A friend lent me the DVD of this film recently which gave me the chance to revisit a film that I first saw on TV when I was about 7. I will not bore you by repeating the complex plot (as almost every reviewer on IMDb seems compelled to do) but I will make some observations about this neglected classic.Firstly, Mr Fairbanks. Having spent most of his career up until 1941 trying to avoid comparisons with his famous father, here, he deliberately channels Douglas Fairbanks Senior and is utterly charming and compelling in the role. Better, he adopts some of his father's mannerisms and at one point even rubs or scratches his left palm when a theft is imminent, exactly as his father had done in THE THIEF OF THE BAGDAD some 20 years before. Most people probably didn't even notice this tribute to Doug Senior.Next, the almost continuous music score by Roy Webb is really excellent. Webb was RKO's house composer and is never mentioned much nowadays. He rarely got such a grandiose opportunity as this and he rises to the challenge beautifully.Last but not least, there is the performance by the great Walter Slezak. This is possibly his best role, although he also appeared memorably in Vincente Minelli's THE PIRATE around the same time and was equally outstanding.Slezak was the son of the famous Austrian tenor Leo Slezak and came to America when the Nazis annexed Austria (his father remained in Vienna). He was an accomplished actor in German films and on the stage and his performance in SINBAD THE SAILOR is absolutely delicious. His mesmerizing presence and exquisite delivery of some very classy dialogue are one of the joys of this film. The film is impressively mounted and unusually lavish for an RKO film, the color photography is ravishing and the large supporting cast well chosen.Oh, and Maureen O'Hara probably never looked as beautiful, though no attempt is made to explain just how an Arabian Princess acquired such a broad Dublin accent. Perhaps she went to a convent there to finish her education?In all, a delightful piece of old school Hollywood escapism with a highly literate script and very good special effects. Were it to be made today, the film would be smothered in CGi and unnecessary, gratuitous sex and violence. Watch it and mourn what the movies have lost.

Sinbad the Sailor sees Douglas Fairbanks Jr in dashing form moving around with gusto and grace telling stories of his voyages to a audience in a bazaar in Basra that mixes it with tales of the Arabian nights. In a sense there is a hint of the German film of Baron Munchausen with his telling of tall tales.The film is told in Technicolour flashbacks involving a scheming Emir (Anthony Quinn), another schemer (Walter Slezak) who along with Sinbad are looking for the lost treasure of Alexander the Great in the fabled island of Deryabar. A sultry Maureen O'Hara plays Shireen a member of the Emir's harem but who falls for Sinbad.The film has great production values and looks good in colour but the plot is convoluted, it is also a bit silly and hammy as well. You get the feeling that its less of a swashbuckler with the added knockabout comedy which makes the film drag and the film would had been better if it had been reduced by 30 minutes.Fairbanks gives the role of Sinbad his all, Quinn plays his part well as the calculating villain whereas other members of the cast look ill suited as darkened up Arabs.

*Spoiler/plot- Sinbad the Sailor, 1947. While on a Arab dock, Sinbad begins to tell one of his sagas to his fellow peasants. Agents of the city ruler hear his story of the lost treasure of Alexander the Great and decide to take the renowned treasure for himself. Sinbad gets involved with a woman who is the object of the city's top noble. They story follows them to find the treasure and the drama ensues.*Special Stars- Maureen O'Hara, Douglas Fairbanks Gr, Walter Slezak, Anthony Quinn, Alan Napier.*Theme- Adventure is always open to open minded people.*Trivia/location/goofs- 3 color Technicolor, RKO studios. Post WW2. Mostly sound stage sets and miniatures to tell this story. The Middle Eastern sets are luxurious and colorful along with the costumes and make-ups.*Emotion- A thoroughly sumptuous, rich, and opulent film production from a smaller RKO studios. The dialog is romantic, colorful, poetic and rhythmic as from the Arabian Nights stories. Mr. Fairbanks Jr does an incredible job in his characterization of Sinbad with his leaps and jumps all through the sets and enemy soldiers. (His father did a silent version decades before.) The plot is well paced with positive audience themes and there is enough memorable scenes (the treasure room, Greek fire, and fight in the harem) to leave the audience with memories galore. This film is a fantasy mix of morals and action.*Based on- The books of the 'Arabian Nights'.

Out of the studios of R.K.O. comes this fantastic tale of the legendary seaman who cannot remember his beginnings and has so many titles, he has forgotten some of the lesser ones. The one title he can recall is 'Prince of Dairabar.' He remembers it well, as it is also the fable island location of Alexander the Great fabulous' treasure. If ever there was a role fitted to a Hollywood movie star, this is one. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. plays Sinbad the sailor a part which fits him like a velvet glove. Although there are many other films portraying the legendary character, this is the best. This movie springs to life from the mouth of the heroic character himself. To be sure, it actually begins with a fabled king called Shahryar who's remarkable daughter, Scheherazade, was able to weave a tapestry of amazing stories to enthrall anyone who cared to listen. Through the passage of time, her stories have come to be called, " A Hundred and One Arabian Nights." This then is one of the most memorable characters who inspired a collection of movies which still excite the imagination of both young and old. In this 1947 version we are given beautiful Maureen O'Hara as Shireen, the woman who captures Simbad's heart. Walter Slezak who plays Melik, the oriental wise man from the East who's sole ambition is to 'hold the Earth in his hands.' Anthony Quinn (exceptional acting) plays the Emir (from this word we get, Admiral) an equally ambitious man who wants the treasure of Alexander to help him rule the world. George Tobias is Abbu, Simbad's side kick, Sheldon Leonard is great as the Khan's Auctioneer. Mike Mazurki has a brief role as Yusuf, who is quite believable in this supporting role. Together, the assembled cast is superb and have created a lasting film of such quality that it has no trouble asserting itself as a lasting Classic from a bygone era where cinematic dialog created the special effects which fed the minds of an attentive audience. ****