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Directed by Kurt Neumann
USA 1952

 

From Kurt Neumann, the outstanding director of Tarzan and the Amazons, Rocketship X-M, She Devil and The Fly, comes this sensational adventure starring screen greats Tony Curtis (The Vikings, Taras Bulba) and Piper Laurie (The Hustler, Carrie). In ancient Persia, Kashma Baba (Curtis) spends his days as a military cadet and devotes his nights to merrymaking. Everything changes when he meets Kiki (Laurie), who claims to be an escaped slave on the run from an evil caliph (Victor Jory, The Loves of Carmen). Soon, Kashma learns that there is more to her regal story in this exotic classic filled with clattering sword battles and thunderous horseback chases. Beautifully photographed in Technicolor by Maury Gertsman (Singapore, The Glass Web), Son of Ali Baba co-stars Susan Cabot (The Wasp Woman), Hugh O’Brian (Ambush Bay), William Reynolds (All That Heaven Allows) and Gerald Mohr (Sirocco).

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In ancient Persia the son of Ali Baba (of forty thieves fame), Kashma Baba is a military cadet by day and a party goer by night. He falls for a girl who he later finds is an escaped slave girl belonging to the wicked Caliph. They flee to his father's palace. But alas, there's more to her than meets the eye. Will the evil schemers succeed? The sons of the Forty Thieves to the rescue.

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 15th, 1953

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:15:12.508        
Video

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 25,806,349,486 bytes

Feature: 23,562,706,944 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.89 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1553 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1553 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 25,806,349,486 bytes

Feature: 23,562,706,944 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.89 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• NEW Audio commentary by Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin
• Theatrical Trailer (2:03 in SD)


 Blu-ray Release Date: July 21st, 2020
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 11

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2020): Kino have transferred Son of Ali Baba to Blu-ray. It follows their simultaneous Blu-ray releases of Arabian Nights and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. It still has the vibrant Technicolor hues (greens and maroons) but it is not as tight as the previous two with some bleeding in spots. There is texture and it looks reasonable with a max'ed out bitrate. See the captures below for the, generally, impressive appearance.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language. The score is by Herman Stein (Six Bridges to Cross, Man in the Shadow, Female on the Beach, This Island Earth, It Came From Outer Space, War Arrow, Tarantula, There's Always Tomorrow, The Incredible Shrinking Man.)  Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Lee Gambin. He relates conversations he had with Piper Laurie and her impressions of Tony Curtis, her experiences acting, some interesting details of the production etc.. It is at his usual high standard. There is also a trailer for the film.  

Son of Ali Baba doesn't have the cache of either Arabian Nights or Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - lacking the mystique of Maria Montez ("The Queen of Technicolor") an injection of Sabu ('The Elephant Boy') or trying to pass off exotic-ness in Bronx-accented Bernard Schwartz (aka "Tony Curtis") as the swarthy Arabian lead or pale redhead Piper Laurie as a Persian love interest. Both with bigger roles on their horizons. The series had just run its course for Universal. The film is impressively colorful with some decent production values, but fans were no longer embracing this genre a full decade after the initial entry. The Kino Blu-ray has value with the Gambin commentary, but those keen on this relatively less-expansive genre should check out the other two films-on-BD first.

Gary Tooze

 

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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