THE GOLDEN ARROW (1962)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, sociological*

Almost of the magical elements of GOLDEN ARROW have strong antecedents in the 1924 THIEF OF BAGDAD, with the exception of the one for which ARROW is titled. There is a mystic bow-and-arrow in the 1940 THIEF OF BAGHDAD, with which the hero Abu slays the villainous Jaffar, but the one in this Italian-made fantasia has a very different function. To the credit of the five writers who produced the ARROW script, their magic bow provides an interesting variation on themes introduced by the 1924 Fairbanks fantasy.

In the 1924 film, the Thief of the title is a wily rascal whose career of thievery comes to an end when he falls in love with the caliph's daughter, and she with him. Since fabulously wealthy rulers have come to Baghdad to sue for the princess' hand, commoner Ahmed can only distinguish himself by seeking out a great treasure in a faraway domain. ARROW keeps this basic structure, in that its hero Hassan (the very un-Arabic American actor Tab Hunter) also competes with royal potentates for the hand of a princess, here named Jamila (Rosanna Podesta). However, unlike Ahmed, Hassan is a prince who doesn't know his true ancestry.

Hassan, who has been raised since childhood amid a bandit-tribe, comes to Damascus pretending to be yet another prince from a foreign land. His purpose is purely pecuniary: he intends to abduct Jamila and hold her for ransom. But before Hassan can put his plot into action, he has to submit to a test given to all of the suitors: to attempt drawing the great Black Bow and firing the sacred Golden Arrow. The drawing of the bow doesn't just demonstrate strength, as with a similar weapon in Homer's ODYSSEY; the one who can fire the arrow also shows his merit to be king of Damascus (currently ruled by a Grand Vizier, one Baktiar). None of the other suitors can draw the Black Bow, but Hassan, who only takes part in the contest to cover his real plans, surprisingly does so. Further, the golden arrow doesn't act like an ordinary arrow, for it zooms off into the distance, far out of Damascus. Later Hassan will learn that the bow and arrow worked for him because he really is the heir to the Damascus throne, though later the hero will have to seek the arrow (instead of treasure) to prove his right to kingship.

Hassan, being loyal only to his thief-tribe, signals his hidden allies to attack, and the surprise assault overpowers the Damascus guards. Hassan and his fellow bandits successfully escape the city and hole up at some desert oasis. However, once the hero sees Jamila without her veil, he falls hard for her. He ends up betraying his kindred and sending Jamila back to her royal palace.

This act of selflessness comes to the attention of Allah's heavenly minions, who are called "genii" in the English language translation, perhaps because "angels" might seem out of place in an Arabian fantasy. Three rather comical genii descend to earth and, after convincing Hassan of their true nature, inform him that he is the rightful heir to the Damascus throne, and that his father was slain by none other than evil Grand Vizier Baktiar. The genii want Hassan to secure his kingship by recovering the lost golden arrow. Hassan agrees, but only if they spirit him to Damascus so that he can see Jamila again. After the lovers plight their troth, the genii whisk the hero off to faraway lands to prove his mettle, which is generally in line with the course of Fairbanks' Ahmed. The genii aren't supposed to help Hassan, though the hero, being a bit of a rogue, manages to trick the genii into using their magic on his behalf a couple of times.

Meanwhile, following a subplot from the original THIEF, Jamila's other suitors clamor for her to decide between them. Like the original princess, this one tells the other rulers to compete for her hand by retrieving marvelous prizes. But in a related subplot, one of the rulers has his army stationed outside Damascus, planning to invade the city no matter who wins the contest.

Though Hassan's journey to a fantasy-domain serves roughly the same plot-purpose as Ahmed's quest, the writers and director Antonio Margheriti drop the ball here, at the very section that the film ought to be ramping up the fantasy-content. ARROW's budget was not on the same level as the American THIEF, but Hassan's adventures in fantasy-land-- meeting a queen with some subjects who can turn into flame-beings, or another queen in a land where time has stopped-- seem desultory at best. Hunter's Hassan is tempted by the beautiful women, but his exploits are low-energy and unable to sustain a sense of magical wonder. 

He does recover the golden arrow, so the genii obligingly whisk him back to Damascus (using a very comical method I'd rather not comment upon). Once Hassan is back in Damascus, he takes another leaf from the book of the 1940 THIEF, gaining access to a flying carpet (a gift supplied by one of the competing suitors). He then flies forth to attack the enemy troops with his bow, since the golden arrow can strike down opponents and then return to the bow to be fired again. The arrow doesn't kill anyone, though, and neither do Hassan's allies the three genii, who collect a bunch of pottery-jars from the city and drop said jars upon the heads of the troops. Amazingly, these limited assaults drive the whole army away, after which Hassan avenges himself upon the enemy commander and the Grand Vizier by hurling them into a pit of mud.

Though ARROW can't sustain a sense of wonder as well as the two classic THIEVES, or even the 1961 Steve Reeves remake, it's a diverting enough fantasy. Hunter occasionally manages to sell the audience on Hassan's roguish character, but not so much on the hero's passion for his lady, and the beautiful Podesta comes up short in that department as well. Again, the idea of the golden arrow that represents Hassan's kingship-- which I could loosely compare to the Persian idea of a movable kingship-glory, the Khvarenah-- is the most intriguing element in this very mixed bag of Arabian tricks.