The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)

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 teen actor Sabu, Conrad Veidt, John Justin, and June Duprez. It was released in the US and the UK by United Artists.

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The Thief of Bagdad
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Powell Ludwig Berger Tim Whelan
Written by	Lajos Bíró Miles Malleson
Produced by	Alexander Korda
Starring	Conrad Veidt Sabu June Duprez John Justin Rex Ingram Mary Morris
Cinematography	George Perinal
Edited by	Charles Crichton
Music by	Miklós Rózsa
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	London Films
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	5 December 1940 (1940-12-05) (US) 25 December 1940 (1940-12-25) (UK)
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$1,750,000[1]
Box office	over $1 million (US/Canada)[2] 5,134,653 admissions (France, 1946)[3]

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[4] (marking the first use of the "manual bluescreen technique"[5]). Miklós Rózsa was also nominated for Original Music Score, a first for a British film at the Academy Awards.[6]

Although this production is a remake of the 1924 version, the two films have differences, the most significant being that the thief and the prince are separate characters in this 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.