Il Medioevo della lampada magica

Alì mago d'Oriente

(The Wizard of Baghdad)

1960, regia di George Sherman

Scheda: Nazione: USA - Produzione: Clover Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation - Distribuzione: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation - Soggetto (da un racconto di Samuel Newman): Pat Silver - Sceneggiatura: Jesse Lasky jr., Samuel Newman, Pat Silver - Fotografia: Ellis W. Carter - Montaggio: Saul A. Goodkind - Art Direction: Duncan Cramer, Theobold Holsopple - Costumi: Fi - Musiche: Irving Gertz, David Saxon - Effetti speciali: L. B. Abbott, Emil Kosa jr. - Formato: Color DeLuxe, Cinemascope - Durata: 92'.

Cast: Dick Shawn, Diane Baker, Barry Coe, John Van Dreelen, Robert F. Simon, Vaughn Taylor, Michael David, Stanley Adams, William Edmonson, Mark Bailey, William Baskin, Don Beddoe, Michael Burns, Kim Hamilton, Bill Mumy, Hortense Petra, Leslie Wenner.

Trama e commenti: cinematografo.it - repubblica.it - kataweb.it: «Una vecchia profezia dice che la Persia sarà libera solo se la principessa sposerà il modesto Husan. Il mago Alì, svagato e beone, interviene. Una fiaba in chiave ironica e parodistica. Uno dei quattro film diretti da G. Sherman nel 1960. Troppi».

Plot Summary, Synopsis, Review: IMDb - entertainment.msn.com - nytimes.com - tvguide.com - answers.com - allmovie.com - kiddiematinee.com: «Junior Genie Ali Mamud returns from his latest assignment. His boss, Asmodius, king of the wizards, berates him for his terrible performance over the years and gives the recalcitrant magus one last chance to progress to full wizardhood. His next assignment is Baghdad, where the King must choose a successor; his quack astrologer is executed, and Ali-Mamud is made the junior Genie of Baghdad. A young prince named Husan is the rightful heir to the throne, a young princess named Yasmin to be his bride. A floating star tells the Califf to visit cavern of the Oracle, who predicts great upheaval in the city. Ali Mamud arrives in Baghdad, and asks directions from a young Aladdin. The Genie heads for the nearest tavern, for his weaknesses, are wine and women. Meanwhile, the evil sultan Jolar and his men invade the city and kill the good King. [...] The Wizard of Baghdad is a flamboyant, colorful and bizarre film, which mixes genres recklessly to create an unwieldy omnibus of a fantasy. It is ostensibly an Arabian Nights adventure film, with cheap but impressive set design and predictable characters. But then there is effeminate leading man Dick Shawn, overplaying his role as Ali Mahmud shamelessly, and threatening to turn the film into a gay satire. The film wavers unevenly between straightforward action-adventure and all-out comedy».

Approfondimenti: Movie Review

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