“ THE THIEF OF BAGDAD.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17352, 17 May 1924, Page 20

“ THE THIEF OF BAGDAD.”

CAPTURES NEW YORK MOVIE PATRONS.

“ The Thief of Bagdad,” Douglas Fairbanks’s latest picture,, was produced at the Liberty Theatre, New Pork, on March 18, and critics agree that it is ono of the most wonderful pictures ever seen on the screen. The special correspondent of the “Christian Science Monitor” writes as follows: Sophisticated first-nighters laid aside their usual reserve last evening under the soft persuasion of eastern fiong and scent that preluded the newest Fairbanks film, and gave themselves up unreservedly to the unfolding of perhaps the most intriguing fairy tale ever told. With a sort of Prince Oh arming, J ack-i n-1 he-Bean stalk. Aladdin-like hero, a winged plot that runs from rags to riches via the palaces and bazaars of Bagdad, plus the confines of the moon, the depths of the sea, and tlie channels of the air. a beautiful princess for pivotal and redemptive effect, a villainous prince from Alongolia, and a host of such incidental wonders as magic carpets ami flying horses. “ The Thief of Bagdad.” alias Douglas Fairbanks, j broke through all defences and reduce.! ( tho audience to a state of genuine delight. A thread of romance and reason runs through this original fantasy, stout enough to bear the weight of the countless glittering episodes that ;a-c strung thereon. In and out of the streets of Bagdad runs the- Thief, taking what he likes and paying no

man. From a fakir ho steals a magic rope which gives him access to the < Calif’s palace. Afore rare than court treasure chests, lie finds the Princess sleeping in her silken bower, so he plans to steal her from the palace. At the moment of- success he learns j enduring, so lie leaves with three other suitors for her hand to find the rarest treasure in all the world. After ranging tbe world for a space of six months, each returns to Bagdad with his offering. But the Mongol Prince has secreted a vast armv within tho city walls and when he ‘fails to win I her with his gift lie attempts to capture her by force. However, the erstwhile Thief, clad* in the Cloak of 1 nvisibilitv. arrives m time to raise a vast army from the dust, by means of l -i certain powerful powder from his Magic Chest, and captures the citv. He is given the hand of the Princess as his reward ?;nd together they sail honeymoon. It- doesn't matter in the least whether you believe in fairy talcs or not, because all this happens light before your eyes. You will see Air Fairbanks throw the rope up m the air after the manner of the Orientals and then climb up it. You will wonder at him as he swims down to the* bottom of the sea or rides to tlie moon on liis winged horse. And when you see him sail off with his beautiful bride on the Magic Carpet, right out of the window, over the heads of the populace and away above the roofs or the city toward the stars, you will want to erv aloud with delight just as everybody 'else did last, night, Mr Fa:i i nd- ha - ..utdoue Cecil de .Milled parting of the Bod Sea. To date the flight of tlie carpet is the pinnacle point of tho movies, and expectation leaps into high at the thought o* what this latest exemplification of kinematic legerdemain portends. 1 Air Fairbanks is more engaging than ever and moves through the various acrobatic episodes with a grace that should give the eurythmieal!y minded something to think about. He has collect* d a group ot actors that giv full value to tin* talc. He has spared no pains in embellishing it with all

tlie devices known to the scenic artist and costumer. The photography is amazingly beautiful, certain shots of the Thief galloping over the limitless desert having a new and almost uncleanable note of beauty.' At the close of the picture, as the hundreds of armed men spring from the ground to form the rescuing army, a greater ?ense of numbers is conveyed than in any similar scene ; with fluttering pennants they pour in from every side m overpowering multitudes and bring tho tale to a most stirring and spectacular finish. The much-heralded herd of mechanical elephants was strangely absent on the opening night, although the huge dragon was everything that bad been claimed for him. Tlie picture will gain in condensation, for it suffers from an embarrassment of riches ‘ hut it- justifies the many months of hard work that Air Fairbanks put into the making of it. and will help spread the gospel of happiness and good cheer.. A MARVELLOUS ARABIAN NIGHTS | FANTASY. | (“Moving Picture World.”) , Words are but weak, pitiful things 1 when it comes to attempting to give any idea of tho wondrous beauty, the spectacular magnificence or the marvellous mechanical effects of tho new Douglas Fairbanks picture. It simply beggars description. Nothing like it has ever been attempted before. It is an absolute departure in screen en-

tertaimnent, a journey into untrodden ! fields. j We exnect great things from Fair- 1 banks, but never even in his hands did | we dream of seeing a production on j this scale. Its sots, though entirely dif- | ferent from ‘‘Robin Hood,” are just i as elaborate and imposing, and getting away into the realms of fancy far exceed them in conception and techniThe drawing power of this picture is centred on its appeal to the eye, to the imagination and the artistic sense, plus the magic of Fairbanks’s presence and the marvel of the mechanical effects. Because of its radical departure from everything that might serve as a basis of comparison, it is difficult to. judge its audience reaction, but it would seem that, aside from the star*, and even overshadowing the stupendousuess of the production, will be the appeal of its remarkable ingeneffccts which stagger the imagination and bewilder the spectator who tries to figure out how they were produced. pet which sails through the streets and even circles around in the palace the cloak of invisibility which renders its wearer visible only to the extent of ,a whirling ray of light, the magic rope suspended in mid-air. the winged ! horse which flies through the clouds, | the trees that turn to human beings, j and the raising of a vast army by simi ply sprinkling the magic powder on j the ground. So absolutely impressive ; are these effects that the spectator j will easily believe that nothing is impossible of portraval on the screen. As to the players. Dougins Fairbanks i ’«! practically the whole picture. While j there is a‘large cast, they are dis- | tinctlv subordinate. Douglas does wonderful work, rollicking in the earlier | scenes, and in tensely serious in the I later ones. One thing sure, here is a picture that ’ is going to have everyone talking about i it; ami describing it to their friends its : many wondeful qualities, and it would scorn that from one angle or another. 1 if can be counted on to arouse such ; enriosit % that the grea ma ioritj of , | the public " ill want to see it.