Arabian Adventure!

Arabian Adventure is not a great movie by any means, but it is a perfectly good one. It attempts to recreate the style of movies from the 1940's such as The Thief of Baghdad, while at the same time making use of some then modern special effects trickery. I remember seeing this movie when it came out way back in 1979. It was produced by John Dark and directed by Kevin Connor, and was the fifth movie these two had teamed up to deliver. Some previous films were The Land that Time Forgot, At the Earth's Core, and The People that Time Forgot. The big draw for me in this movie is the participation of Christopher Lee as the villain Alquazar. He is in top form and the screen bristles when he's on it. Also, on hand his friend Peter Cushing in a small supporting role. 

One thing I remember this movie for is the poster created by Marvel Comics artist Alex Saviuk. It gives us more than a peek at what we'll get in the film. I think it's a dynamite composition. The posters showcase the real highlight of the movies technically which are the flying carpets, which I'm convinced are meant to evoke a Star Wars dogfight feel in the climax of the movie. 

(Emma Samms)

Less impressive to me were the lead actors Oliver Tobias and Emma Samms in her first movie role. They are the obligatory young lovers in this one who are denied their chance at romance by the villain and the hero has to successfully complete a dangerous mission to win her hand. He is assisted by Milo O'Shea who is excellent as the duplicitous henchman. This one has a kid in it too who has a big role, and while as a rule I don't cotton to kid actors, this little fellow was okay. Mickey Rooney shows up in a wonderful role which evokes the Wizard of OZ. 

The movie is a charming distraction. 

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