all-star-cast formed by Douglas Fairbanks Jr , Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn , among others . Riveting and swashbuckling film with amazing adventures in which Sinbad searches for a valuable treasure located in the Sea of Oman , the course followed by Alexander the Great . The picture talks about the hero Sinbad and his extraordinary and surprising adventures ; being based on loose recounting of ¨The 1.001 Arabian Nights¨ tale . O Masters , o noble persons , o brothers , know you that in the time of the caliph Harum-Al-Rassihd , there lived on the golden shore or Persia a man of adventure called Sinbad . Strange and wondrous were the tales told of him on his voyages . But who, shall we surmise gave him immortality ? . Who , more than all other songs of Allah , spread glory to the name of Sinbad? Who else , o brother but . And now , know ye , all believers of the world of Sinbad , that light voyage , this is the end . This imaginative flick based on ancient legends , deals with Sinbad The Sailor (Douglas Fairbanks) who travels until an island called Deryabar to discover a fantastic treasure of Alexander the Great . Simbad sets off in search for the magnificent treasure and aboard a ship along with a motley crew (Walter Slezak , George Tobias , Mike Mazurki) , but he evil Amir (Anthony Quinn) wants the treasure for himself to own the world. They will have to face off several dangers , villains and henchmen .

In the movie there are mythology , emotions , adventures , fantasy , swashbuckling and it's pretty bemusing . It is an exciting fantasy-adventure and pretty amusing . Self-mocking and hamhanded , but some brief moment boring for its confusion . Don't see this one for the script , which almost doesn't exist ; otherwise mildly fun . Douglas Fairbanks Jr fits perfectly in his eminent daddy's swashbuckling shoes . Support cast is frankly good such as Walter Slezak , George Tobias , Jane Greer , Mike Mazurki , among them .The runtime is adequate with various incidents and sub-plots . Director Richard Wallace works his magic around a well-developed screenplay and engaging acting by the entire performers . The confrontation amongst the protagonist and enemies is mesmerizing and fascinating , plenty of leaps and bounds in which Sinbad runs , hits , fights and smiles . Cinematography by George Barnes is colorful , brilliant and shining . classic music composer Roy Webb creates a magnificent and astounding score . The motion picture was rightly directed by Richard Wallace , though confusing and sometimes dull . It's all in fun , and it is fun . The film obtained much success and achieved enough Box Office . The yarn will appeal to fantasy and fancy imagination buffs , well catching .

Other pictures about the great hero Simbad are the followings : ¨Harryhausen's Sinbad trilogy¨ , all of them full of special effects with great monsters and breathtaking scale models that are made by the Dynamation system and stop-motion created by means of stop-motion technique by the magician Ray Harryhausen , Ray can once again claim credit for the unusual and marvelous mythical creatures springing to life , as : ¨The 7th voyage of Simbad¨ , directed Nathan Juran with Kerwin Matthews and Kathryn Grant ¨ , ¨Simbad and the eye of tiger¨ directed Sam Wanamaker with Patrick Wayne and Jane Seymour , ¨The Golden voyage of Sinbad¨ by Gordon Hessler with John Philip Law , Caroline Munro and Tom Baker . Furthermore , an Italian muscle epic titled ¨Sinbad of the seven seas¨ by Enzo G Castellari with Lou Ferrigno , Alexandra Martines and John Steiner . In addition , Hollywood cartoon movie ¨Simbad the legend of seven seas¨ (2003) produced by Dreamworks , a combo of computer generator and hand-drawn animation by Patrick Gilmore and Tim Johnson with voices from Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta Jones .

I saw this film perhaps three times on TV, as a kid in the 1950s. I always thought it was black & white, because I saw it only on a B&W TV. I rewatched it recently for the first time in over 40 years, & it sure has changed! Or more likely, I sure have changed. Of course, it's in color, not B&W. What seemed like a great mystery to me then is now fairly obvious. And Fairbanks Jr., who seemed to me the best of all Sinbads, now seems a bit over the top in his role. Not that those are bad comments, they're just different than I had remembered. The colors are amazingly bright & vivid for a 1947 film, which both adds interest & takes away from the mystery of what I had seen in B&W. Fairbanks grandiose character portrayal (arm flourishes & almost ballet-like movements) actually works well, because Sinbad is a braggart who is disbelieved by many, & has a self- confident air; he's also a fellow who's had eight amazing voyages & has escaped dozens of monsters & difficult situations. Sinbad refers to some of his previous exploits (the Roc & the Cyclops, for example); it would have been nice to see a couple of monsters or mythical beings in this film. With minimal special effects, the plot becomes rather talky, & there's a repetition of escapes & fight scenes that lack variety & seem too staged. I would call this a kid's film, although the dialog is a bit too poetic & difficult for many kids. As a film for adults, it's a bit too soft with too little action, although there's lots of romantic elements for those viewers who enjoy that. There are three nice surprises to the plot which still hold up well, so stick with it to the end. I would no longer call this my favorite Sinbad film, but it's still enjoyable as a light adventure-romance. I rate it 6/10.

The storyteller Sinbad the Sailor (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) is gathered with other men in the harbor telling his adventure seeking the island of Daryabar, where the treasure of Alexander the Great is hidden. In his journey with his friend Abbu (George Tobias), Sinbad rescues and claims property of a drifting boat; he meets the ambitious and gorgeous Shireen (Maureen O'Hara) and falls in love for her; he is chased by the evil Emir (Anthony Quinn) that is seeking the treasure to become one of the most powerful men in the world; and he meets the dangerous Melik (Walter Slezak) that also wants the treasure.

"Sinbad the Sailor" is a delightful adventure, in a type of naive movie that Hollywood seems to have forgotten in the present days. However, the success of the franchise "Pirates of Caribbean" proves that this genre is still attractive for the younger generations. The athletic Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is excellent in the lead role, showing a great chemistry with the gorgeous Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn and Walter Slezak are great villains. The final twist in the very end is extremely pleasant, closing with golden key this entertaining movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Simbad, o Marujo" ("Sinbad the Sailor")

When I assess the popularity of this film in the postwar period of its release and then compare viewers' reactions recently registered to that approbation, I must assert that U.S. viewers appear to have suffered two serious losses over the last 50 years. First, they apparently can no longer listen to intelligent dialogue nearly as well as they once could; and second, viewers seem to have abandoned categories of fiction for emotional predilections, for or against subject matter, actors, etc. I believe that "Sinbad the Sailor" is an interesting, beautifully-photographed and well-acted film. I suggest Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is very good in the title role, although he adopted a device of moving his hands often that is graceful but distracting. Contrary to some adverse comments, if one ignores Maureen O'Hara's Irish brogue, she is excellent, rising to one of her most rewarding earlier parts, one that taxes her to play several moods and many nuances. Walter Slezak is very fine as always as a charismatic villain, Anthony Quinn underplays a villain who only reveals his depths of evil gradually. Also, George Tobias makes nearly the perfect foil for Fairbanks' agile Sinbad. The production is much-admired, with a rich teal blue to the sea in the process shots that many never tire of enjoying.. The elaborate costumes by Edward Stevenson and Dwight Franklin are a delight; the cinematography by George Barnes and the art direction by Albert d'Agostino and Carroll Clark as well as the set decorations by Claude E. Carpenter and Darrell Silvera are all outstanding. Roy Webb contributed fine original music and the direction by Richard Wallace is to my mind intelligent and swift-paced throughout. In fact, he plays with rates of the passage of time unusually well. The convoluted script for the film retailing Sinbad's "eight' voyage" was written by John Twist from a story created by him with George Worthing Yates. The plot theme involves "being true to the best that is in oneself". To feature this, the story-line retails the finding of a derelict ship with a dead crew. Sinbad, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and his partner Tobias, boarding the ship after being marooned, manage to bring the vessel to port where it is impounded. They had found the crew had been poisoned by the ship's water. But who poisoned it, they wonder. The entire film is told as a flashback by Sinbad, recounting his unknown latest adventure. His hints about plague to potential buyers of the ship, causes no one to buy the vessel--except himself, using money stealthily stolen from the auctioneer's own purse. A beautiful woman, O'Hara, it turns out, wants to marry a wealthy prince and also wants the vessel. Meanwhile Sinbad is trying to solve a riddle, involving the broken half of an amulet that had been found about his neck when he was an abandoned baby. The image found there also appeared on a map to a fabled island where lies the treasure of Alexander the Great--a map that later disappeared from the vessel. O'Hara is being sought by the Emir, Quinn; and believes Sinbad can lead her to the wealth.And he Emir wants it and her very badly. What follows is Arabian Nights adventure I suggest at its best-- captures, ship chases, escapes, arguments between male and female, the revelation that Melik, who has sailed with Sinbad, is the poisoner, a man obsessed with the treasure also, etc. The uneasy allies all arrive at last at the mysterious island of Derriabar. Sinbad is discovered to be the ruler-philosopher's long-lost son. He must somehow save the island from the Emir, who plans to use its wealth to make himself master of the entire world. Melik has a fine death scene.Sinbad prefers honesty and O'Hara as Shireen prefers him and the ending is very obviously satisfying. This is a film about ethics, mystery, romance, adventure, dialogue, humor and misassumptions. I recommend it highly to anyone adult enough to listen to it; it was a big hit for RKO when first released. In the good cast also are Seldon Leonard, John Miljan, Jane Greer, Mike Mazurki, Alan Napier and George Chandler.

This movie is an adult oriented swashbuckling tale in the guise of a children's movie. The harem scene is quite erotic and suggestive for its time. The script is very literate, almost too much so for a children's film, but there is plenty of colorful action for the kids too. The relationship between the O'Hara and Fairbanks character is very fiery, at times a little over-abusive, but they seem to made for each other. Slezak uses his intelligence to take an over-the-top character and make him believable and interesting. There is a lot of romance, combined with an inner-spective questioning of what true treasure is, and where true happiness comes from; everyone can learn from this. In this sense, it is a very moralistic tale, without preaching, but "showing". Kids will enjoy the action, adults who can get into the spirit of the tale will enjoy the sexual excitement and subtleties of the story and script. And to the casual viewer, it's just a fun film. It is underrated, and deserves a view by the entire family.