ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES

Jon Hall as Ali

ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES (1944). Director: Arthur Lubin. 

Prince Ali (Scotty Becket) of Baghdad is the son of the king and has a little girlfriend in Amara (Yvette Duguay),  with whom he makes a blood pact. When the King is betrayed by Amara's father, Cassim (Frank Puglia of 20 Million Miles to Earth), Ali manages to escape. Cassim is working with Hulagu Kahn (Kurt Katch of The Mask of Dimitrios), leader of the Mongul hordes and the new king of Baghdad. Ali stumbles upon the cave where the forty thieves keep their booty, and is adopted by them, especially old Baba (Fortunio Bonanova) and the grumpy Abdullah (Andy Devine of Never Say Die), who resents being a "nurse maid" to the boy. The years go by and young Ali Baba, as he is now known, has managed to turn the thieves into freedom fighters (!) who strike swiftly at the Mongolians. Cassin's beautiful daughter, now grown (and played by Maria Montez), is betrothed to Kahn, but falls for the handsome thief, Ali Baba. Eventually they will realize who the other one really is, but in the meantime Kahn is determined to kill one and marry the other ... 

Maria Montez

Ali Baba takes the story from "The Thousand and One Nights" and does its best to turn it into a tale of WW2-style oppression and resistance although it never really loses its fantastic flavoring. Part of this is the casting of Montez -- the only actor with her name above the title despite the fact that even she complained that it was Hall's picture -- and again she proves more than adequate for the proceedings, although much of her part consists of merely reacting to what is going on around her. Hall gives a good performance, as adept at the derring do as he is at pitching the woo. Scotty Becket, as always, is just as good as Ali as a boy. Devine, Bonanova, Puglia, and especially Kurt Katch as the loathsome Kahn, head up the supporting cast, along with Turban Bey, who is fine as a slave boy who assists both Amara and Ali. Like the earlier Arabian Nights, Universal pulled out all the stops for this flick, which is bathed in rich technicolor and has an exciting score by Edward Ward. Arthur Lubin's direction is not quite on the same level but he does keep things moving. 

Verdict: Colorful fantasy flick -- open sesame! ***. 

THE MUMMY'S CURSE

THE MUMMY'S CURSE (1944). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

Back in the days long before DVDs and VCRs producers figured they could fudge a bit in the details of their sequels because nobody would remember the details anyway. Thus the fact that Kharis walks into a swamp in Massachusetts with his beloved Ananka at the end of The Mummy's Ghost doesn't prevent the two of them emerging from a swamp in Louisiana halfway across the country in The Mummy's Curse. The fact that the reincarnation of Ananka was actually a lovely young woman named Amina has also been forgotten or simply dispensed with as irrelevant. [While it might have been interesting if Amina's parents were still alive and saw her with her youth preserved, the movie doesn't explore this situation.] Twenty-five years have gone by since Kharis and Ananka entered the swamp and the Scripps museum wants to interfere with an engineering project in the hopes of getting both mummies back. Lon Chaney Jr. gets to emote much more as the slow but unstoppable mummy in this venture, the last of the series, and the movie is especially rich in atmosphere. Dr. Zandab (Peter Coe) and Ragheb (Martin Kosleck) are the bad guys, and Virginia Christine (best known years later as the matronly Mrs. Olson of the Folger coffee commercials) gives a particularly effective performance as Ananka, who screams like the Bride of Frankenstein seeing old Franky when she spots her ancient lover sheathed in bandages. The scene where Ananka claws her way out of the mud is memorable, and there are great shots of a ghostly abandoned monastery where the bad guys wait and plot. "Most Egyptians doubt the legend of Kharis," we're told. Addison Richards is the head engineer, Walsh; Kay Harding is his daughter Betty; Kurt Katch is Cajun Joe; and Dennis Moore is Betty's love interest, Dr. Halsey. [Moore starred in the 1946 serial The Mysterious Mr. M.] Next came Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy.

Verdict: Universal's final Kharis epic is still good fun. ***.

THE CONSPIRATORS

THE CONSPIRATORS (1944). Jean Negulesco.

Paul Henreid stars as Vincent Van Der Lyn, aka "the Flying Dutchman," a spy who is up to his neck in intrigue in Lisbon. There he encounters a beautiful woman, Irene (Hedy Lamarr), with a much older husband, as well as a group of anti-German spies headed by Ricardo Quintanilla (the very un-Spanish Sydney Greenstreet, pictured). When Vincent is framed for the murder of an agent in his hotel room, he manages to escape from prison and sets out to find out who set him up. There is some suspense during the jail break, as well as during the climax in a casino, but The Conspirators is a distinctly third-rate, often illogical and ludicrous spy trifle that seems to take four hours to get nowhere. A host of fine character actors -- Kurt Katch, Victor Francen, among others -- add to the film's limited enjoyment level, but Greenstreet hasn't enough to do and Peter Lorre has even less.

Verdict: Skip it! *1/2.

THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS

THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944). Director: Jean Negulesco.

A mystery writer named Leyden (Peter Lorre) is fascinated by the tales of a master criminal, Dimitrios Makropolous (Zachary Scott), who was found dead on a beach, and travels to interview people who knew -- and hated -- him. On his journeys he encounters Mr. Peters (Sydney Greenstreet), who wants to know what Leyden is up to without giving away any of his own secrets. Flashbacks illustrate the increasingly violent and cunning career of Dimitrios -- one of the best vignettes details how he helps maneuver a harmless little clerk (Steven Geray) into betraying his country via greed and gambling. But Dimitrios may even have one last trick up his sleeve. Although quite talky, the picture moves fast and features excellent performances from the entire cast; Lorre and especially Greenstreet are a marvel to watch as they emote with great skill and conviction. Kurt Katch as Colonel Haki, Victor Francen as Grudek, Marjorie Hoshelle as the clerk Bulic's wife, are all stand-outs, with Florence Bates and Edward (Eduardo) Ciannelli also offering noteworthy bits. Faye Emerson isn't bad as a discarded woman in Dimitrios' life. Negulesco may not be a Hitchcock (it would be interesting to ponder how the great Hitch would have handled this material) but his direction is quite good nonetheless. Based on A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler.

Verdict: Fascinating! ***1/2.