Sinbad the Sailor (1947)

★ 5.9 1h 56m IMDb

Adventure

Daredevil sailor Sinbad embarks on a voyage across the Seven Seas to find the lost riches of Alexander the Great. His first stop is the port of Basra, where his ship is seized and scheduled for auction. In his attempt to win it back, he befriends beautiful concubine Shireen. But when her master, the nefarious Emir, calls her back to duty, Sinbad must interrupt his adventure to save the "Jewel of Persia."

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Cast

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Sinbad Died 2000 · New York City, New York, USA Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as The Prisoner o...

Maureen O'Hara as Shireen Died 2015 · Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland Maureen O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons, August 17, 1920 - died October 24, 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, and a natural redhead, who became successful in Hollyw...

Walter Slezak as Melik Died 1983 · Vienna, Austria Walter Slezak (3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat cap...

Anthony Quinn as Emir Died 2001 · Chihuahua, Mexico Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He starred in numerous critically acclaimed and commercially s...

George Tobias as Abbu Died 1980 · New York City, New York, USA George Tobias (July 14, 1901 – February 27, 1980) was an American theater, film and television actor. He had character parts and supporting roles in several major films of Hollywood's Golden Age.He is...

Director Richard Wallace

Cast Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak, Anthony Quinn, George Tobias, Jane Greer, Mike Mazurki, Sheldon Leonard, Alan Napier, John Miljan

John Chard 6/10 Jul 13, 2020

Who, more than all other sons of Allah, spread glory to the name of Sinbad?

Sinbad the Sailor is directed by Richard Wallace and written by John Twist and George Worthing Yates. It stars Douglas Fairbanks Junior, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak, Anthony Quinn, George Tobias and Jane Greer. Music is scored by Roy Webb and Technicolor cinematography by George Barnes.

Sinbad (Fairbanks Jr.) regales all about his Eighth Voyage, where he went to the fabled island of Deryabar in search of the lost treasure of Alexander the Great.

There's so much good about Sinbad the Sailor, the lush colour photography, the skilfully constructed sets and paintings, Roy Webb's evocative score, costuming to dazzle the eyes and Fairbanks Junior with energy and athleticism to burn. The trouble is that RKO only push the boat out half way, for they have let the writers come up with a very verbose screenplay, one which is painfully stretched to nearly two hours of film! For a family fantasy adventure film there is a surprisingly small amount of action to entertain the masses. When it comes, in dribs and drabs, it's well put together and a merciful relief, but alas, more elongated passages of barely worthwhile dialogue is just around the corner.

Still, the good points in the production are reason enough to sit through the two hours. Even the casting decisions, that sees American, Irish, Austrian & Mexican actors playing Asians, are forgiven given the gusto and charm they put into their respective roles. But don't be fooled, the poster proclaimed it as "One Of The Greatest Adventures Of All Times", that would be true, if only they had shaved about 30 minutes off of the first hour! 6/10

CinemaSerf 7/10 Jul 07, 2022

First thing's first, this is seriously verbose. The dialogue is mostly second rate and boy, is there a lot of it... That said, though, Douglas Fairbanks is charming in the title role. Here, armed with a medallion/map, he sets out to track down an enormous treasure hidden by Alexander the Great. The supporting characters are fun - the evil "Melik" (Walter Slezak), the gorgeous "Shireen" (Maureen O'Hara) and the avaricious Emir (Anthony Quinn) and the compendium style construction of the film pulls together the adventurous streams into a final quest for the loot in an agreeable manner. It's bright and colourful, there is enough swash and buckle to keep it interesting and Slezak is particularly effective as the scheming plotter. It's a bit too long, to be fair, and is a bit too stage bound at times - but Roy Webb creates a suitably grand Arabian score and the cinematography provides for an enjoyable enough costume adventure that I really quite liked.