Captain Sindbad (1963)

Director: Byron Haskin

Cast: Guy Williams, Heidi Brühl, Pedro Armendáriz

Synopsis: Merciless sorcerer El Kerim uses black magic and mind control to wrest power from the king. His next move is to steal Princess Jana, girlfriend to Capt. Sindbad.

Captain Sindbad is one of those dodgy early-sixties fantasy-adventures that flatters to deceive by filling the screen with bright colours (now faded to blandness by 40 years of criminal neglect) and flashes of smoke, in the forlorn hope of persuading the viewer that something exciting is taking place. Unfortunately for the makers – and the audience – no discerning viewer over the age of 10 will be fooled. Captain Sindbad is the movie-world’s equivalent of fool’s gold: bright and shiny, but of value to no-one.

The acting throughout this movie is truly appalling. Ok, I know it’s primarily intended for kids, but that’s no reason for everybody to act as if they are taking part in an end-of-pier pantomime. Captain Sindbad’s special effects – which are by far the best thing about this flick – are nearly forty-years-old, and they’re showing their age. Not the fault of the movie, I know, but when combined with an unimaginative plot and shoddy acting, the result is to leave the viewer wishing for a Jon Hall-style Arabian Nights flick from the 40’s – one in which the special effects were non-existent so the makers had to rely on strong plot and acting.

Give it a miss.

(Reviewed 8th May 2002)