"The Thief of Bagdad" (1924)

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OUR DOCUMENTARY

We are proud to present to all silent film lovers our multiple award-winning documentary! In March 2015 it won the distinction "Award of Merit" at the San Francisco Film Awards. In May it won the Silver Award at the 2015 International Independent Film Awards. In September 2015 it won the Award of Recognition at the Accolade Global Film Competition. Of equal merit is the inclusion of the documentary in the Official Selection of the San Jose International Short Film Festival in October 2015. In December the documentary won the extremely prestigious Diamond Award at the 2015 California Film Awards. The amazing run of recognition for our documentary continued in 2016. In February it was included in the Official Selection of the Buffalo Niagara International Film Festival.

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Snitz Edwards in The Thief of Bagdad 1924 00

Snitz Edwards

Directed by                Raoul Walsh
Produced by              Douglas Fairbanks
Scenario by               Elton Thomas (Douglas Fairbanks)
Starring                     Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston, Snitz Edwards, Anna May Wong, Brandon Hurst, Sojin Kamiyama
Cinematography       Arthur Edeson
Distributed by           United Artists
Release date               March 23, 1924
Running time             151 min.
Country                      United States
Language                    Silent film, English intertitles

"The Thief of Bagdad" (1924) is a romantic fantasy-adventure starring Douglas Fairbanks and featuring Snitz Edwards, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.

Here is a review of the film, written by our esteemed member Zach Snow.

Widely ranked as the most imaginative adventure film of the silent era, thanks in no small degree to the amazing sets by William Cameron Menzies and a charismatic performance from one of the era’s greatest stars, may seem a little slow compared to later swashbucklers, but its still impressive and wholly engaging. Following the Arabian fable of how a thief tries to win the heart of a princess while defeating her evil-minded suitors, this more or less became an excuse for United Artists to place their biggest star, Douglas Fairbanks, in one of the most ambitious vehicles of his career.

Fortunately for all involved Raoul Walsh, with the film that made him one of the silent era’s more reliable craftsmen, was around to direct; his outrageous storytelling style makes this ancient fable almost mythic, thanks to larger than life performances and some of the era’s best special effects. How Walsh managed to create flying carpets, invisible blankets, underwater worlds, and giant dragons before the advent of sound technology is still a wonder; while his film is sure to still provoke an adventurous feeling from even modern viewers, especially with the ever dashing Doug in his prime as the thief. Never has Fairbanks been more balletic or charming than here. Over the years various remakes have been made, but Walsh’s masterpiece is still one of the finest adventure pics.

You can find more of Zach Snow's work here.

The film is ranked number 26 in the list of The Top 100 Silent Era Films of the influential website Silent Era.

"The Thief of Bagdad" was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1996.

The film has an excellent rating in IMDB.