Dale Robertson stars as the Son of Sinbad in this tongue-in-cheek Arabian Nights romp. Hoping to rescue Bagdad from the forces of the dreaded Tamerlaine, Sinbad Jr. enlists the aid of the Khalif (Leon Askin) by promising to deliver the secret of "Greek Fire". To expedite this, he enlists the aid of the lovely Kristina (Mari Blanchard), who has memorized said secret. When the bad guys threaten the safety of hero and heroine, slave girl Ameer (Sally Forrest), who heads the all-female descendants of the original Forty Thieves, come galloping to the rescue. Personally produced by Howard Hughes, Son of Sinbad seems to be a clearing house for all of Hughes' voyeuristic fetishes; at one point, stripteaser Lili St. Cyr performs an exotic (and erotic) dance wearing the equivalent of a postage stamp, earning a Condemned rating from the Catholic Legion of Decency. The overabundance of feminie pulchritude gets a little wearing after a while, and it is up to Vincent Price to steal the show as Omar the Tentmaker, improvising passages of his unpublished "Rubiyat" (with a few anachronistic Shakespearean quotes thrown in) as he tries to keep apace with the hero. Also on hand is an uncredited (and fully clothed) Kim Novak as a handmaiden. More silly than sexy when seen today, Son of Sinbad is acceptable nonthink entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
disliked it.
Little boys of all ages will have a hoot watching Son of Sinbad, a mostly awful film that nonetheless has some attractions. The main attraction is a bevy -- and I do mean a true bevy -- of beautiful women, frequently scantily clad. Straight boys will enjoy ogling, while those of a campier bent will enjoy laughing at how ludicrously pandering it all is. And women? Those with a good sense of humor who can stomach some offensively sexist dialogue and the use of women as nothing more than sex objects will be quite amused.
Sinbad is so bad that I suspect many women will be able to laugh at it. Everyone will certainly be able to laugh at
Dale Robertson's performance; he may be wearing desert clothing, but he still speaks and acts like a cowpoke. The women mostly dance and look fabulous, which they do very well. The screenplay is ridiculous, as is
Ted Tetzlaff's direction, but
Vincent Price's hammy turn is quite enjoyable. There's also some nifty cinematography, noteworthy sets and costumes and a fine
Victor Young score. It's still a poor film -- but taken in the right context, it can be a lot of fun. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide