The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston, Brandon Hurst
Length: 155 min
Genre: Adventure / Fantasy
Kinema Junpo Awards (Tokyo, Japan): Winner Best Entertaining Film
Nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
Nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
One of Fairbanks' most famous roles. He plays the unnamde Thief of Bagdad.
The movie starts with essentially an exhibition of the thief's talents. However, once he catches site of the Princess (Julanne Johnston) while robbing the royal palace, he becomes obsessed with her. The Caliph (Brandon Hurst) brings princes to his palace to marry his daughter to one of them. The Thief disguises himself as one of the princes and is determined to win the Princess' hand, no matter what it takes.
A pretty good adventure film, especially for the day. What sets this move apart from Fairbanks' previous movies is the use of special effects. Magic carpet rides, underwater fighting, riding a winged horse, etc. A lot of special effects went into this movie, and they are pretty stunning for the day.
Entertainment Rating: 7/10
Historical Rating: 7/10