John Rawlings directed Arabian Nights, a popular adventure production of “Scheherazade,” which stars Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu, all fighting a pretender to the throne of Baghdad.
Grade: B
The tale is derived from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights but owes more to the imagination of Universal Pictures than the original Arabian stories.
Unlike other films in the genre (The Thief of Bagdad), it features no monsters or supernatural elements.
Cycle of Exotic Tales
The film is one of a cycle of “exotic” tales released by Universal during World War II, which also included Cobra Woman, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and White Savage.
This is the first feature that Universal made with the three-strip Technicolor process, although producer Wanger had worked on two earlier Technicolor films: The Trail of the Lonesome Pine at Paramount, and Walter Wanger’s Vogues of 1938 for UA.
Oscar Nominations: 4
Cinematography (color): Milton Krasner, William V. Skall, W. Howard Greene
Interior Decoration (color): Alexander Golitzen, Jack Otterson, art direction; Russell A. Gausman, Ira S. Webb, set decoration
Sound Recording: Bernard Brown
Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Frank Skinner
Oscar Context
Leon Shamroy won the Cinematography Oscar for The Black Swan.
The Art Direction award went to “My Gal Sal.”
The Sound Oscar was won by Yankee Doodle Dandy.”
Max Steiner received the Scoring Oscar for the Bette Davis melodrama, “Now, Voyager.”
Credits:
Directed by John Rawlins
Written by Michael Hogan (story and screenplay); True Boardman (additional dialogue)
Produced by Walter Wanger
Cinematography W. Howard Greene, Milton R. Krasner, William V. Skall
Edited by Philip Cahn
Music by Frank SkinnerProduction company: Walter WangerDistributed by Universal Pictures
Written by Michael Hogan (story and screenplay); True Boardman (additional dialogue)
Produced by Walter Wanger
Cinematography W. Howard Greene, Milton R. Krasner, William V. Skall
Edited by Philip Cahn
Music by Frank SkinnerProduction company: Walter WangerDistributed by Universal Pictures
Release date: December 25, 1942 (US)
Running time: 87 minutes
Budget $904,765
Box office $3,453,416