1001 Arabian Nights (1959 film)
1001 Arabian Nights | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jack Kinney |
Written by | Dick Shaw Dick Kinney Leo Salkin Pete Burness Lew Keller Ed Nofziger Ted Allen Margaret Schneider Paul Schneider |
Based on | One Thousand and One Nights by Czenzi Ormonde |
Produced by | Stephen Bosustow |
Starring | Jim Backus Kathryn Grant Dwayne Hickman Hans Conried Herschel Bernardi Alan Reed Daws Butler The Clark Sisters |
Music by | George Duning |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2 million[1] |
1001 Arabian Nights is a 1959 American
Plot
In a distant Middle Eastern Kingdom, the young Aladdin lives with his nearsighted and stubborn uncle, Abdul Azziz Magoo, who owns a lamp shop. Believing that Aladdin is growing up to be a lazy and irresponsible man, Magoo encourages Aladdin to get married.
Meanwhile, the wizard Wazir has been siphoning money from the royal treasury and manages to persuade the now-bankrupt Sultan to ask his daughter, the Princess Yasminda, to marry the richest man in the land - which now happens to be Wazir.
During a royal procession, Aladdin and Yasminda fall in love. In his quest for absolute power, Wazir seeks the genie of the magic lamp, which is sealed in a magic cave, and needs Aladdin to get it for him. However, he is unable to obtain the lamp after it falls back into the cave with Aladdin still inside. Aladdin meets the genie and escapes the cave with a chestful of treasures. Magoo then takes the treasure to the palace as a dowry and manages to unintentionally spoil Wazir and Yasminda's wedding with his naivety and nearsighted physical handicap.
The genie conjures a palace and wealth for Aladdin, which is enough to persuade the Sultan to agree to let Yasminda marry him, but the vengeful Wazir manages to steal the lamp and the allegiance of the genie, thus exposing Aladdin as a fraud. Aladdin is sent to the scaffold.
As Wazir kidnaps and attempts to woo Yasminda back, the clueless Magoo inadvertently manages to obtain the lamp from Wazir and thus the allegiance of the genie, while also managing to dodge all of Wazir's attempts to kill him. Wazir falls into the sea and devoured to death by sharks. Only wanting the best for his nephew, Magoo wishes for Aladdin and Yasminda to live happily ever after; thus, the genie saves Aladdin from execution and he and Yasminda wed.
Voice cast
- Jim Backus as Uncle Abdul Azziz Magoo
- Kathryn Grant as Princess Yasminda
- Dwayne Hickman as Aladdin
- Hans Conried as the Wicked Wazir
- Jinniof the Lamp
- Alan Reed as the Sultan
- Daws Butler as Omar the Rugmaker
- The Clark Sisters as the Three Little Maids from Damascus
Uncredited
- Daws Butler - The Royal Accountant, Heralds
- Hans Conried - Magic Flame
Production
The film was originally directed by Pete Burness, who was the series director on the popular series of Mr. Magoo theatrical cartoons produced for Columbia by UPA between 1949 and 1959.[3] Disagreements with producer and UPA owner Stephen Bosustow led to Burness resigning and Bosustow recruiting Jack Kinney, the director of many of Disney's Goofy cartoons, as the film's new director.[3] The voice of Magoo in the short cartoons, Jim Backus, reprises his role in the feature, with Katheryn Grant, the singer/actress wife of Bing Crosby, as the voice of Princess Yasminda and Dwayne Hickman, from TV's The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, as the voice of Aladdin.[4]
1001 Arabian Nights was the first full-length feature produced by UPA,
Home video
1001 Arabian Nights was released on
In 2014, 1001 Arabian Nights was included as disc four of the four-disc DVD boxed set Mr. Magoo: The Theatrical Collection 1949-1959 from
In 2018, 1001 Arabian Nights was included in the compilation A Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Aladdin - 8 Magical Tales from Mill Creek Entertainment.[8]
See also
References
- Archive.org.
- ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
- ^ Shostak, Stu (02-27-2007). "Interview with Dwayne Hickman and Joan Roberts Hickman". Stu's Show. Retrieved 08-22-2013.
- ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
- ISBN 0-19-516729-5.
- ^ Galbraith, Stewart IV (22 April 2014). "Review of "'Mr. Magoo- The Theatrical Collection: 1949-1959"". DVD Talk. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ A Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Aladdin - 8 Magical Tales DVD (A Thousand and One Nights / 1001 Arabian Nights / The Magic Carpet / Arabian Nights / Aladdin - 1990 / Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp / Mr. Piper and the Story of Ali Baba / Popeye Meets Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp), retrieved 2022-12-20
External links
- 1001 Arabian Nights at IMDb