The Brass Bottle
The Brass Bottle
NR | 20 May 1964 (USA)
The Brass Bottle Trailers

A genie tends to get his master into more predicaments than he gets him out of.

Reviews
Lee Eisenberg

For the most part, "The Brass Bottle" is one of those silly comedies that they cranked out in the early '60s. In this case, jittery architect Harold Ventimore (Tony Randall) frees genie Fakrash (Burl Ives) who tries to hard to please his new master. It only complicates matters when Harold can't explain things to his fiancée Sylvia Kenton (Barbara Eden). Will these genies ever be able to do things right?! Yes, this movie is very much a product of those days, when we viewed the Middle East as the land of sultans with harems; I believe that OPEC gave us the negative view that now dominates. But no matter, this movie is impossible not to like. In that sense, it's sort of like the other 1964 movie in which Tony Randall and Barbara Eden co-starred: "7 Faces of Dr. Lao" (which also had kind of a magical plot).So, it may be a movie impossible to take seriously, but it's definitely good for a few laughs. And if absolutely nothing else, we can sort of see Barbara Eden getting primed to play the most famous genie ever to grace TV screens. Also starring Edward Andrews, Ann Doran and Philip Ober (who appeared on the "I Dream of Jeannie" pilot).One more thing: I noticed in the courtroom scene a picture of Pres. Kennedy. Since this movie obviously came out after his assassination, wouldn't they have been nervous about showing his picture?

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julia_cybele

I was a child when I last saw this film, probably on television ... remember it as being incredibly funny and charming and would really enjoy seeing it again!Burl Ives was a perfect genie ... can still recall the name of the great Fakrash el-Aamash after forty years, which is to say that the film made a remarkable impression. It would be interesting to see whether my sense of humor has changed all that much in the interim.The Brass Bottle seemed quite a bit better than the TV series "I Dream of Jeannie" that was inspired by it ... absolutely delightful, if my memory can be a reliable guide.

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estarsstarse

Very enjoyable, good humor, good acting, a little campy, but so were most comedies of the early 60s era and there is nothing wrong with that. This should be on DVD - not just VHS. Why studios haven't converted this to DVD especially with rated actors/actresses to DVD is beyond me.The DVD would easily fly of the shelves from age 45 - 65 year group who would love to add it to their vintage collections.Burl Ives does another classic performance this time as the Genie in the Bottle now freed by someone, Tony Randall, who is tempted, yet morally bound not to be consumed by the offer of "your wish is my command."

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stumattana

The Brass Bottle, which I thought was quite entertaining, was obviously the basis for the "I Dream of Jeannie" television series, but one thing I liked that was in the movie that wasn't really dealt with in the television show was that the genie utilized his ability to see the future to his master's advantage. This was particularly amusing when it came to the confident efforts of the genie in the management of his master's investments. When I watched "I Dream of Jeannie", I always wondered whether Jeannie could tell the future, and if so, why she didn't use that ability to help her master. It really seems to me that had she done so, it would have made a great television series even better.

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