One of the truly great silent films of the nineteen-twenties was The Thief of Bagdad directed by Raoul Walsh.

 

Made in 1924 it featured Douglas Fairbanks as producer and also starring as the happy-go-lucky Ahmed the Thief.

 

Ahmed can easily acquire all he wants until he is beguiled by a beautiful Princess. To win her hand he must prove himself to be worthier than her other suitor, the villainous Mongol Prince, who has a slave-girl spy. To this end he has to overcome the Valley of Fire, the Vale of Dragons, the Cavern of the Enchanted Trees, the Old Man of the Midnight Sea and the Abode of the Winged Horse; with many daring acrobatic skills and the aid of new, startling special effects including a magic rope and a magic chest, until his princess finally flies away with to the land of happiness on a magic carpet.

 

This is one of the most imaginative of all silent films; a magical page from an Arabian Nights-style adventure that included examples of the then popular German Expressionist techniques - a film that lived long in the memory and was to influence many subsequent fantasy-style productions.

 

This version has been digitally remastered from a 35mm negative and carefully tinted in the style of the period with a musical score by Gaylord Carter based on the original cues.