Theatrical Release Date:July 20, 1945 Release Date:February 20, 1996 Availability:Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Customer Reviews: Phil Silvers and Cornel Wilde in a Technicolor panto?December 21, 2001 D. M. Farmbrough(Wisconsin, USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a super film. I bought it because Carole Mathews plays a handmaiden, but her part is so small you could blink and miss it. Instead I was lucky enough to see the rare double act of matinee idol Cornel Wilde and Phil Silvers turn the traditional tale of Aladdin into the nearest a cinema can get to pantomime.
There are a few things which might be considered dodgy by today's standards, a Persian princess with blonde hair, and the racial references are all muddled, but this is to some extent a spoof on the European "Arabian Nights" take on Persian legend, so it is not wholly incompatible. The most stunning thing is the art direction, which was Oscar nominated, and this manifests itself in the great sets and also the costumes. Technicolor was made for films like this and give a quality that is almost more than real. The script seems very contemporary and not at all 1940s, and Silvers seems like an American Frankie Howerd, placed in the period setting to give modern audiences some point of identification. He and Wilde sparkle throughout the movie, as do panto villains Hoey and Van Zandt and the two beautiful ladies playing the Princess and the Genie.
Even if you don't spot Carole Mathews, try to see Shelly Winters, also playing a handmaiden!
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