The Adventures of Hajji Baba

The Adventures of Hajji Baba is remotely based on the book by a British writer James Morier who was actually raised in a harem and later served as an English diplomat at the court of the sultan of Iran in the first part of the 19th century. The book called The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan enjoyed quite a success at the time of its release in 1824 not only in England but also in Iran, the fact that encouraged the author to write a sequel called The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan in England where our hero is sent to learn its customs and way of life. This film version hasn't borrowed much from the book except perhaps the name of the main character – Hajji Baba (played by John Derek) and his profession – the barber whose banal, but sweet story we follow as he runs of with a beautiful but very capricious princess Fawzia (Elaine Stewart) who tries to escape from marriage to a man she isn't really crazy about which is imposed by her authoritative father Khalif (Donald Randolph) who is not particularly inclined to consider his daughter's opinion regarding choosing her lifetime partner especially when his power and monetary interests are at stake. But the main Hajji Baba's interest in helping the fugitive princess lies not in her attractive physical appearances but in a ring with a priceless emerald in it, which she happens to possess and which Hajji happens to covet. But gradually a struggle ensues inside of our hero's heart as about the change in the flow of his preferences to the girl instead of the emerald, which are also fed by the attraction the princess feels each time stronger towards the irresistible barber.

While all this internal fight is going on, our heroes come through numerous adventures most excitingly dangerous of them being caught by a band of beautiful women-outlaws several of whom were once Fawzia's personal servants who managed to escape mainly from princess' ill temper and promptly turned into bandits.

Overall Adventures of Hajji Baba is an ultimate what can be called sex and sand adventure comedy with a lot of beautiful women and sand in it all filmed in larger than life Cinemascope, which somehow covers the films poor story and is significantly helped by a pleasant title song performed by Nat King Cole which can be heard several times throughout the film - `Hajji, Hajji, Hajji, Hajji, Hajji Baba, Hajji Baba.' 7/10

At least, in France, this adventure film from One Thousand and One Nights tales was very famous, and I understand why after watching it. Full of charm because of the photograpjy, production design, music score and above all Nat King Cole's song. No matter the story, the plot, focus only on the overall film, not details. The best material from director Don Weis, forget the rest. Anyway this director was especially a TV director, more than a big screen film maker. Even if his real influence was not important for this film, it is still a good adventure film and it is very important to consider it in terms of other movies of this kind, as good - but different though - as the Universal ones from the forties and fifties, starring Maria Montez and Jon Hall or Yvonne De Carlo or Maureen O'Hara.

Anyone who has been married to both Ursula Andress and Bo Derek, must have something… Now in a white or orange turban and playing a brave young barber called Hajji Baba, in Isphahan, Persia, John Derek is still attractive to women and especially to Princess Fawzia (Elaine Stewart).

In the Fifties, Derek was the dashingly good-looking young hero of adventure films, rated by his teenage female fans as a 10 on the scale of male beauty…

In "The Adventures of Hajji Baba," Derek helps an insolent princess – disguised as a boy – on her way to marry a distant powerful prince (Paul Picerni) against the wishes of her father… Once they arrive to meet him, in the desert, they soon discover he is a rogue, whose plans for marriage are purely for one ambitious purpose… Hajji Baba then rebels against the prince, rescuing and winning the heart of the beautiful princess by believing in himself…

The glamorous Elaine Stewart looked cool, lush and marvelous as the spoiled selfish cruel princess who walks through the entire motion picture expressing her bad temper, and silencing everyone by threat…

By the early Seventies and despite public interest in her, Stewart's career did not fulfill its potential… Her phase was over, but she had certainly proved that she could be a star and, 35 years later, fans of Fifties' movies are still enamored of her

John Derek was ahead of his time in the movement to uplift the status of women. This movie is really about women claiming their power and not being relegated to a status unequal with men. In his own life, he was so appreciative of the feminine ideal and he served the women he loved quite devotedly. I believe that he was more invested in life than in movies. I believe that he was as handsome as any of the great swashbucklers, and as good a performer. It is such a grace that he played Joshua in the Ten Commandments. Joshua is a true hero of the Bible - of the Hebrew and Christian traditions, both. He was an artist of high integrity and profound passion. This movie shows him in one of his best moments, career-wise, and in our insatiable appetite for entertainment, let us not overlook his travail in this life.

The technical quality of this example of exotica is superb. This is probably the best looking exotica movie produced by Hollywood in the 50s, far more lavish looking than Rock Hudson's The Golden Blade. The attack of the Amazons in the desert is astonishing with the women standing on their racing horses and strangling male soldiers with a garrot.