Cheap Wonders of Aladdin (Video) (Henry Levin) Price

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Customer Reviews of Wonders of Aladdin

Subliminally Sensual
This fantasy film contains a great deal of implied sensuality, especially for the time it was made. Viewers have oblique access to a pool of bathing beauties trying on jewelry being sold by a vendor who must keep his eyes shut because they wear no clothes; a lethal, life-sized mechanical doll is topless, her hair strategically placed; the film's female lead is captured and shackled nude (not shown onscreen) on display in a royal courtroom -- all somewhat daring in the early 1960s. And of course, Donald O'Connor dances. You know, we always have to hear Alfalfa sing a song and Harpo play the harp.

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Actually, a lot of fun
Donald O'Connor plays Aladdin as both the hero and comic relief in this arabian nights fantasy. Conspicuously American in a cast that seems largely European, O'Connor's Aladdin is of humble origins but never allows his lack of means (or any concrete ideas for acquiring any) dampen his dreams of grandeur. When he finds that his new lamp contains a genie who'll grant him three wishes, his chance for greatness may have finally come true. Nobody believes him, least of all the lovely Djalma, who has spent years waiting for him to give up his dreams, settle down and marry her. Assured of his deepest wishes, Aladdin travels to Basorah, a great city nearby, which already celebrates the impending marriage of the Sultan's daughter to the young but wise Molook. Meanwhile, the prince's wicked Vizier conspires to kill Mollook and steal both his crown and his bride and, with no male heirs of the Sultan, the Sultan's crown as well. When blundering across the plan, Aladdin rides to an unlikely rescue with the help of the wily prince and Basorah's population of fakirs and beggars.

This was a fun flick and for some reason overlooked. It's okay for kids, not really violent (except for two scenes, both involving a doll made to look like a real and exotically beautiful woman, and designed to crush to death those who blunder into its embrace) and manages to look both very Hollywood and also very convincingly Arabian at the same time. Donald O'Connor manages to steal every scene he's in. This was the sort of flick that used to be on TNT every couple of months, but hasn't been on in years, so get this tape.