Starring Guy Williams, Heidi Bruhl, Pedro Armendariz, Abraham Sofaer, Bernie Hamilton
Directed by Byron Haskin
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The kingdom of Baristan is conquered by the evil El Kerim, who makes plans to do away with Captain Sindbad, who loves the kingdom's princess and aims to set its people free.
A sword and sorcery film mixing several legends and filmed in a German studio, standing in for Arabia, the picture has some inventive practical special effects, but no stop-motion creatures, so I wouldn't put it up against the best works of Ray Harryhausen in the genre. However, it's still entertaining, with Williams of TV's Zorro and Lost In Space cutting a fine hero, Bruhl impressing as the princess with her delivery behind a beautiful face and memorably arched eyebrows, and Sofaer admirably yukking it up as the kingdom's magician. There's plenty of creatures as well from giant birds of prey and savage crocodiles, to a many-headed Hydra, and an invisible beast Sindbad must fight in the arena. The costumes and art direction are quite good, and its clear a healthy budget was invested in the production, even if it's a notch below Harryhausen's triumphs.
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