PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *metaphysical*
This was the first of two peplum films featuring a character called Ali Baba. To be sure, in my review of the second, I pointed out that the second film seems to have originally been based on a "Sinbad" figure, and that it may have been renamed just because the second film also starred the leading lady from this one, Bella Cortez, though the actor playing Ali Baba was a new guy. Here the billing for Ali Baba goes to "Rod Flash Iloosh," who was elsewhere billed as "Richard Lloyd" in HERCULES, SAMSON, AND ULYSSES.
Lloyd's Ali Baba is first seen as an Arabian player conquering many female hearts. Nevertheless, he must be a good guy, because the "Wizard of Sesame" summons the hero to his cave-- which of course opens with the requisite magic word. Ali Baba must deliver the titular "sacred crown" to the rightful ruler of the country-- but not to that evil lord Mustapha Bey. Naturally, Mustapha wants the crown to legitimize his rule of the realm, though he's also attempting to marry Lota, daughter of another local shiek. (I note in passing that the English dub makes her name sound like "Lolo.") Lota (Cortez) isn't crazy about marrying Mustapha, but for her father's sake, she proposes the idea that she might be able to trick Ali Baba into revealing the crown's location with her woman's wiles. After that, most of the action consists of the villains trying to get the crown from the hero, Almost inevitably, Lota finds herself deeply attracted to the Arabian muscleman. In fact, there's one scene that strongly suggests that they get it on before marriage, complete with her cursing him for not taking it more seriously. Lota later gets the chance to do away with the wounded hero, but she settles for torturing him by cauterizing his wound.
The feisty romance is the main element of interest here, but the script also tosses in some imaginative elements. At least one door in Lota's palace seems to open magically, and in another scene Ali Baba speaks with a disembodied spirit that, fittingly enough, calls itself "Sinbad," at least in the English dub. There are the usual strongman feats, as well as a spiked deadfall-pendulum that consigns Mustapha's enemies to death. It's not one of the best of the peplum-entries, but it's considerably better than its sequel-in-name-only.
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