Absurdity follows this fantasy filmed in bland color schemes and filled with ridiculous performances and cliche's abound. The Aladdin saga has never looked so much like a comic strip, even in Disney's masterpiece which is currently a huge hit on Broadway and spawned a technically busy but fun live action remake. There's nothing to be said to defend the blatant miscasting of Johnny Sands and Patricia Medina, having no chemistry and lacking the camp quotient of Tony Curtis, playing a prince who was a thief over at Universal. A one dimensional villain (John Dehner) and comic relief Billy House can't help rise this above the Saturday matinee muck it is. Give me the Bowery Boys in Bagdad any day over this where the genie's lamp looks like a carnival prize and the magic carpet needs a good shaking.
Review of Aladdin and His Lamp
Aladdin and His Lamp
(1952)
Cheap and kitchy. Who could ask for anything more?
20 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers