THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD

US, 1958, 88 minutes, Colour.
Kerwin Matthews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, Torin Thatcher, Danny Green.
Directed by Nathan Juran.

The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad is the first film for Ray Harryhausen, the master of special effects who made such effective contribution to the development of effects during the 1960s and 70s. Jason and the Argonauts is also considered one of his best films. He continued work even into the 80s and 90s with such bigger-budget films as The Clash of the Titans.

This film has regular Sinbad adventures from the 1001 Nights. Kerwin Matthews is Sinbad and Kathryn Grant the princess. Torin Thatcher enjoys himself as the evil magician.

The film was directed by Nathan Juran, a set designer who became a director, especially of smaller-budget films and some of the Audie Murphy westerns of the 1950s.

1. How enjoyable and successful the film as an adventure?

2. Its use of the adventure ingredients, the handsome hero, the princess-heroine, the magician-villain, threats, quests, dramatic climax?

3. The contribution of the colour, the ship and the sea, the
atmosphere of Baghdad,, the banquet, the island and its mysteries? How did these add to the enjoyment? To the imagination?

4. Dynamation and its effect? Which were the best effects? Audience response to this fantasy and skill? Sinbad as hero, the atmosphere of legend? An agreeable hero?

6. The Caliphs, their meeting and suspicions, the banquet? Storybook caliphs and Baghdad?

7. How attractive the princess? The effect of her being made small? The happy endingy sharing Sinbad's dangers?

8. How interesting and convincing the magician? The story of the lamp, his plots to sail again, his cruelty, the magic at court, his prophecy of doom, his reducing the princess, the voyage, his cruelty to the sailors, his final pursuit of Sinbad, his death by the dragon? What particular evil was characteristic of him? His greed and lack of scruples?

9. The portrayal of the loyal sailors, the villains from the prison, their being mad at the sounds of the sea, their greed at wealth, the nature of their deaths?

10. The impact of the Cyclops, the dragon, the giant birds? What kind of evil did they signfiy? The drama of the dangers and the fights?

11. The princess freeing them when she was small, the drama of her restoral? The story of the genie and his personality? His helping them? Magic goodness?

12. The appeal of the fairytale ingredients and audience imaginative response?