Son of Sinbad

A couple years ago I taped Son of Sinbad but gave up on it when two of the early scenes involved a surprisingly long, mediocre dance sequence and a surprisingly long dialog between Lil' Sinbad and Omar Khayyam. But I'm an inveterate fan of the Eastern genre, and by 8 July 2008, when TCM ran a morning of Sinbad movies, I'd forgotten my earlier dismissal and gave the film a longer chance. The Houston Chronicle's TV Week gave it only one star, which is close enough, but a little patience is redeemed by offbeat treats and occasionally upscale production values.

As for the treats, Dale Robertson is a game Sinbad, Vincent Price is a trooper as Omar Khayyam, and eventually the onslaught of female pulchritude becomes embarrassingly charming in its exuberant abundance of blonde and redheaded Arab harem girls, sheer hosiery, intensive coiffures, and tear-away clothing that makes many of the dances more like G-rated strip routines. Wordsmith is right that the extended dance scenes throw off the film's pacing, but the action keeps recovering its pace, and the sets glow with the candy colors of 50s childhood.

Son of Sinbad is a dull film, more or less only watchable at scan speed. But what redeems this film is the performances by some of the top names in burlesque during the 1950s. A big thanks to Howard Hughes and those responsible for making this film. Burlesque Queen Lili St. Cyr is breathtakingly beautiful, and wears some of the most glamorous and lavish costumes seen in any harem-themed movie. Wonderful exotic dancing sequences featuring Nejla Ates and Kalantan make this film a must-see for fans of burlesque. Unfortunately, there's no stiptease here, but Son of Sinbad features a bevy of beauties in colorful costumes that make for some delectable eye-candy. There's no doubt the girls are the main attraction here, with a little story, plot, and action built around them.

Back when I first saw this, I was enchanted by the verses of Omar Khayyam (which I innocently supposed to be have been created for the script), excited by the spectacle, delighted to recognise allusions to so many familiar stories rolled into one, and heartily entertained by the comedy. Watching it again nowadays, I can't help noticing how the picture is completely dominated by the producer's desire to feature as many half-naked girls as can conceivably be shovelled into its slender plot.

Thanks to the engaging double-act of the two male leads (Vincent Price as Omar still steals the show) the film remains a watchable romp, but the extended dancing sequences threaten to wreck the otherwise brisk pacing. I suspect they either pall or enthral, according to taste. Where other "Sinbad" films will show you a few seconds of exotic dance as an establishing shot, this one lovingly retains the camera throughout the whole routine -- or several!

The heavy mining from other sources of legend -- whether the secret of Greek Fire (nowadays assumed to have been napalm), the conqueror Tamerlaine, the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, or well-known lines from the Rubaiyat -- also now tends to suggest a certain laziness in the writing of the script, rather than inspiring a delighted recognition of familiar allusions. I'm afraid I'm probably too sophisticated these days to be able to enjoy "Son of Sinbad" whole-heartedly any longer... which in a way is a shame. It's still a lively adventure with a saving sense of the absurd and an unabashed penchant for spectacle, but I can't in all honesty rank it above the rest.

I just saw "Son Of Sinbad". According to Robert Osborne of TMC(Turner Classic Movies) there were a total of 127 women in this film. It is a girl watchers paradise but, arabian type women with zippers on their costumes and high heels in the dessert! It doesn't get any better than this. When Vincent Price the comic relief, as Omar Khayyam, sells the availability of men to the raiders he literally is on top of what you may call a soap box. This movie could well push the cause of Women's Lib back 50 years. No one but Howard Hughes could have produced a sexest, yet tongue in cheek, film like "Son Of Sinbad". I recommend it for anyone who wants to laugh out loud at the antics and Vincent Price's double takes. He is "Priceless". The film was originally made in 1953. Due to the risque costumes of the women Hughes held up the release in order to cash in on the publicity. Also, according to Mr. Osborne, the film was made in, that Edsel of film processes, 3D but release in regular format in 1955 after the hipe died along with those awful glasses! See it. I couldn't stop laughing.

In Baghdad, Omar Khayyam (Vincent Price) is looking for his friend Sinbad (Dale Robertson), the son of Sinbad the Sailor. Sinbad sneaks into the Khalif's palace despite Omar's warning that he has a price on his head. Sinbad and Omar are captured. Greek scholar Simon Aristides and his daughter Kristina, Sinbad's childhood friend, are also brought before the Khalif. They have the formula for Greek Fire. Tamerlane threatens to invade and Murad is his ambassador.

This feels like a B-movie but the production is bigger than that. It's got that Technicolor gaudiness. It's the 50's version of Arabia. It's great to have Vincent Price but Sinbad is rather dull. There are plenty of beautiful ladies but the characters are not that interesting. It's not quite camp and it's definitely not good.