''The Golden Arrow'' ( it, L'Arciere delle Mille e Una Notte, lit=The Archer of the Thousand and One Nights) is a 1962 Italian ''peplum'' film directed by

Antonio Margheriti Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different genres in th ...

Synopsis

Damascus is governed by the fierce tyrant Baktiar, who will be forced to give up his throne once his daughter Jamila is married. As Jamila falls in love with the mysterious Hassan, Baktiar will try in every way to prevent their marriage.

Cast

Tab Hunter Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond, clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. He was a Hollywood heartthrob of t ...

as Hassan *

Rossana Podestà Rossana Podestà (born Carla Dora Podestà; 20 June 1934 – 10 December 2013) was an Italian actress who worked mainly in Italy from the 1950s to the 1970s. Biography Podestà was born in Tripoli in the Italian colony of Libya. She spent her f ...

as Jamila *

Mario Feliciani Mario Feliciani (12 March 1918 – 11 August 2008) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Milan, after completing his classical education Feliciani attended the Accademia dei filodrammatici obtaining the diploma. He ...

as the tyrant Baktiar * Umberto Melnati as Thin Genie *

Giustino Durano Giustino Durano (5 May 1923 – 18 February 2002) was an Italian actor best known for his work as Eliseo Orefice in the 1997 film ''Life Is Beautiful.'' For his role, he was nominated in part for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Per ...

as Absent-Minded Genie *

José Jaspe José Jaspe ( gl, Xosé Jaspe Rivas) (10 August 1906 – 5 June 1974) was a Spanish film actor. He played Konev the conductor in '' Horror Express'' (1972), Ahmed in '' House of 1,000 Dolls'' (1967), Henneker in ''The Man Called Noon'' (1973), th ...

as Sabrath *

Renato Baldini Renato Baldini (18 December 1921 – 5 July 1995) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 87 films between 1950 and 1983. He was born in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''It's Forever Springtime'' (1950) - Un carabiniere al processo ...

as Prince of Basra *

Dominique Boschero Dominique Boschero (born 27 April 1937) is a French-Italian actress. Life and career Born in Paris by Italian parents, Boschero spent her childhood in Frassino, Italy with her grandparents until the age of 15, when she returned to Paris.Mauri ...

as Queen of Rocky Valley *

Gloria Milland Maria Fiè (11 October 1940 – 27 August 1989), also known professionally as Gloria Milland was an Italian actress of peplum and Spaghetti Western films. Life Born in Cagliari, Sardinia, she debuted in 1959 with her real name, but changed ...

as Queen in the cave *

Franco Scandurra Franco Scandurra (27 July 1911 – 15 April 2003) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1941 to 1984. Filmography References External links * 1911 births 2003 deaths Italian male film actors {{Italy- ...

as Bearded Genie

Production

Hunter later recalled in his memoirs:

Not being able to speak Italian wasn't a drawback. The script of La Freccia d'Oro - my copy was the only one in English - featured page after page of truly horrendous dialogue... All I could think of was Tony Curtis in ''
The Prince Who Was a Thief ''The Prince Who Was a Thief'' is a 1951 American adventure film directed by Rudolph Mate and starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie. A technicolor swashbuckler, it was the first film Curtis featured in as a star. It was produced and distributed b ...
'' (1951): "Yonda lies da castle of my fadda." I spend every night in my hotel, rewriting my lines so I'd at least have fun delivering them. I camped it up shamelessly. Not that it mattered - all my dialogue was eventually dubbed by a stiff-as-a-board Italian baritone with no sense of humor. I ended up sounding like
Rossano Brazzi Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Brazzi was born in Bologna, Italy, the son of Maria Ghedini and Adelmo Brazzi, an employee of the Rizzoli shoe factory. He was named after Rossano Ve ...
. Disappointment over being stuck in a stinker was eased considerably by weekly infusions of cash, delivered personally by the production manager. I'd sign a voucher and he'd hand over a bundle of lire, some of the old notes as big as place mats.

Release

''The Golden Arrow'' was released in Italy on September 7, 1962. It was released in the United States in May 1964. The film was not a box office hit and cost so much money it almost bankrupted Titanus, the production company.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, an anonymous reviewer in the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...

'' noted that the special effects and trick photography were "of unusually variable quality-distinctly poor in the Egyptian city episode, though spectacular enough in the fiery cavern with the flaming men." and that "the film suffers further from a lack of dash, and from Tab Hunter's weak playing of the hero." From retrospective reviews, the author of the book ''Il grande cinema fantasy'' described the film as "a typical adventure B-movie, especially interesting for its fantasy elements, which is damaged by the presence of comic elements that do not bind enough with the rest." The film still gained recognition for sporting particularly elaborate sets and costumes.Hughes

References

Footnotes

Sources

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Arrow, The 1962 films 1960s fantasy adventure films Italian fantasy adventure films 1960s Italian-language films English-language Italian films Films directed by Antonio Margheriti Films scored by Mario Nascimbene Films set in Damascus Titanus films 1960s Italian films