The Magic Carpet

The leads are the main guy, the funny guy assistant kinda dopey amusement, the good girl, and the evil girl played by the famous lady, so basically I think they have a good fun thing here. The script is actually just routine, however this is even made up for the dir. wisely somehow understanding this and filling the movie with just action scenes after another which is a success, also the magic carpet itself is nifty. I think this is a fun movie.

Considering "The Magic Carpet" is a costume drama starring John Agar, this film isn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

After the Caliph is murdered, his son (baby Agar) is placed on a magic carpet that spirits him away. It lands in an alley, where the baby and carpet are picked up by the guy who played Pete on the TV series "Fury." The grown boy (adult Agar) is now a physician's assistant. He pulls out a tongue depressor and tells one of his patients to open his mouth and say "Ali Baba." (I kid you not.) Meanwhile, the new Caliph, played by Gregory Gaye, aided by Raymond Burr as the Vizier, is taxing the populace to death.

It's time for a hero. Agar becomes (drum roll) the Scarlet Falcon!!

I must admit, Agar looks simply stunning in red. Apparently, he is the only clean-shaven man in the Middle East. He also displays feats of derring-do, with some nifty sword fighting and a few wrestling moves (he takes out a few dudes with a monkey flip and hip toss). Agar may have had a career doing some action flicks, instead of the 1950s-60s sci-fi crap in which he was saddled.

Agar manages to infiltrate the Caliph's lair by curing the old geezer's hiccups. We get a gratuitous shot of Agar in Arabian bathing trunks. Fortunately, the producer (Sam Katzman, who else?) spared us the sight of Burr in similar garb.

George Tobias is on hand for some comic relief. Patricia Medina plays Tobias' sister, and she has eyes for Agar. She also dances for the guys. She's pretty.

Did I mention Lucille Ball is in this? She plays the evil Caliph's sister. She discovers Agar is really the Scarlet Falcon, so it is off to the chopping block for Agar.

Can the Magic Carpet save him? Will Agar take his rightful place on the throne? Will Agar and Medina get to do a little nookie-nookie on the Magic Carpet?

This low budget adventure stars John Agar, Raymond Burr of TV's Perry Mason, and a very pregnant Lucille Ball The poor production values used to make this movie give it the look of a Technicolor, Three Stooges episode. It's really too bad I would have enjoyed a good Arabian Adventure, starring Lucille Ball!

THE MAGIC CARPET is great fun. A Sam Katzman Supercinecolor bargain counter costume extravaganza with Lucille Ball and John Agar... what's not to like? It made me want to see Monogram's ALADDIN and HIAWATHA made he same year also in Super cine-color... which I thought was fantastic and rich in every mad hue possible. What a calling card for Super Cinecolor! You actually could have a whole weekend watching all these films and top it off with RKOs SON OF SINBAD. Any scene with Lucy and a very confused Raymond Burr is hilarious and she clearly is between TV shows and running not walking through this silly funny film. Tin swords that clatter, people stamping about on the floor, and a flying carpet that looks like a stiff beach towel..... yippee! It's a masterpiece of razzle dazzle cine-color whizziness. See it and laugh.

I totally disagree with some previous comments. It seems as though everyone wants message films, or biting dialog for a picture to be great. Whatever happened to films being made strictly for entertainment sake. If you are looking for academy award performances forget it, but for a rainy afternoon and you just want some simple escapism then this is just the thing. The interesting thing about the whole movie was how Lucille Ball foiled all of the bigwigs who tried to put the screws to her by offering her this movie to fulfill her contract obligation. they all thought she would turn them down but she fooled them and accepted and as soon as the film wrapped she was gone.