Sabu and the Magic Ring (1957)

Director: George Blair

Cast: Sabu, Daria Massey, William Marshall

Synopsis: A jungle boy gets involved with a genie.

Apparently, Sabu and the Magic Ring is comprised of two half-hour pilot episodes for a TV series that never materialised, although it tells only one story and it’s kind of difficult to see where the join is. Sabu’s a lowly elephant boy who finds himself caught up in a plot to poison the Caliph when he stumbles upon a magic ring which, when rubbed, summons up a giant genie.

The genie is played by William Marshall, who would later go on to a sort-of fame when he played Blacula in a few exploitation movies in the early 1970s. He’s pretty strict on whom he grants wishes to – you lose the ring, you lose the power, which Sabu finds out much to his annoyance when cute little girlfriend Daria Massey (The Ladies Man) gets her hands on it. Considering its modest origins, Sabu and the Magic Ring provides a decent level of entertainment, even though the minuscule budget is evident in the low number of sets and lack of star names.

(Reviewed 20th November 2014)