The Thief of Bagdad

""Happiness Must Be Earned""

1924 2h 29m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

97%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.7

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 191🍅97%Rotten Tomatoes★7.7IMDB · 7,611

RomanceAdventureFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.

“"Happiness Must Be Earned"”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Douglas Fairbanks
The Thief of Bagdad
Snitz Edwards
His Evil Associate
Charles Belcher
The Holy Man
Julanne Johnston
The Princess
Sôjin Kamiyama
The Mongol Prince
Anna May Wong
The Mongol Slave
Brandon Hurst
The Caliph
Tote Du Crow
The Soothsayer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Raoul Walsh
Writers: Douglas Fairbanks, Achmed Abdullah, Lotta Woods
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

102 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Raoul Walsh, shot by Arthur Edeson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Nolan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Douglas Fairbanks and Snitz Edwards and Charles Belcher carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Marketing tagline: ""Happiness Must Be Earned"".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0015400 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Raoul Walsh directs. Arthur Edeson behind the camera. William Nolan cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2102 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Raoul Walsh, shot by Arthur Edeson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor William Nolan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Douglas Fairbanks and Snitz Edwards and Charles Belcher carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: ""Happiness Must Be Earned"".
7IMDB entry: tt0015400 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 14 themes, including "princess", "treasure", "magic", "palace".
9Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Arthur Edeson
Editing: William Nolan
Production design: William Cameron Menzies
Costume design: Mitchell Leisen
Makeup / hair: George Westmore
Runtime: 149 min · 2h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,135,654
Box office: $1,490,419
Return: 131% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.7/10 · 7,611 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

4 wins total

Also by

Raoul Walsh

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 7/10
This just goes to show - almost a century after it was made, that quality has longevity. The recently restored version of Raoul Walsh's fabulously lavish adaptation of the Arabian Nights fantasy was scored by the hugely imaginative Carl Davis (at times based around some really suitable Rimsky-Korsakov themes) featuring a charmingly athletic Douglas Fairbanks as the eponymous character who thrives as a petty thief. Soon, though, he espies the beautiful daughter of the Caliph (Julanne Johnston) who is to be married. He decides to impersonate a prince and become one of her suitors - without bargaining on the evil Mongol Prince who has designs on both the Princess and the throne of Baghdad itself. It is amazing how effortlessly the film still holds the attention - with only a minimal use of text boards - and the more you watch, the more delicate and clever the performances become. There is no script to moan about; just a hugely creative perception of the original fables - it is just a wonderful piece of imagination set to pictures and music that is a real must watch.

Production companies