Genie fails to create cinematic magic
Movies about genies are abundant and appear in nearly every decade since films began. Notable examples are the adventure movies “The Thief of Bagdad” (1940), “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” (1958), and Disney’s animated and live-action versions of “Aladdin” (1992, 2019). “The Brass Bottle” rests similarly on the premise of a mysterious entity issuing forth from a magical object to grant wishes.<br /><br />“The Brass Bottle” goes the comedy route. Young architect Harold Ventimore (Tony Randall, TV’s “The Odd Couple”), is a junior member in an established California firm headed by the disapproving Mr. Beevor (Phillip Ober). Harold is engaged to sweet, attractive Sylvia Kenton (Barbara Eden), but her father, Anthony Kenton (Edward Andrews), a stodgily conventional professor of Egyptology, regards him as flighty and bohemian. To win over Mr. Kenton, Harold buys him an enormous antique brass bottle, purportedly an ancient Arabian receptacle. Finding his gift belittled as a cheap fake, Harold lugs the bottle home, pries it open, and beholds a distinctly corpulent genie (Burl Ives, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”) emerge amid clouds of green smoke. The genie introduces himself as Fakrash, imprisoned in the bottle by King Solomon 3,000 years ago.<br /><br />Delighted and grateful for his release, Fakrash vows to serve Harold by arranging for him to improve his status at work and impress Sylvia’s parents. The genie’s well-meaning efforts backfire, of course. Fakrash has a knack for whimsy and enjoys playing tricks while simultaneously offering helpful ideas for his master that only make his life more difficult. Harold has to deal with the disconcerting results and explain about the genie, who conveniently makes himself invisible, to Sylvia, his future in-laws, his boss, and the local police.<br /><br />The major problem with “The Brass Bottle” is that it elicits only a smattering of laughs. Oscar Brodney’s screenplay has long stretches of uninspired dialogue sluggishly delivered under the direction of Harold Keller, and most of the jokes are pretty lame. The premise could have lent itself to a sharp screwball comedy but the film lacks the necessary wit, sophistication, and pacing.<br /><br />Randall is a bland leading man and his performance isn’t very funny. When you think of how Cary Grant would have played the role, you get an idea of the potential unrealized. Looking distracted, even lackadaisical, Randall goes through the motions but never convinces that his Harold is thrown into a maelstrom. The closest he gets to exasperation is to raise his voice and widen his eyes. His underplaying in a broad comedy further dulls the jokes. Randall shows none of the comic expertise he would amply employ as Felix Unger in “The Odd Couple” TV series.<br /><br />Ives, known mostly as a folk singer and for his Oscar-winning performance in “The Big Country,” seems totally miscast. Fakrash is supposed to be devoted to his liberator yet he seems oblivious to the difficulties he is causing for Harold and regards everything as a frolic. Shouldn’t a genie who owes his freedom to Harold be more considerate of his feelings? Rather than invest his role with personality and motivation, Ives does little more than recite his lines with a broad smile.<br /><br />Special effects are pretty rudimentary by today’s standards. Fakrash appears in a cloud of colored smoke, walks through walls and up unseen stairs, wills a fire hydrant to move by itself, flies over people’s heads, and conjures up entire, lush dwellings fit for a sultan. At one point, he reduces three lawyers to the size of mice. Quaint and simple, the effects diminish rather than enhance the film. Better effects would have helped provide a greater sense of fantasy.<br /><br />Barbara Eden has a small role as Sylvia but would go on to fame as a genie herself in the long-running TV comedy “I Dream of Jeannie.” Series creator Sidney Sheldon may have, in fact, been influenced by “The Brass Bottle.” Eden is pert and lovely, but the part is so underwritten that Sylvia becomes a plot point rather than a real character. With better material to work with on her TV show, Eden would make her genie funny, playful, and sexy.<br /><br />Director Harry Keller, whose work was mostly in television, never gives “The Brass Bottle” a theatrical feature feel. Seeming more like an extended sit-com, the film lacks the snappy, precise timing and editing that could have exploited the jokes fully. Some scenes go on too long, others are moribund, and still others dependent on mundane sight gags.<br /><br />The best sight gag occurs when Fakrash turns Mr. Kenyon into a mule. Whether seated in the back of Harold’s convertible as it careens through city streets, braying and baring its teeth, or simply reacting comically much more convincingly than his human co-stars, that mule steals all his scenes.<br /><br />The following extras are included:<br />Audio Commentary by Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin<br />Theatrical Trailers:<br />“The Brass Bottle” (SD, 2:37)<br />“Bedtime Story” (SD, 1:37)<br />“Thoroughly Modern Millie” (SD, 2:39)<br />“40 Pounds of Trouble” (SD, 2:24)<br />“Arabesque” (SD, 3:30)<br /><br />“The Brass Bottle” is an unimaginative film that fails to use its fantasy premise to make things sparkle. Randall and Ives have little screen chemistry and the jokes are often labored and lame. An actor with a stronger screen presence might have been able to sell the gags better. With a director who fails to infuse life into the film, it is merely a mildly amusing comedy. The movie looks as if everyone was coasting.
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 {"Genre": "Comedy", "Format": "Blu-ray, Anamorphic", "Contributor": "Tony Randall, Kamala Devi, Harry Keller, Barbara Eden, Burl Ives", "Language": "English", "Runtime": "1 hour and 29 minutes", "Aspect Ratio": "1.85:1", "MPAA rating": "NR (Not Rated)", "Product Dimensions": "5.31 x 6.69 x 0.63 inches; 2.47 Ounces", "Director": "Harry Keller", "Media Format": "Blu-ray, Anamorphic", "Run time": "1 hour and 29 minutes", "Release date": "December 14, 2021", "Actors": "Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, Burl Ives, Kamala Devi", "Studio": "KL Studio Classics", "Country of Origin": "USA", "Number of discs": "1"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : Tony Randall (The Odd Couple), Burl Ives (The Big Country) and Barbara Eden (Harper Valley P.T.A.) conjure up laughs and magic in The Brass Bottle—an enchanting comedy classic that inspired the hit TV series that made Eden an icon, I Dream of Jeannie. When architect Harold Ventimore (Randall) buys an antique Arabian bottle at auction, he ends up freeing the centuries-imprisoned genie, Fakrash (Ives). Forever indebted and ready to serve his new master, Fakrash grants Harold his every wish. But things quickly go from bad to worse when his beautiful fiancée (Eden) discovers a herd of camels living in his garage, belly dancers in his house, and a pack of elephants marching through the streets! Now the whole town thinks that he’s gone off the deep end, and Harold has got to make everything right and convince his fiancée that he’s not crazy. Wonderfully directed by Harry Keller (The Female Animal), this tale of a madcap genie and his zany antics will grant your wish for comedy!.