#1942 Arabian Nights

[tina-aumont]

Arabian nights promotional photos (John Rawlins 1942)

Ebay & Scans from 1990s French magazine.

[dimepicture]

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Claire Bloom (The Haunting of Hill House)— She played a hot sarcastic psychic lesbian in a haunted house! What more do you need?

Maria Montez (Cobra Woman, Arabian Nights)—maria montez was a dominican actress who rose to fame starring in a series of technicolor adventure movies in the 1940s hollywood, becoming popularly known as "the queen of technicolor”. her dramatic persona and elaborate bejeweled attire in these films subsequently lead to her becoming an early camp icon to underground queer filmmakers like jack smith and andy warhol. maria was fiercely determined to become a Movie Star from early on and tirelessly promoted herself (she would be killing it as an influencer today probably) - she deliberately cultivated an outré star persona in the tradition of old school screen vamps like theda bara and alla nazimova and she was always serving no matter where she was or what she was doing.

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Maria:

Dominican actress dubbed the Queen of Technicolor. Starred in colourful action adventure movies and was Universal Studios “glamour girl” of the 1940s. She starred in 26 movies before her untimely death in 1951. Shot to stardom with Arabian Nights in 1942. Fought with universal over roles she was cast in and managed to negotiate better pay for herself before going freelance and starring in European movies.

[bitter69uk]

“Like [Mario] Lanza, Maria Montez had a reputation for being impossible to handle. After a number of years in Haji-Baba type adventures, she was dropped by Universal and forced to seek work in European cheapies. While in Europe, she attempted to counter her advanced state of avoirdupois with hot saline baths. She died in one of a heart attack at the age of thirty-one.”

/ From the book Flesh and Fantasy (1978) by Penny Stallings /

Died on this day in the Parisian suburb of Suresnes, France: golden age Hollywood’s nostril-flaring and tempestuous Queen of Technicolour Exotica, Caribbean Cyclone and leading lady of films like Arabian Nights (1942), White Savage (1943) and Cobra Woman (1944), Maria Montez (née María África Gracia Vidal, 6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951). Note: Stallings gets Montez’s age wrong in the quote above – she was 39 when she died. (Like any self-respecting diva, Montez had a “showbiz age”). Venerated by the likes of Gore Vidal and underground queer filmmakers Jack Smith, Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger, Montez is a pivotal figure in the sensibility we now call “camp” and one of the original LGBTQIA icons. (Early Warhol drag superstar Mario Montez, for example, was christened after her). And aside from perhaps the young Yvonne De Carlo, did any woman wear a yashmak with more elan? “When I see myself on the screen, I look so beautiful I want to scream with joy” Montez once famously exclaimed. Maria Montez, you make ME scream with joy! Pictured: Montez in the 1949 film Siren of Atlantis playing – what else? – an evil queen.

[gatabella]

Dominican actress Maria Montez (1912 - 1951) as Sherazade on the set of the film Arabian Nights, 1942

[peggy-elise]

Maria Montez as Scheherazade in Arabian Nights 1942 🕌

[ilovedamsels1962]

Maria Montez in Arabian Nights (1942)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

The Weird History of Western Animated Movie Sequels

This is a rewrite of sorts of a history post I did on theatrical animated movie sequels in the West (largely the U.S.) a few years ago, and how weird it is... How we went from a handful of sequels over the course of three decades to an *explosion* in them... I'll collect all this fun stuff in a timeline of sorts.

(This list will mainly focus on traditional sequels, not so much films sharing similar themes and FANTASIA being planned as an ever-updating anthology w/ every re-release had it done well initially. And also, theatrical sequels. With the exception of movies re-routed to streaming because of COVID-19. That sorta thing, ya know?)

Late 1930s-Mid 1940s: Walt Disney and his studio entertain the idea of sequels to SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS and BAMBI, titled SNOW WHITE RETURNS and BAMBI'S CHILDREN. Nothing comes of them. If FANTASIA is to be successful, Walt's plan for the film is to update it every couple of years, taking some segments out and replacing them with new ones. And repeating that once more. FANTASIA bombs at the box office upon general wide release in early 1942, so the plans fall through. A feature film BONGO is developed at the beginning of the decade, and at one point it is suggested to be set in the same universe as DUMBO and would feature characters from that film. BONGO eventually became a much pared-down segment of the package film FUN & FANCY FREE in 1947.

1942-1944: Disney and their distributor RKO Radio Pictures release two anthology "package" features, SALUDOS AMIGOS and THE THREE CABALLEROS. During World War II, Nazi influence began to take shape in Central and South America. American filmmakers, including Walt Disney and a select team of his artists, traveled south in part of a larger government strategy to strengthen goodwill between the U.S. and Central/South America. SALUDOS and CABALLEROS are thus "goodwill" pictures, formed up of multiple segments themed around those territories. Both of them feature Donald Duck and Jose Carioca. Because of this, CABALLEROS could be viewed as a "sequel" of sorts to SALUDOS.

April 1946: Disney and their distributor RKO premiere MAKE MINE MUSIC, an anthology of musical segments not dissimilar to FANTASIA. The picture goes into general release in August.

May 1948: Disney and RKO release MELODY TIME, another musical anthology film. The film notably features both Donald Duck and Jose Carioca in a segment called 'Blame It On the Samba', reprising their roles from SALUDOS AMIGOS and THE THREE CABALLEROS. The Aracuan Bird from CABALLEROS also appears during this segment. Like MAKE MINE MUSIC, these two films can be seen as an extension of the FANTASIA concept, and MELODY TIME could be seen as a sequel of sorts of MAKE MINE MUSIC. The Disney company never considered any of these films to be "sequels", at least in a more traditional sense.

We have a long gap here because Walt Disney Productions was the only animation studio in America that was making feature films, and there were plenty of times where they could've ceased doing just that. Couple that with Walt's general hesitance to make sequels, and thus there weren't any animated feature sequels made from the 1950s to the end of the 1960s... Other animation studios in America had attempted to make features, but never got past a small number of them. The Fleischer studio made both GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN in 1939 and 1941 respectively, and their studio was shuttered shortly after BUG's quiet and brief general release rollout in early 1942. The UPA tried their hand at animated features, but only got around to making two, 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS and GAY PURR-EE.

By the 1960s, more animation studios were making feature-length productions, such as Hanna-Barbera and Rankin/Bass. By 1970, there was at least one new movie from an American house every two-or-so years. A good chunk of them were also based on hit TV shows or well-known properties. Hanna-Barbera did features based on THE YOGI BEAR SHOW and THE FLINTSTONES, there was also a PEANUTS-based movie called A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN. Ralph Bakshi shook up the animation world with his adult independent feature FRITZ THE CAT in early 1972.

A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN and FRITZ THE CAT would be the first American animated movie sequels to get theatrical sequels...

August 1972: PEANUTS movie SNOOPY COME HOME!, a follow-up to A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN involving much of the same key crew (such as director Bill Melendez and producer Lee Mendelson), is released by National General Pictures to poor box office.

June 1974: THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT, a sequel to Ralph Bakshi's FRITZ THE CAT that didn't involve Bakshi, is released by American International Pictures and doesn't repeat the success of the first movie.

August 1977: RACE FOR YOUR LIFE, CHARLIE BROWN is released by Paramount, and doesn't make much of a mark at the box office.

Late 1970s: Despite the success of Ralph Bakshi's rotoscoped THE LORD OF THE RINGS in the fall of 1978, a follow-up is considered but does not materialize due to funding issues.

May 1980: BON VOYAGE, CHARLIE BROWN (AND DON'T COME BACK!!) is released by Paramount to weak box office.

1984-86: After much turmoil, the Disney enterprise sees a major corporate shakeup. Outsider executives Michael Eisner and Frank Wells become CEO and President of the newly-christened The Walt Disney Company, respectively. Upending the old tradition of not making feature sequels, Michael Eisner and the new executives ask the staff of the animation studio what their highest grossing feature was to date. When revealed that it was THE RESCUERS, a sequel to the film is greenlit.

March 1986: A fast-tracked sequel to 1985's THE CARE BEARS MOVIE is released, and only makes a fraction of what the first film - a minor hit in its own right - took in.

August 1987: A third Care Bears movie, THE CARE BEARS ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, is released to equally unremarkable box office.

1988-89: Following the record-breaking, game-changing success of ex-Disney animator Don Bluth's Steven Spielberg-produced AN AMERICAN TAIL in 1986, a sequel is put in development, with Bluth initially tapped to helm. Bluth later broke ties with Spielberg over creative differences, and following the runaway success of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, Steven Spielberg would set up a new animation studio called Amblimation. They took over the film.

November 1990: THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER is released to mixed critical reception and weak box office. Within weeks of release, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg has all the marketing for the film pulled.

May 1991: Computer animation studio Pixar enters a feature film deal with The Walt Disney Company. This three-picture deal, which would later be expanded, stipulates that NO sequels be pitched. Every film pitched by Pixar for this contract is to be an ORIGINAL film, for the sole purpose of introducing new worlds/characters for the company's theme parks and consumer products divisions.

November 1991: Universal releases AN AMERICAN TAIL: FIEVEL GOES WEST, the same weekend as Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The film flops at the box office.

Mid 1991-Early 1992: Walt Disney Home Video initially refuses, at Roy E. Disney's behest, to release FANTASIA on video formats following its 1990 theatrical re-release. Michael Eisner makes a deal with Roy: Release FANTASIA on video, and a follow-up to FANTASIA will be greenlit. FANTASIA is released in November and pulled by January 1992, selling a record-breaking 14 million units. FANTASIA CONTINUED is greenlit.

Mid 1994: Following the success of THE RETURN OF JAFAR, which was essentially an hour-long direct-to-video pilot for the ALADDIN TV series, Disney Feature Animation does not pursue making theatrical sequels to their animated features. The only exception being FANTASIA CONTINUED, which is Roy E. Disney's pet project. All other sequels are to be outsourced productions, and are produced exclusively for the home video market.

March 1996: A sequel to Don Bluth's ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN, which didn't involve Bluth much like FIEVEL GOES WEST didn't, is released to poor box office.

Early-Mid 1996: Following the success of Pixar's debut feature, TOY STORY, Disney immediately commissions a direct-to-video sequel that is to be made by "B-team" of sorts at a satellite studio, while work on A BUG'S LIFE takes place at Pixar's main building in Point Richmond. (This was before they moved to Emeryville.)

July 1997: Legacy Releasing released a sequel to THE SWAN PRINCESS, titled THE SWAN PRINCESS: ESCAPE FROM CASTLE MOUNTAIN, to virtually nonexistent box office grosses.

February 1998: TOY STORY 2 is changed from direct-to-video project to theatrical feature film, though it will not count as part of Pixar's then extended film deal with The Walt Disney Company. That very contract mandated that all of Pixar's productions be original features, or else they wll NOT count as part of the deal. Pixar and the Disney company also enter a gentleman's agreement, in that Disney will not push sequels to Pixar films *without* Pixar's permission.

Early 1999: TOY STORY 2 is taken over by the staff at the main Pixar building due to concerns over the quality of the story. The film is significantly revised, with the release date mere months away.

November 1999: TOY STORY 2 is released, and becomes the first animated movie sequel to outgross its predecessor at the box office. Despite the film's success, and despite the considerable stress the production was, Michael Eisner refuses to count it as part of the deal. Pixar owner Steve Jobs strongly feels that TOY STORY 2 should count.

January 2000: On New Year's Day of the new millennium, Roy E. Disney's FANTASIA follow-up FANTASIA 2000 goes into IMAX-exclusive release after a world premiere the previous month.

February 2000: Disney makes the unorthodox decision to release THE TIGGER MOVIE in theaters, a production made by the satellite units that otherwise would've gone straight to video. The film is a financial success.

June 2000: FANTASIA 2000 goes into general release. The film does not recoup its costs at the box office, and is generally a dud with audiences.

Around Early-To-Mid 2000: Despite the contractual agita over TOY STORY 2, Pixar is keen to do a TOY STORY 3. However, it is not greenlit by Disney.

November 2000: Paramount releases a sequel to their Nickelodeon-based hit from 1998, THE RUGRATS MOVIE. While RUGRATS IN PARIS does not make as much money as the first movie, it is still a financial success.

Early-To-Mid 2001: DreamWorks, who are about to release SHREK, are already at work on a sequel. When SHREK defies its pre-release odds and becomes a box office smash upon its May release, the sequel goes full-steam ahead. Unlike Disney Animation, whose sequels are farmed-out straight-to-video endeavors, and unlike Pixar who can't make another sequel per their contract with Disney, DreamWorks has none of this baggage and goes right ahead with a SHREK sequel.

February 2002: Disney releases another satellite production, PETER PAN sequel RETURN TO NEVER LAND, theatrically. The film is a box office success.

June 2002: Following the success of the Blue Sky production ICE AGE, released by 20th Century Fox, work is already underway on a sequel. Much like DreamWorks, they too don't have the baggage Disney Animation and Pixar have concerning sequels.

February 2003: Disney releases satellite production THE JUNGLE BOOK 2 theatrically, another financial success.

March 2003: Disney releases satellite production PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE to theaters. Costing double that of RETURN TO NEVER LAND and JUNGLE BOOK 2, the film is a box office flop.

July 2003: RUGRATS GO WILD, the third RUGRATS movie and something of a sequel to THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE, is released by Paramount to poor box office.

Early-To-Mid 2004: Friction develops between The Walt Disney Company and Pixar, making a split between the two seem likely. Per the contract, Disney has first rights to the studio's animated movies that made up the extended film deal. (Everything from TOY STORY to a then-forthcoming THE INCREDIBLES and CARS) If Pixar were to break off from the Disney company, Disney could feasibly make sequels to their films without them involved... And Michael Eisner took full advantage, going back on the gentleman's agreement between the two parties. Disney launches Circle 7 Animation, a CG studio meant to make these Pixar-less sequels. Work commences on TOY STORY 3, MONSTERS, INC. 2: LOST IN SCARADISE, and FINDING NEMO 2. It's largely a hardball tactic to get Pixar to renegotiate and extend their film deal.

May 2004: DreamWorks releases SHREK 2 to record-breaking box office... This is where the game is truly changed... DreamWorks has three more SHREK movies lined up (the first of which aiming for a summer 2006 release), in addition to a direct-to-video prequel about the film's breakout character Puss In Boots.

February 2005: Disney releases one last satellite production to theaters, POOH'S HEFFALUMP MOVIE. Costing half of what PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE cost, it does alright at the box office.

Mid-To-Late 2005: DreamWorks sees another box office success in MADAGASCAR, and greenlights a sequel. This makes it the second ever DreamWorks movie to get a theatrical sequel. (Oddly, SHARK TALE from the year before, despite being a box office success and Oscar nominee, doesn't get a sequel.)

September 2005: After a campaign ran from the outside by Roy E. Disney, Michael Eisner resigns as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company. His successor, Bob Iger, seeks to renegotiate fairly with Pixar. Pixar's final film for the original contract, CARS, is less than a year away from release.

January 2006: In a historic move, The Walt Disney Company announces a $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar.

March 2006: 20th Century Fox releases ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN to great box office. Another film is on the way.

Early-To-Mid 2006: Following the announcement of Disney's purchase of Pixar, Pixar regains control of sequel production. Circle 7 Animation is shut down, and Pixar immediately begins work on *their* TOY STORY 3 for a 2009 release. Since a MONSTERS, INC. sequel and a FINDING NEMO sequel got to the script stage, Pixar eventually has to make their sequels to override those. A MONSTERS, INC. follow-up quietly begins development around this time as well. In addition to all of this, Pixar head John Lasseter takes over Disneytoon Studios and shuts down all traditionally-animated direct-to-video Disney sequels. This indicates that a future Walt Disney Feature Animation production, now named Walt Disney Animation Studios, will get a theatrical sequel if it's a box office success.

November 2006: HAPPY FEET, released by Warner Bros., is the biggest of the non-Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks/Blue Sky movies of the year and up until that point. Makes a big splash. Sequel likely.

May 2007: SHREK THE THIRD opens and is another blockbuster for DreamWorks.

January 2008: A rather unorthodox development, Big Idea makes a theatrical sequel to JONAH: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE, with THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING. Universal distributes. It flops upon release.

April 2008: Two years into The Walt Disney Company's ownership of Pixar, a massive movie slate with Disney Animation, Pixar, and Disneytoon productions is unveiled. The game plan is the first announcement of a CARS sequel. This makes CARS the second-ever Pixar film to get a sequel. At the time, this movie is penciled in for a summer 2012 debut. TOY STORY 3 has also moved back a year, to 2010.

Mid-To-Late 2008: DreamWorks sees a new breakout hit with KUNG FU PANDA in the summer, and a sequel success with MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA.

July 2009: ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS is released by 20th Century Fox, and scores excellently at the box office.

September 2009: Three features in, relative newcomer Sony Pictures Animation scores a good-sized hit with CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. A sequel is planned thereafter...

So now... We see where it all waxes... With that, we'll just look at things year by year...

2010: TOY STORY 3 is released and becomes the highest grossing animated feature of all-time. Earlier in the year, Pixar confirms that they are in production of a MONSTERS, INC. follow-up. DreamWorks sees another breakout hit with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, a sequel is also imminent. Newcomer Illumination scores big with DESPICABLE ME, a sequel is also inevitable. DreamWorks scores another hit with SHREK FOREVER AFTER.

2011: It's a sequel/franchise film explosion, kinda unprecedented in feature animation up until this point... KUNG FU PANDA 2, CARS 2, and PUSS IN BOOTS all come out this year and make big money. Disney Animation makes a 2D animated WINNIE THE POOH, but it is sadly a box office bomb. HAPPY FEET TWO, from Warner Bros., also bombs. HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL is belatedly released this year, it is also a money-loser. New films make a splash and are to get sequels.

2012: Two sequels this year, the highly successful MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED and ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT. Disney Animation, after years of misses and mulligans (TANGLED didn't really make much of a profit theatrically, but was a very popular film), notably scores a profitable hit with WRECK-IT RALPH, a sequel slowly begins development.

2013: Plenty of follow-ups here, with MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, DESPICABLE ME 2, THE SMURFS 2, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2, and CARS spin-off PLANES (produced at Disneytoon and not Pixar). The majority of them do pretty good at the box office, some of them *very* good. DESPICABLE ME 2 is named by Universal as their most profitable film ever released, to date.

2014: This year saw the releases of RIO 2, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 and PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE. MADAGASCAR spin-off PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR is deemed a disappointment by DreamWorks, leading to company-wide ramifications.

2015: DESPICABLE ME spin-off MINIONS debuts and is a rare animated feature to cross a billion worldwide, with only TOY STORY 3 and FROZEN having previously done that. Elsewhere, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 and THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER - a belated sequel to THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE from 2004 - are released and also do well. Notably, Disney Animation announces FROZEN II this year. The first of the post-Eisner animated features to get a follow-up announced, though the WRECK-IT RALPH sequel - announced a year later - opened before it.

2016: KUNG FU PANDA 3, FINDING DORY, and ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE are released this year. The fifth ICE AGE movie does fine, but not well enough to lead to a sixth film. A CG remake of Disney's 1967 THE JUNGLE BOOK - with a single real-life actor - is released this year to massive box office.

2017: THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, spin-off of 2014's THE LEGO MOVIE, debuts this year and does well. The other LEGO spin-off, THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE, doesn't. Elsewhere, CARS 3 does okay at the box office, DESPICABLE ME 3 breaks the billion, and Sony reboots the Smurfs movies with an all-animated film SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE. They deem the film a box office disappointment. THE NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE, a sequel to the 2014 ToonBox-produced movie, debuts to muted numbers.

2018: Big year for sequels: Billion-dollar smash INCREDIBLES 2, big hits HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 and RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, and... Belated flop sequel to 2011's GNOMEO & JULIET, SHERLOCK GNOMES.

2019: Two Disney smashes in TOY STORY 4, the 99.99% CGI LION KING remake, and FROZEN II, though Universal's THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 doesn't make half of what the breakout 2016 original made. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD does fine, while THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2 and THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART underperform.

2020: COVID-19 impacts the theatrical market, re-routing many films to streaming. TROLLS WORLD TOUR and THE CROODS: A NEW AGE debut this year, ditto a U.S. release of Aardman's first-ever movie sequel, FARMAGEDDON: A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE. A third SPONGEBOB movie, SPONGE ON THE RUN, rolls out internationally before a quiet U.S. debut in the next year.

2021: The theatrical market slowly crawls back upon the unrolling of COVID-19 vaccines. Sequels this year include SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY, THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2, SING 2, and the unusual SPIRIT: UNTAMED: A follow-up to a TV series that was a follow-up to a flop DreamWorks movie.

2022: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA, TOY STORY spin-off LIGHTYEAR, MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU, and PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH make up this year, as we all know.

Last year: SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER, and - notably - straight-to-streaming Aardman sequel CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET that still was theatrical-caliber.

This year: KUNG FU PANDA 4, INSIDE OUT 2, DESPICABLE ME 4, MOANA 2, MUFASA: THE LION KING, WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL...

Next year: THE BAD GUYS 2, ZOOTOPIA 2, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, PLANKTON: THE MOVIE

2026: UNTITLED MARIO FILM, TOY STORY 5, SHREK 5, PAW PATROL 3, MUTANT MAYHEM 2

2027: MINIONS 3, FROZEN III

Also on the horizon: SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE, INCREDIBLES 3, THE BOSS BABY 3, a third LEGO MOVIE, THE SEA BEAST 2, SECRET LIFE OF PETS 3, SING 3, a PEANUTS MOVIE sequel, and probably many more I'm forgetting at the moment...

Basically, the major cracks in the dam were TOY STORY 2, SHREK 2, and ICE AGE 2... Making sequels to animated movies was for a long time not ideal, getting an animated feature out period was at one point a gamble. (Still is, but not like it was many decades ago.) But yeah, a lot was at play for a while and then after it all blew up... Yeah, that's why there are so many of them.

[gatutor]

María Montez-John Hall-Sabu "Las mil y una noches" (Arabian nights) 1942, de John Rawlins.

[tomoleary]

René Bull (1845-1942) “Leaping Warrior” Arabian Nights book illustration, watercolor and pencil on paper

Source

[tina-aumont]

Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights is a 1942 adventure film directed by John Rawlins and starring Jon Hall, Maria Montez, Sabu and Leif Erikson. The film is derived from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights but owes more to the imagination of Universal Pictures than the original Arabian stories. Unlike other films in the genre (The Thief of Bagdad), it features no monsters or supernatural elements.

This is the first feature film that Universal made using the three-strip Technicolor film process, although producer Walter Wanger had worked on two earlier Technicolor films for other studios: The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) at Paramount and the 1937 Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938 for United Artists.

Plot (it may contain spoilers)

In ancient Persia, the young women of a royal harem read the story of Sherazade, unfolding the film's story. Sherazade, a dancer in a wandering circus, captures the attention of Kamar, the brother of the caliph, Haroun al-Rashid. Kamar's infatuation influences his attempts to seize the throne from Haroun and make Sherazade his queen. His revolt fails, and he is sentenced to slow death by exposure, but Kamar's men storm the palace and free their leader. Wounded and forced to flee, Haroun chances upon Sherazade's circus and is spotted by the young acrobat Ali Ben Ali. Aware of Haroun's identity, Ali hides him in the circus. Later, upon awakening from his injuries, Haroun beholds Sherazade and falls in love with her.

Meanwhile, Kamar assumes the throne, but Sherazade is not to be found. He orders the captain of his guard to find her, but a scheming grand vizier, Nadan, approaches the captain with the order to make Sherazade 'disappear.' After finding them, the captain sells the troupe into slavery. When the captain is found out, Nadan murders him in order to conceal his treachery. Haroun, Sherazade, and the acrobats escape the slave pens, but are found by Kamar's army and taken to a tent city in the desert. Kamar reunites with Sherazade and proposes, but she has fallen in love with Haroun instead. Nadan, recognizing the caliph, uses this knowledge to blackmail Sherazade into helping him remove Kamar from the throne, in return for safe conduct for Haroun out of the caliphate. In secret, however, he plans to have Haroun killed once he has crossed the border.

Upon learning of this insidious scheme, Ali and his fellow performers rescue Haroun, who then decides to free Sherazade with the help of the acrobats. But Haroun and the others are quickly captured, and Sherazade finally learns his true identity. Kamar engages Haroun in a swordfight, while the acrobats set fire to the tents; and the arrival of the caliph's loyal troops, summoned by Ali, triggers a massive battle. In the end, as Kamar prepares to deliver the deathstroke to Haroun, Nadan assassinates Kamar. But as he prepares to do in Haroun, Ahmad and Ali interfere, forcing him to flee. Nadan is stopped by a thrown spear and dies inside a burning tent, leaving Haroun, Sherazade, and their loyal friends to celebrate victory.

Cast

Jon Hall – Haroun-Al-Raschid

Maria Montez – Sherazade

Sabu – Ali Ben Ali

Leif Erikson – Kamar

Billy Gilbert – Ahmad

Edgar Barrier – Nadan

Richard Lane – Corporal

Turhan Bey – Captain of the Guard

John Qualen – Aladdin

Shemp Howard – Sinbad

William 'Wee Willie' Davis – Valda

Thomas Gomez – Hakim

Jeni Le Gon – Dresser / Dancer's Maid

Robert Greig – Eunuch

Charles Coleman – Eunuch

Emory Parnell – Harem Sentry

Harry Cording – Blacksmith

Robin Raymond – Slave Girl

Carmen D'Antonio – Harem Girl

The film was released on 25th December 1942.

Photos from ebay and text from wikipedia.

[clarascuro]

Yesterday people in my lit class argued that Scheherazade from Arabian Nights (1942) is a groundbreaking feminist character because she is mean and uses her sexuality to get what she wants (to marry the caliph and be rich)

[dimepicture]

[mydarlingbat]

Detective Comics #138 (August 1948): "The Invisible Crimes!"

Batman #52 (April-May 1949): "The Happy Victims!"

Batman #53 (June-July 1949): "A Hairpin, a Hoe, a Hacksaw, a Hole in the Ground!"

Detective Comics #149 (July 1949): "The Sound Effect Crimes!"

Batman #59 (June-July 1950): "The Batman of the Future!"

Batman #49 (October-November 1948): "Batman's Arabian Nights!"

Batman #57 (February-March 1950): "The Funny Man Crimes!"

Detective Comics #168 (February 1951): "The Man Behind The Red Hood"

World's Finest #48 (? 1950): "Song of Crime!"

Batman #55 (October-November 1949): "The Case of the 48 Jokers!"

Batman #67 (October-November 1951): "The Man Who Wrote the Joker's Jokes!"

Batman #63 (February-March 1951): "The Joker's Crime Costumes!"

Detective Comics #180 (February 1952): "The Joker's Millions!"

Batman #66 (August-September 1951): "The Joker's Comedy of Errors!"

World's Finest #59 (? 1952): "The Joker's Aces!"

Batman #73 (October-November 1952): "The Joker's Utility Belt!"

World's Finest #61 (November 1952): "The Crimes of Batman!"

Batman #80 (December 1953-January 1954): "The Joker's Movie Crimes!"

Detective Comics #193 (March 1953): "The Joker's Journal!"

Batman #74 (December 1952-January 1953): "The Crazy Crime Clown!"

Batman #85 (August 1954): "Batman - Clown of Crime!"

Batman #86 (September 1954): "The Joker's Winning Team!"

Batman #87 (October 1954): "The Batman's Greatest Thrills!"

Batman #97 (February 1956): "The Joker Announces Danger!"

World's Finest #88 (June 1957): "Superman and Batman's Greatest Foes!"

Batman #110 (September 1957): "Crime-of-the-Month Club!"

Batman #123 (April 1959): "The Joker's Practical Jokes!"

Batman #127 (October 1959): "Batman's Super-Partner!"

Batman #144 (December 1961): "The Man Who Played Batman!"

Batman #145 (February 1962): "The Son of the Joker!"

Batman #140 (June 1961): "The Ghost of the Joker!"

Batman #136 (December 1960): "The Challenge of the Joker!"

Batman #2 (Summer Issue 1940): "The Joker Meets The Cat-Woman"

Batman #1 (Spring Issue 1940): "The Joker", "The Joker Returns"

Detective Comics #45 (November 1940): "The Case of the Laughing Death"

Batman #4 (Winter Issue 1941): "The Case of the Joker's Crime Circus"

Batman #5 (Spring Issue 1941): "The Riddle of the Missing Card"

Detective Comics #60 (February 1942): "Case of the Costumed Clad Killers"

Batman #7 (October-November 1941): "The Winning Team!"

Batman #8 (December 1941-January 1942): "The Cross Country Crimes"

Batman #9 (February-March 1942): "The Case of the Lucky Law-Breakers"

Detective Comics #62 (April 1942): "Laugh, Town, Laugh!"

Batman #12 (August-September 1942): "The Wizard of Words!"

Detective Comics #64 (June 1942): "The Joker Walks the Last Mile"

Batman #11 (June-July 1942): "The Joker's Advertising Campaign"

Batman #13 (October-November 1942): "Comedy of Tears!"

Detective Comics #71 (January 1943): "A Crime a Day!"

Detective Comics #69 (November 1942): "The Harlequin's Hoax!"

Batman #16 (April-May 1943): "The Joker

Reforms!" Detective Comics #76 (June 1943): "Slay 'em with Flowers!"

Batman #19 (October-November 1943): "The Case of the Timid Lion!"

Batman #20 (December 1943-January 1944): "The Centuries of Crime!"

Detective Comics #85 (March 1944): "The Joker's Double"

Batman #23 (June-July 1944): "The Upside Down Crimes!"

Batman #25 (October-November 1944): "Knights of Knavery" Batman #28 (April-May 1945): "Shadow City!"

Detective Comics #91 (October 1944): "The Case of the Practical Joker"

Detective Comics #102 (August 1945): "The House That Was Held For Ransom"

World's Finest #19 (Fall Issue 1945): "The League for Larceny!"

Batman #32 (July-August 1945): "Rackety-Rax Racket!"

Detective Comics #114 (August 1946): "Acrostic of Crime!"

Detective Comics #109 (March 1945): "The House that Jokes Built"

Batman #37 (October-November 1946): "The Joker Follows Suit!"

Batman #46 (April-May 1948): "Guileful Greetings or The Joker Sends Regards!"

Detective Comics #124 (June 1947): "The Crime Parade"

Detective Comics #118 (December 1946): "The Royal Flush Crimes!"

Batman #40 (April-May 1947): "The 13 Club!"

Detective Comics #137 (July 1948): "The Rebus 

Detective Comics #128 (October 1947): "Crimes in Reverse!"

Batman #44 (December 1947-January 1948): "Gamble with Doom!"

Batman #145 (February 1962): "The Son of the Joker!"

Batman Annual #3 (Summer 1962): "The Joker's Aces" (Reprint from World's Finest #59)

Batman #140 (June 1961): "The Ghost of the Joker!"

World's Finest #129 (November 1962): "Joker-Luthor, Incorporated!"

Batman #148 (June 1962): "The Joker's Greatest Triumph!"

Batman #144 (December 1961): "The Man Who Played Batman!"

Batman #152 (December 1962): "The False-Face Society!"

Batman #159 (November 1963): "The Great Clayface-Joker Feud!"

Detective Comics #332 (October 1964): "The Joker's Last Laugh!"

Detective Comics #341 (July 1965): "The Joker's Comedy Capers!"

Justice League of America #34 (March 1965): "Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny"

Batman #163 (May 1964): "The Joker Jury!"

Batman #182 (August 1966): "The Joker Batman" (Reprint from Batman #85)

World's Finest #156 (March 1966): "The F.B.I... The Federation of Bizarro Idiots!"

World's Finest #159 (August 1966): "The Cape and Cowl Crooks"

The Brave and the Bold (October-November 1966): "Alias the Bat-Hulk"

Batman #185 (November 1966): "80 Pg. Giant - G27"

Batman #186 (November 1966): "The Joker's Original Robberies!"

Batman #176 (December 1965): "The Joker's Utility Belt" (Reprint from Batman #73)

The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #97 (November-December 1966): "Batman Meets Jerry"

Batman #187 (December 1966): "Gotham's Cleverest Criminal" (Newspaper Strip Rperint)

Batman #198 (February 1968): "The Crimes of Batman!" (Reprint from World's Finest #61)

World's Finest #166 (May 1967): "The Danger of the Deadly Duo!"

Detective Comics #365 (July 1967): "The House The Joker Built"

World's Finest #177 (August 1968): "Duel of the Crime Kings!"

Detective Comics #388 (June 1969): Batman and Batgirl: "The First Men Killed on the Moon!"

Batman #213 (July-August 1969): "The Man Behind the Red Hood!" (Reprint from Detective Comics #186)

Justice League of America #77 (December 1969): "Snapper Carr -- Super-Traitor!"

Wanted: The World'd Most Dangerous Criminals (September-October 1972): "Knights of Knavery" (Reprint from Batman #25)

DC Special #8: Wanted (September 1970): "Joker-Luthor, Incorporated" (Reprint from World'd Finest #129)

Batman #251 (September 1973): "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge"

The Brave And The Bold #111 (Feb/March 1974): "Death Has The Last Laugh"

Limited Collector's Edition #C-25 (Batman) (1974 - tabloid sized): "The Case o the Joker's Crime Circus" (Reprint from Batman #4)

The Brave and the Bold #118 (April 1975): "May the Best man Die"

Batman #257 (July-August 1974): "Rackety-Rax Racket!" (Reprint from Batman #32)

World's Finest #227 (January-February 1975): "The Cape and Cowl Crooks!" (Reprint from World's Finest #159)

Batman #260 (January-February 1975): "This One'll Kill You, Batman!"

[bitter69uk]

Born on this day 111 years ago: high empress of kitsch exotica, nostril-flaring Dominican actress, Caribbean Cyclone and Queen of Technicolour Maria Montez (née María África Gracia Vidal, 6 June 1912 - 7 September 1951). Venerated by the likes of Gore Vidal and underground queer filmmakers Jack Smith, Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger, leading lady of films like Arabian Nights (1942), White Savage (1943) and Cobra Woman (1944) Montez is a pivotal figure in the sensibility we now call “camp.” (Early Warhol drag superstar Mario Montez was christened after her). Aside from perhaps the young Yvonne De Carlo, did any woman wear a yashmak with more elan? “When I see myself on the screen, I look so beautiful I want to scream with joy” Montez once famously declared. Maria Montez, you make ME scream with joy! Here she is in Siren of Atlantis (1949) playing – what else? – an evil queen.

[leelooel]

Arabian Nights by Leon Carre (1878-1942)