Arabian Nights (1942)

Academy Awards, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1943	Nominated	Oscar	Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color Alexander Golitzen Jack Otterson Russell A. Gausman Ira Webb
			Best Cinematography, Color Milton R. Krasner William V. Skall W. Howard Greene
			Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Frank Skinner
			Best Sound, Recording Bernard B. Brown (Universal SSD)

Universal Pictures
Directed by John Rawlins
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Universal)

Silly Hollywood costumer about two brothers fighting over a throne and a beautiful dancing girl. Sabu is the young acrobat who switches the identity of the ruling caliph of Baghdad when he finds him near death after being attacked by his brother. Jon Hall is the undercover brother who tries to get his rightful place back while romancing the lovely Maria Montez as Scheherazade. The plot loses steam in the last half with endless scenes around a swimming pool that are all talk, no action. There is excessive comic relief from Shemp Howard, of all people, as Sinbad and Billy Gilbert with a running gag using his rotund stomach as a weapon. Entertaining in the right frame of mind, and in glorious Technicolor, but mindless.