Arabian (K)Nights by Dave Goode

As a kid I loved swashbuckling adventure movies that were freely adapted from the 1001 Arabian Nights. Maybe they weren't quite as cool as masked wrestler movies or biker flicks. But they were still a lot of fun. Oddly enough my first Steve Reeves movie was the 1960 THIEF OF BAGHDAD.

A favorite series from the genre would have to be the one from Universal that starred Maria Montez and Jon Hall. My favorite of these was ALI BABA AND THE 40 THIEVES. Pure magic.









 



Another great series were the Sinbad movies with visual effects provided by the great Ray Harryhausen. These films were THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958) , THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1973) and SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER (1977).

  
One of the attractions of the Arabian Nights movie genre beyond the swashbuckling adventure was the amount of feminine pulchritude on display. Harem girls , princesses and dancers. The 1955 flick THE SON OF SINBAD had this all covered. This was released by RKO when Howard Hughes was the studio chief. I always believed this flick was Hughes way of keeping his promise to a number of starlets he told he would give them a part in a movie. The movie stars Dale Robertson as Sinbad and Vincent Price as Omar Khayyam. Along for the ride are Sally Forrest , Marie Windsor and exotic dancers Lili St. Cyr and Nejla Ates. Not a great film by any means. But a good little time killer.



In the world of Goode Guy Comics, Dr. Judo doesn't carry a magic lamp, but he will turn out your lights. Dig this retro-tastic cover by designed by Dave Goode and illustrated by Vance Capley:

If you enjoyed that, you'll love JUDO COMICS! ...one click away!