Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves (1944)

After his father, the caliph of Baghdad (Moroni Olsen) is betrayed and killed, his son (Scotty Beckett as a child, Jon Hall as a man) vows to avenge his father's murder. He is adopted by a bandit (Fortunio Bonanova), the leader of a desert band of forty thieves. Very loosely based on the tale of Ali Baba in THE BOOK OF ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS and directed by Arthur Lubin (FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG). Irresistible hokum! You're either a fan of this sort of Arabian nights fantasy or you're not. Shot in gorgeous three strip Technicolor,  this exotic adventure may not have the magic or charm of a THIEF OF BAGDAD or 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD but you'd have to work awfully hard to dislike it. There's an innocence to it that pulls you in and is just the sort of roborant to put you in a good mood. It's not the kind of movie where the acting matters much so you can overlook the performances (such as they are) of Jon Hall, Turhan Bey and especially Maria Montez who is captivating until she opens her mouth! You can even overlook the nonsensical casting of Andy Devine as an Arab bandit! Kurt Katch makes for a suitable villain. With Frank Pulgia, Ramsay Ames and Yvette Duguay.