Nobody expected that Universal Pictures’ sex and sand film Arabian Nights would be an Oscar® contender, but it sure ended up a top contender for 1942-1943. It swept the Oscar® race nominations and was honored for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Recording, Best Art Direction, and Best Score. The Oscar® acknowledgements raised what could be considered a high-class “B” movie to the stratosphere.

During World War II, according to film critics who were alive at the time, audiences were looking for “escapist” entertainment. Universal studios came up with the perfect solution when they hit upon the formula of adventure, comedy, and sex stirred into Middle Eastern sand dunes. Their first pairing of the voluptuous Dominican Maria Montez (real name Maria Africa Gracia Vidal, b. 1912) and handsome muscle-bound Jon Hall (he from exotic Fresno as Charles Locher, b. 1915) was Arabian Nights. It was such a big hit they made five more pictures in the following years. Audiences loved them and the colorful settings. With most areas cut off during the war and locales such as Europe and Japan unavailable, the Middle East was a good choice for new and exotic locations. Thus, we were blessed with the Universal fantasies and such goodies as Warner Bros. Casablanca , set in Morocco.

Producer Walter Wanger went all-out by shooting the picture in the new three-strip Technicolor process, the first picture ever to be shot by Universal in the dazzling color film. Universal was not known for spending a lot of money on their films as most of them were shot in black and white. If there ever was a film that cried out to be shot in color, this was it.

The plot involves the usual silliness in these films. Cranked out by writers Michael Hogan and True Boardman, the plot is filled with plenty of action, laughs, adventure, and sword (or should I say scimitar?) fighting. And there is Kamar (Lief Erickson), the evil brother of the true Caliph, or Wazoo, or whatever he is called, young Haroun al-Raschid (Jon Hall), who is bound to do him in and seize the throne for himself. The other catch is that Kamar is determined to capture traveling circus performer Scheherazade, the hip-swinging Maria Montez. Don’t ask why she’s in a traveling troupe of rag-tag circus performers that include famous sneezing-comic Billy Gilbert (Ahmad), John Qualen (about 20 years too old to play Aladdin), Shemp Howard (an escapee from The Three Stooges) as Sinbad, and the adorable little nipper Sabu (age 18) as acrobat Ali Ben Ali. Turhan Bey, only about 20 years old at the time, also appears as a captain in the palace and Thomas Gomez comes in for a turn as a palace functionary.

Director John Rawlins (Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome, 1947) displays some of that swiftness he was noted for in never having a scene drag. Rawlins is always keeping the audience’s attention by constantly having something happening to pique your interest. Viewers will never get bored in Arabian Nights. There is always some interesting business shown, something funny displayed by the comics, and unbelievably dangerous stunts by the marvelous stunt artists to thrill and astonish.

Maria Montez became a sensation, but not an actress, in all the six films she made with Jon Hall. She’s gorgeous and outfitted by costume designer Vera West with so much chiffon veiling that the fabric factory in China must have broken down. And the eye-popping metal jewelry by Eugene Joseff weighed her down so much that the only expression she could manage was puzzlement. She must have been deposited on set with a crane.

The picture is pure Hollywood hokum, something we could use more of today to erase our depression. It’s a wonderful entertainment and a pleasure to see the beautiful sets, costumes, and harem girls. Even when the horsemen are raging across the desert sands chasing Jon Hall, they take a wrong turn and end up in Bryce Canyon, Utah, and we get a laugh out of it. The movie is pure escapism, just what audiences craved in 1942 and the perfect antidote to our miseries today.

(Released by Universal Pictures/Walter Wanger Productions. Available on Amazon.)