STATE THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 October 1941, Page 8

STATE THEATRE

“THIEF OF BAGDAD.” The Slate Theatre was packed on Saturday night when the brilliant picture in beautiful colourings, “The Thief of Bagdad,” was presented. The audience were thrilled with the excellence of the film and its marvellous scenes. Never before has there been such an outstanding presentation of its kind seen in Masterton. No words can adequately describe this masterpiece with its exquisite scenes in colour, its wonderful presentation and excellent acting. The film is a fascinating one, as much for the splendour and novelty of its settings as for the weird and magical situations unfolded in its plot. The scene is in old Bagdad—with the grandson of the great Haroun al Raschid on the throne of Persia. The sun of the Golden -Age is nearing its setting, however, and djinns and black magic are sufficiently rare for their manifestation to be regarded as a little unusual. The tale is that of the young king, who ousted from his throne by a trick played by his vizier Jaffar, enlists the services of a little thief to win his throne, the most beautiful princess in Persia and presumably his life-long happiness. It is a duel between the black magic of Jaffar and an interesting team headed by a djinn several hundred feet high, a magic carpet, a Bone of Justice, an all-seeing eye, and Sabu. The little Indian youngster is the star of the show, though he is probably outshone by the evil genius of the film Jaffar (played by Conrad Veidt). John Justin is a most convincing exiled king, and as the object of his search June Duprez leaves little to be desired.