''Arabian Adventure'' is a 1979 British

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, a ...

directed by Kevin Connor and starring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

and

Oliver Tobias Oliver Tobias Freitag (born 6 August 1947), known professionally as Oliver Tobias, is a Swiss-born UK-based film, stage, and television actor and director. Biography Born in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of the Austrian-Swiss actor Robe ...

. The film was shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

, U.K.

Premise

An evil caliph (

) offers his daughter's hand in marriage to a prince if he can complete a perilous quest for a magical rose. Helped by a young boy and a magic carpet, Prince Hasan (

), has to overcome genies, fire breathing monsters and treacherous swamps to reach his prize and claim the hand of Princess Fuleira ( Emma Samms).

Cast

as Voulim Rahbar *

Milo O'Shea Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in '' Staircase'' (1968) and '' Mass Appeal'' (1982). Early life O'Shea was born and br ...

as Khasim *

as Prince Hasan * Emma Samms as Princess Zuleira *

Puneet Sira Puneet Sira is a British and Bollywood feature film director and producer who formed The Foundry which is actively developing and producing films. His tenure at BBC Films launched his career as director, writer and producer. Since then, he's b ...

as Majeed *

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

as Wazir Al Wuzara *

Capucine Capucine (, born Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre , 6 January 1928 – 17 March 1990) was a French fashion model and actress known for her comedic roles in '' The Pink Panther'' (1963) and ''What's New Pussycat?'' (1965). She appeared in 36 fil ...

as Vahishta *

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

as Daad El Shur * John Wyman as Bahloul *

John Ratzenberger John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947)About John
from Ratzenberger's official website is an Americ ...

as Achmed *

Shane Rimmer Shane Rimmer (born Shane Lance Deacon; May 28, 1929 – March 29, 2019) was a Canadian actor and screenwriter who spent the majority of his career in the United Kingdom. The self-proclaimed "Rent-A-Yank" of the British entertainment industry, he ...

as Abu *Hal Galili as Asaf *

Art Malik Athar ul-Haque Malik (born 13 November 1952), known professionally as Art Malik, is a Pakistani-born British actor who achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and subsidiary roles in assorted British and Merchant Ivory te ...

as Mamhoud * Milton Reid as Jinnee *

Elisabeth Welch Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...

as Beggarwoman *

Suzanne Danielle Suzanne Danielle (nee Morris; born 14 January 1957) is an English former film and television actress. Career Danielle trained as a dancer at the Bush Davies School of Theatre Arts in her home town of Romford in Essex, and also attended Bedford ...

as Eastern Dancer *

Roy Stewart Roy Stewart (15 May 1925 – 27 October 2008) was a Jamaican-born British actor. He began his career as a stuntman and went on to work in film and television. In 1954 he founded Roy Stewart's Gym in Powis Square, North Kensington, and ran t ...

as Nubian

Production

The film was the last of several fantasy movies Connor and Dark made together including '' The Land That Time Forgot'', '' At the Earth's Core'' and '' Warlords of Atlantis''. Although it had the biggest budget it was far less successful at the box office.Ed. Allan Bryce, ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 153 The movie was a throwback to Arabian nights films like '' The Thief of Bagdad''. Brian Hayles wrote ''Warlords'' and John Dark and Connor asked him to write an original Eastern fantasy. "These Eastern tales abound with lovely excursions into pure fantasy", said John Dark. "It was a very beautiful period and a very beautiful territory. We hope to recreate, in our story, the exciting architecture and costumes, as well as some exciting special effects, like an army of flying carpets. It's an amalgam of a lot of stories, a lot of lore, magic mirrors, wicked spells, benign and evil jinnees and one or two very special ideas of our own." In April 1978

EMI Films EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief conne ...

announced they would make the film as part of a series of films they wanted to produce with the newly formed

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

. It did end up being one of Orion's first films, along with the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

-winning '' A Little Romance'', '' Over the Edge'', '' Promises in the Dark'', '' Heart Beat'', '' The Wanderers'' and the box office hit '' 10''. Filming took place in September 1978. Christopher Lee returned to Britain for the first time in three years to take the lead role. "I couldn't resist it" said Lee. "It's a very fine screenplay by Brian, falling into the true fairy tale genre of romance and beauty combined with the kind of wickedness and violence which has sent delicious shivers down the spines of children of all nations since time immemorial." Hayles died during filming, on October 30, 1978 shortly after having delivered his first draft of a third original film for Dark and Connor, about pirate ghosts.

References

External links

* * * *
Arabian Adventure
' at Letterbox DVD

at Cinema Retro {{Kevin Connor 1979 films 1970s fantasy adventure films British fantasy adventure films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Genies in film Films directed by Kevin Connor EMI Films films British Lion Films films Films scored by Ken Thorne 1970s English-language films 1970s British films