Thief of Damascus is a 1952 Technicolor

Technicolor

Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...

 Arabian Nights comedy adventure

Adventure (genre)

The adventure genre, in the context of a narrative, is typically applied to works in which the protagonist or other major characters are consistently placed in dangerous situations...

 produced by Sam Katzman

Sam Katzman

Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Born into a poor Jewish family, Katzman went to work as a stage laborer at the age of 13 in the fledgling East Coast film industry...

, directed by Will Jason, and starring Paul Henreid, John Sutton

John Sutton (actor)

John Sutton , who was born in Rawalpindi, British India , was actor of British parentage.-Filmography:*Rawhide as Lord Ashton...

, Jeff Donnell

Jeff Donnell

Jeff Donnell was an American film and television actress. Born Jean Marie Donnell, she grew up in South Windham, Maine...

.The film features a generous use of stock footage

Stock footage

Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...

 from such films as Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc (1948 film)

Joan of Arc is a 1948 Technicolor film directed by Victor Fleming; starring Ingrid Bergman as the French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger. It is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the...

. The film was preceded by The Magic Carpet and followed by Siren of Bagdad

Siren of Bagdad

Siren of Bagdad is a 1953 fantasy Technicolor adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by Richard Quine set in the middle age Persian Empire. It stars Paul Henreid as a travelling Master magician who seeks to recover his troop of beautiful dancing girls who are to be sold into slavery...

.

Plot

634 A.D.:Though General Amdar is able to win the Siege of Damascus for his ruler Khalid ibn al-Walid

Khalid ibn al-Walid

Khālid ibn al-Walīd also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl , was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is noted for his military tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Abu Bakr and Umar...

, he is made an enemy of the State. Amdar escapes and steals a scimitar

Scimitar

A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...

 made of Damascus steel

Damascus steel

Damascus steel was a term used by several Western cultures from the Medieval period onward to describe a type of steel used in swordmaking from about 300 BCE to 1700 CE. These swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water...

. He leads an alliance of Sinbad

Sinbad

Sinbad or Sindbad may refer to:* Sinbad the Sailor, from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, also known as Arabian Nights* Sinbad the Sailor, an alias of Edmond Dantes in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo...

 without his ship, Aladdin

Aladdin

Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....

 without his lamp, Sheherazade

Shéhérazade

Shéhérazade is the title of two works by the French composer Maurice Ravel.Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie, written in 1898 but unpublished, is a work for orchestra intended as the overture for an opera of the same name...

, and Ali Baba

Ali Baba

Ali Baba is a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves...

 his 40 thieves to depose Khalid and win the heart of Princess Zafir.

Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):

Actor	Role
Paul Henreid	Abu Amdar
John Sutton John Sutton (actor) John Sutton , who was born in Rawalpindi, British India , was actor of British parentage.-Filmography:*Rawhide as Lord Ashton...	Khalid
Jeff Donnell Jeff Donnell Jeff Donnell was an American film and television actress. Born Jean Marie Donnell, she grew up in South Windham, Maine...	Sheherazade
Lon Chaney Jr.	Sinbad
Elena Verdugo Elena Verdugo Elena Verdugo is an American actress who began in films at the age of six in Cavalier of the West . Her career in radio, television, and film spanned six decades....	Neela
Helen Gilbert	Princess Zafir
Robert Clary Robert Clary Robert Clary is a French-born American actor, published author, and lecturer, best known for his role in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes as Corporal LeBeau.-Early life and career:...	Aladdin
Edward Colmans	Sultan Raudah
Nelson Leigh Nelson Leigh Nelson Leigh was a prolific motion picture actor of the 1940s and 1950s.-Career:...	Ben Jammal
Philip Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt Philip "Phil" Van Zandt was a Dutch actor of film, stage and television. He made over 220 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958.-Career:...	Ali Baba

Quotes

SINBAD: (watching a group of soldiers gang up and attempt to murder Andar) Are we just going to stand here and watch this?

ALADDIN: No, let's run away!