Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr) chances upon a map he believes will lead him to Deryabar, Alexander the Great's fabled island of riches. Sinbad sets off on his treasure hunt and, along the way, romances the beautiful but avaricious Shireen (Maureen O'Hara) and draws the ire of the Emir of Daibul (Anthony Quinn). Plenty of derring-do here, and high seas excitement, exotic settings and best of all - a brash, mellifluous Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I first saw this Arabian Nights adventure when I was a kid a lazy Saturday afternoon ago. I tremendouly enjoyed Sinbad the Sailor then and it hasn't lost its luster over the years, with repeated viewings.

This was a watershed film for Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. He was ever struggling to get out from under the shadow of his more famous father, who practically invented swashbuckling. He had just finished a 5-year active-duty stint in the Navy during WW2 and wasn't certain if he still had a movie career. But RKO studios offered him Sinbad the Sailor, a film bigger or as big as anything he had done before. The result is one of Fairbanks, Jr's best vehicles, as he instills his Sinbad with a boyish swagger and flamboyance, proving to any doubters that he could buckle his swash with the best of them.

Be advised that, in this film, Fairbanks Jr. arches his eyebrows liberally, fingers his beard theatrically, laughs his truimphant "ha-ha's" overtly, and gesticulates broadly. But his emoting fits the exaggerated persona of his character. Fairbanks Jr, in this role, has a twinkle in his eye and a tongue in his cheek, seemingly having the time of his life. As done in 1947, I rate it a very good performance. Maureen O'Hara is as feisty and gorgeous as ever, with nary a trace of her Irish accent (with her glorious red hair and vivid personality, she was dubbed "the Queen of Technicolor"). Anthony Quinn and Walter Slezak enhance the goings-on with their villainy.

Two favorite scenes of mine: Sinbad, covetous of a certain baggala (ship) under auction, ostensibly lauds the merits of the ship to the bidders but ends up discouraging them. The other scene is much later on, as Sinbad performs a magic trick in front of Shireen, the Emir and his guards.

One of Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s best films, "Sinbad the Sailor" (1947) is a lavish Technicolor adventure that resurrects the exuberance of his father's swashbuckling classics. The action sequences are worth the price of admission, particularly Doug Jr.'s acrobatic escape from villain Anthony Quinn (who meets a rather fiery end). Fairbanks is perfect in the title role, with Quinn, Maureen O'Hara and Walter Slezak rounding out an excellent cast. Terrific fun for viewers of all ages!

So I finally found another Sinbad movie and got it. I don't think I have them all yet. I have five or six, there might be seven or eight. By the way, at the end of the movie the caption read "...and this is the end of his eight voyage."

So I figure I've got a couple more to go at least.

Anyway, I never saw a Sinbad (Sindbadd?) movie I didn't like. It has all the classic charm of those epic movie days when writers could write and though everybody was still learning how to do it--how to act and direct. Too bad they got rid of them all and put lesser talents in their place. Now we have to suffer through another seventy five years of the learning process. So here it is.

1. Living color, nice and bright.

2. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. stars with Maureen O'Hara, and The Anthony Quinn. There are others you will reconize.

3. The model ships are well done and one is a warship with oars. I noticed when one of Sinbad's men shot the oarsman and the model turned about, you could actually see model men onboard including the one looking like Anthony Quinn...not bad.

4. The sails on both ships filled out nicely as they caught the wind so both models must have been pretty big.

5. Classicly done, I think most sceens are on a sound stage with lots of force scaling. Done well enough not to detract from the taste of the movie.

six. I didn't know Sinbad supposed to have been abandoned by his father! It's been a long time since I read the 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS, but according to this storyline he is actually a prince of the island where Alexander the Great took all his treasure--to tell you the truth, I don't remember if that is where the legend say it is or not.

7. Great storyline. Little bits of it are hinted at throughout the movie until it reaches its' conclusion and you hear the beginning story of Sinbad. I'm glad I've seen this...I don't remember his story much, too bad.

8. Fine acting by Quinn and the assassin. (You ever notice the word assassin calls you the first three letters of that word twice?)

CONS:

1. If you like these 'real' movies add this one to you collection like I did. Especially if you like Sinbad. In this case there is no down side. For those of you who don't like at least a fine storyline, special effects, no naked females, and some class...well you might learn something of modeling and forcescaling. Otherwise I would have liked a longer movie. All movies worth watching should be longer.

This movie is a little bit above just popcorn. It should require a salad bowl of popcorn and half a hot dog, and of course a drink. A perfect movie is the popcorn, two dogs, a big drink. At least that is the grading system I've started using tonight. Why give it four or five stars and only half a dog. The movie requires attention because the writer can write but everything is laid out there for you to watch without having to focus hard on it. Bye.

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