Movie Description
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British Technicolor historical fantasy film, produced by Alexander Korda and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan, with additional contributions by William Cameron Menzies and Korda brothers Vincent and Zoltán. The film stars child actor Sabu, Conrad Veidt, John Justin, and June Duprez. It was distributed in the US and the UK by United Artists.
Although produced by Alexander Korda's company London Films in London, the film was completed in California due to the outbreak of World War II.
Georges Périnal, credited as George Perinal, won the Academy Award for Cinematography, Vincent Korda for Art Direction, and Lawrence W. Butler and Jack Whitney for Special Effects (marking the first use of the "manual bluescreen technique"). Miklós Rózsa was also nominated for Original Music Score, a first for a British film at the Academy Awards.
Although this production is a remake of the 1924 version, the two films have differences: the most significant is that the thief and the prince are separate characters in the 1940 version. The screenplay is by Lajos Biro and Miles Malleson, who also appears in the film as the Princess's father, the Sultan of Basra.
