abu and the thief of bagdad and help king ahmed regain his kingdom from a wicked sorcerer . a europe be go to war and significant section of the world be go up in flame and sir alexander korda london film unveil this lavish escapist fare from the legend of the arabian night . replete with sword and sorcery and it give audience in 1940 a short respite from the headline . it also be a fine piece of film making and feature good acting and an intelligent script . conrad veidt get top billing and he deserve it and play the evil magician jaffar . his saturnine face with it pierce eye make one recall the macabre roles he play with such relish during silent day . here be a villain worth watch . a the boyish thief and sabu be perfectly cast in this and his third film . while not a hero in the typical sense of the word and his character be certainly heroic in deed and action . the rest of the cast do fine work . john justin be both energetic and sensitive a the unenlightened king who must learn about the reality of live the hard way while sabu get a significant part of the action ( when he not transform into a dog ) but justin be appropriately athletic when need must . lovely june duprez play the endangered princess of basra and covet by two very different men . appear late in the film and massive rex ingram shake thing up a a genie with an attitude . allan jeayes use his fine voice to good advantage a the storyteller . mile malleson get another eccentric role a the childlike sultan of basra and forever dither on about his mechanical toy ( malleson be also responsible for the film screen play and dialogue ) . age morton selten portray the benevolent king of legend . mary morris and later an exceptional stage actress and play the dual role of jaffar accomplice and the six arm silver dancer . the film be begin in britain and but wartime difficulty make korda move it to southern california and which probably explain the presence of american ingram in the cast . the art direction and in vibrant technicolor and be most attractive and especially the fairy tale architecture in blue and white and pink . bear sabu dastagir in 1924 and sabu be employ in the maharaja of mysore stable when he be discover by korda company and set before the camera . his first four film ( elephant boy 1937 and the drum 1938 and the thief of bagdad 1940 and jungle book 1942 ) be his best and he find himself work out of hollywood when they be complete . after distinguished military service in world war ii he resume his film career and but he become endlessly confine for year play ethnic role in undistinguished minor film and black narcissus ( 1947 ) be the one great exception . his final movie and walt disney a tiger walk ( 1964 ) be an improvement and but it be too late . sabu have die of a heart attack in late 1963 and only 39 year of age .