CAPTAIN SINDBAD (1963)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *metaphysical*

I saw CAPTAIN SINDBAD in the sixties, probably in some second-run theater, and remember being pleased with it, though far from enchanted, as I had been with the better fantasy-films of the period. SINDBAD was one of several films in the "magical-fantasy" genre that had been somewhat jump-started by Ray Harryhausen's SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD in 1958. Sad to say, though, SINDBAD hasn't improved with age. Some low-budget films manage to use wit or characterization to get around their other limitations. But even though the producers had scored with the British monster-film GORGO the previous year, and the director had helmed the 1953 WAR OF THE WORLDS, SINDBAD is never more than the sum of its inexpensive parts.

As in the Harryhausen film, there are a number of magical wonders in the film. Princess Jana of Baristan (Heidi Bruhl) is transformed into a bird by her court magician, to warn her lover Captain Sindbad (Guy Williams) of the machinations of the usurper El Kerim (Pedro Armendariz). El Kerim succeeds in destroying Sindbad's ship before the hero can reach Baristan, but that doesn't stop the stalwart swordsman from arriving to challenge the villain. Sindbad must face an invisible monster in an arena, and later he runs a gauntlet in a tower with such menaces as a hydra, killer plants and a gigantic mailed fist that tries to crush him. A dotty old wizard supplies some other marvels as well, such as elongating his arm to steal El Kerim's magic ring. Yet something about the presentation of all these wonders still seems pedestrian at best, possibly because the players were restricted to the grounds of a film studio in Germany. 

None of the actors are bad in their roles. Williams, who had finished Disney's ZORRO four years previous, swashes his buckles nicely enough, and Armendariz gloats and glowers impressively. But when the script doesn't include any fun elements, the actors have nothing to work with.

Only one scene in SINDBAD still sticks with me. The hero beards the evildoer in his lair, and stabs him through the heart-- only to find out that El Kerim can't die that way, because he separated his heart from his body. Eventually Sindbad finds El Kerim's Achilles heel and destroys his enemy. I'd later learn that the idea of sorcerers becoming invulnerable by removing some vital organ was a common folklore trope. But for this movie, that was the one enchanting element that did work, probably because the writer allowed it to "spring" upon the audience, rather than explaining things too much.