The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) directed by Nathan Juran, stars Kerwin Mathews as Sinbad, Kathryn Grant as Princess Parisa, and Torin Thatcher as Sokurah the Sorcerer. Don't forget Richard Eyer as the Genie. After watching the Golden Voyage of Sinbad and The Eye of the Tiger, I knew there was another old Sinbad movie I remembered watching as a kid. I knew there was one with a kid as a genie and a cyclops fighting a dragon - this was it.

Above is the picture of the genie and the princess inside his lamp. The sorcerer did an Alice in Wonderland number on her while she was sleeping, shrinking her to a few inches in height. Sinbad is especially bummed by deal as they were to be married the next day. Conveniently for Sokurah the sorcerer, he knows how to change Parisa back to normal size but he requires a piece of shell from a roc (mythical two-headed bird of the giant variety), which can only be found on the island of the cyclops--and where the magic lamp with the genie is. Sokurah wants the lamp more than a Klondike Bar and there are no ends to which he will not go to obtain it. 

Sinbad finally agrees to take him and Parisa to the island, after Sokurah produces a diagram for a huge crossbow with which to slay the cyclops. All does not go well. Some of Sinbad's sailors have close encounters of the cyclops kind and others get roc-ed to their detriment.

 

Although Parisa becomes restored from fun-size, Sokurah insists on having the lamp. Sinbad has already seen him refuse to help against the cyclops and the roc. The sorcerer responds with a fantasy favorite:

Fortunately, only the one bony swordsman shows for the party and Sinbad eventually defeats him. The princess tosses the lamp into the molten rock (creating the first lava lamp) to free the genie from his servitude, leaving them without supernatural aid for the rest of the escape.

Never fear, Sinbad's resourcefulness lets him loose Sokurah's captive dragon on the cyclops so he and the princess can escape.

The dragon prevails and Sokurah then sics the monster on Sinbad and the remaining sailors. Luckily for Sinbad, they have the huge crossbow Sokurah designed--or maybe it was someone else who designed it, I don't remember--and they load it up just in time for the dragon to come through the tunnel toward it. The shot is successful, and the monster manages to crush Sokurah in its collapse.

Cut to the ship, and the genie, now a regular boy, has become Sinbad's cabin boy. Back at Baghdad, Sinbad and Parisa marry.

That's the nutshell version. It's not bad. Kathryn Grant makes a great little princess. Note that she married Bing Crosby in 1957 and remained married to until his death in 1977. She passed away in 2024. Kerwin Mathews does a passable job as Sinbad, but he wasn't given much to work with. The real stars are the Harryhausen special effects in the form of cyclops, the snake woman, the rocs, the dragon, the skeleton, and probably something else I've forgotten. The tales follows the same format as the other two Sinbad movies. I should say they follow the format set by 7th Voyage, because it predates both of those other two--although, I suspect there's an even older movie tale that I haven't seen.

In ranking it against the other two, 7th Voyage comes in a close third, riding on the charm of Kathryn Grant and the special effects.

You may want to check out: Part III of Forging Unforgettable Stories - Compelling the Reader to Turn the Page.

 

 

Killing Napoleon

 It's a fun fact with a book review:

 December 24, 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France and victor of the Battle of Marengo, had decided not to go to the theater to hear Haydn's The Creation oratorio. He changed his mind under pressure from Josephine and her daughter Horsense. After all, it was expected that the Bonaparte's would attend the premiere. In addition to Napoleon's aide-de-camp, Jean Rapp, Ann-Charles Lebrun, General Jean Lannes, Caroline Murat, and General Bessieres accompanied the Bonaparte family. Napoleon left first with Lannes and Bessieres. Rapp attended to the ladies in a second coach, delaying it as he spent time adjusting Josephine's beautiful shawl from Constantinople for best effect. 

Napoleon's coach had already sped away for the theater before Rapp had completed the arranging of the shawl. A detachment of 12 mounted grenadiers of the Consular Guard preceded his coach. In the Rue Saint-Nicaise, one of the grenadiers noted a cart blocking half the street as well as a carriage coming through the gap. The grenadier pushed his horse between the cart and carriage. The mare on the cart was startled and recoiled, unbalancing a conspirator who was lighting the fuse of the infernal machine contained in the cart. The fuse did get lit, but the act was delayed by the unbalancing as well as the fact that another conspirator had failed to give a timely signal. 

The First Consul's coach, which had slowed, sped up to rush by the cart. The coach turned off to Rue Marceau at the moment the bomb blew. The explosion shattered windows, lifted the grenadiers from their seats, toppled chimneys, and damaged walls and roofs, wreaking havoc and carnage on the Paris street. The poor girl who had been paid a few coins to hold the mare may have been the first victim of the blast. Even the horse was utterly destroyed, leaving only a shod hindquarter near the scene.

Napoleon's coach tipped on two wheels and a window broke. Lannes tried to kick open the door, believing someone had fired a cannon at them.

The ladies' coach was approaching when the blast rocked the street. The coach was lifted from the ground and windows broke, wounding Hortense's hand.  The horses reared amid the cloud of noxious dust and ran back toward the Tuileries. After learning that Napoleon had escaped unharmed, they went to the opera by an alternative route.

The above is summarized from the accounts in a chapter of Jonathan North's Killing Napoleon: The Plot to Blow Up Bonaparte. The nonfiction book tells the tale of the conspirators, the plot, the method and means by which the explosive-laden cart came to the Rue Saint-Nicaise, the aftermath and damage from the blast, which killed many and injured many more on the busy street, as well as the measures taken to find and punish those responsible (including those who weren't). 

The book is highly readable--being well researched and well written--providing an understanding of events and the individuals involved. I enjoyed discovering the workings and the rivalries of the Paris Police agencies and the detective work required to track down and try at least some of those responsible. Although the confessions weren't entirely voluntary, they did seem to be supported by the facts uncovered in the investigation. The devastation of the terror event receives decent treatment as well, including notes about the injuries and charitable restitution provided for the unfortunate survivors.

I give it 5 out of 5 blasts.

We have to imagine that had the plot been successful, not only would 15 years of history have been dramatically changed, the target most certainly would have become forever associated with the manner of his death, often being referred to as: Napoleon Blownaparte. 

 

 

 

Golden Voyage vs Eye of the Tiger

 

If you're familiar with the films of the 70s, you know I'm talking about Sinbad. I watched these two films during my workout sessions over the last couple weeks.

 

 

 The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), directed by Gordon Hessler, written by Brian Clemens and Ray Harryhausen, stars John Phillip Law as Sinbad, Caroline Munro as Margiana, and Tom Baker as Koura. This story has Sinbad take a scarred vizier who wears a metal mask on a journey to acquire three gold tablets to the Oracle of Knowledge and finally to a fountain where placing the tablets into the pool will give the placer certain benefits, including youth. Naturally, there's a fly in the ointment in the form of an evil sorcerer, Koura, who wants the benefits for himself.

 

 

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), directed by Sam Wanamaker, written by Beverly Cross and Ray Harryhausen, stars Patrick Wayne as Sinbad, Jane Seymour as Farah, and Taryn Power as Dione. In this tale, Sinbad is tasked with taking the baboon who would be king to a remote island to pass him through a rainbow so that he can regain his human form. It's an evil sorceress, Zenobia (played by Margaret Whiting), in this one who attempts to thwart the hero so her own son can be king.

 

The two films are almost as much alike as are Rio Bravo, Eldorado, and Rio Lobo. It doesn't bother me that the films take a nearly identical formula and dress it up in slightly different ways. All that matters is whether the film is good. Both of these films are great. I watched them both on as a kid - probably on a Saturday afternoon when I had the good fortune to be left alone with time to watch whatever was on one of the three or four channels we got on TV.

Which movie do I prefer? Let's compare:

Leading Protagonists:  GV features John Phillip Law and Caroline Munro. He's a fine actor who exudes heroic determination in the role. She's a knockout with eyes that could melt a reactor core. Additionally, she has an eye tattooed on her hand. This Sinbad has a nice catch phrase, "Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel."

EOTT features Patrick Wayne and Jane Seymour. Wayne is great, but lacks something in comparison to Law's Sinbad. Seymour seems very young, but must've been about 25 or 26 at this time. Wayne has the swashbuckling down, coming across more as a fun-loving corsair than a serious adventurer. Although Seymour is beautiful, her eyes won't melt reactor cores. However, the film also benefits from the presence of Taryn Power as Dione, daughter of a wise man or magician who knows the way to San Jose or the island they need to go to. 

Powers (lower right) is also a beauty. She and Seymour help persuade the troglodyte (upper left) to help them find the magical place.

It's a close call, but I think the older film wins this factor by a thin margin. One point for GV.

What about the antagonists:

Tom Baker brings a malevolent presence to Koura. He uses imps to eaves drop

and gives life to sculptures and statues..  

He pays a price for his magic use in the form of aging. By the end, he is well aged and feeble.

Zenobia, of EOTT,

transforms herself with a potion to do her own dirty work, which at one point leads to her temporary capture.

She also has some difficulties when her potion runs short at changing back time. She also controls a metal minotaur man that propels her ship, spears men in the water, and removes heavy stone blocks - or block, actually.

Koura is the more formidable  of the sorcerers. He loses points for not doing the dirty work himself, but gains for being better at the wizard game and for bringing life and swords to the Kali figure, which was one of the most impressive feats of cinema I had ever seen as a kid.

Both antagonists use their heads at the end in a final effort to turn the scales in their favor, but, naturally, good must prevail. Again, the point goes to GV.

As far as supporting characters, specifically, the characters in need: GV has the vizier, or old metal head:

EOTT has Kasim, the prince turned into a baboon.

 Kasim is the more interesting of the two. He's a Harryhausen creation. He plays chess and progresses as the tale goes on, losing his humanity for savage characteristics. The point goes to EOTT.

The finale of each show features Harryhausen monsters battling each other as well as the heroes. The GV monsters represent good and evil while the EOTT creatures are the troglodyte featured above in the Taryn Powers picture, and Zenobia inhabiting a huge sabertooth tiger. Both were great fights, but I was irked that the GV Sinbad did nothing to help the griffin creature representing good in the battle against evil while allowing Koura to hamstring the griffin. The point narrowly goes to EOTT for the final battle.

 

Which film wins? Both are winners. It's a difficult decision, but I think Caroline Munro's eyes and, "Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel," push GV a nose ahead of EOTT. Naturally, your mileage may vary. Both films are fun fare for kids and adults.