''The Adventures of Hajji Baba'' is a 1954 American CinemaScope

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Don Weis Don Weis (May 13, 1922 – July 26, 2000) was an American film and television director. Biography Weis was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Emma (née Wiener; 1889–1971) and Meyer Weis (1886-1942). He graduated from the University of Southern ...

and starring John Derek and

Elaine Stewart Elaine Stewart (born Elsy Henrietta Maria Steinberg; May 31, 1930 – June 27, 2011) was an American actress and model. Life Stewart was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the daughter of Hedwig (Haenssler) and Ulrich E. Steinberg. She was one of ...

. Made in Southern California, it was released on October 1, 1954. In the credits it states that the film is suggested by ''The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan'' by

James Justinian Morier James Justinian Morier (15 August 1782 – 19 March 1849) was a British diplomat and author noted for his novels about the Qajar dynasty in Iran, most famously for the ''Hajji Baba'' series. These were filmed in 1954. Early life Morier was bo ...

(3 vols., London, 1824).

Plot

Ispahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, a barber named Hajji Baba ( John Derek) is leaving his father's shop to find a great fortune. At the same time, the Princess Fawzia (

) is trying to talk her father into giving her in marriage to Nur-El-Din (

Paul Picerni Horacio Paul Picerni (December 1, 1922 – January 12, 2011) was an American actor in film and television, perhaps best known today in the role of Federal Agent Lee Hobson, second-in-command to Robert Stack's Eliot Ness, in the ABC hit televisio ...

) a prince known far and wide. Her father intends for Fawzia to marry a friend and ally, and makes plans to send her to him. But a courier brings word from Nur-El-Din that an escort awaits Fawzia on the outskirts of the city and she escapes the palace disguised as a boy. Hajji encounters the escort-warrior at the rendez-vous spot, is attacked and beats up the escort with his barber's tools. The princess arrives and mistakes Hajji as the escort until he mistakes the emerald ring sent by Nur-El-Din to Fawzia as the prize to be delivered. In her efforts to escape him, her turban becomes unbound and Hajji realizes that the girl herself is the treasure Nur-El-Din awaits. Hajji promises to escort her and they spend the night with the caravan of Osman Aga (

Thomas Gomez Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971) was an American actor. Life and career Born Sabino Tomás Gómez, Jr., in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater in 1923, studying under actor Walter Hampden in a production of Cy ...

), who invites them to stay for the dancing girls, among them, the incomparable Ayesha (

Rosemarie Bowe Rosemarie Bowe Stack (born Rose Marie Bowe; September 17, 1932 – January 20, 2019) was an American model, best known for her appearances in several films in the 1950s. Born in Butte, Montana, Bowe was primarily raised in Tacoma, Washington. ...

). The pair are overtaken by the

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

's (

Donald Randolph Donald Randolph (January 5, 1906 – March 16, 1993) was a film, television, and radio actor. The actor, who appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Topaz'' (1969), acted in dozens of radio dramas, television programs and over thirty films. Randolph ...

) guards sent to bring Fawzia back, but the guards are driven off by an invading army of Turcoman women, a band of fierce and beautiful women who prey on passing merchants.

Cast

* John Derek as Hajji Baba *

as Princess Fawzia *

as Ayesha * Amanda Blake as Banah, The Turkamen Leader *

as Nur-El-Din *

as The Caliph *

as Osman Aga * Pat Sheehan as Handmaiden * Madelyn Darrow as Handmaiden (credited as Madeline Witlinger) * Beverly Thompson as Handmaiden * Marilyn Dean as Handmaiden *

Joanne Arnold Joanne Arnold (born 1 April 1931) is an American actress and model. She was ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for the May 1954 issue. She also appeared on the covers of the March 1954 and August 1955 issues. Filmography * '' Invasi ...

as Susu *

Pat Lawler The following women have appeared in the American or international edition of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month. Those who were also named Playmate of the Year are highlighted in green. A common misconception is that Marilyn Monroe wa ...

as Slave Girl *

Laurette Luez Laurette Luez (born Loretta Mary Luiz; August 19, 1928 – September 12, 1999) was an American supporting actress and successful commercial model who appeared in films and on television during a 20-year career. She was a widely known Hollywood ce ...

as Meriam

Production

The film is based on ''The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan'' by

published in 1824. It was popular and remained in print for over a century. In the early 1950s Walter Wanger produced four films with Allied Artists. They were happy with the results and signed a new contract with the producer, the first of which was to be ''Hajji Baba''. It was a return to the type of film Wagner had previously made such as '' Arabian Nights'' (1942). Allied Artists had been shut down for three months but re-opened again with a slate of ten films starting with ''Hajji Baba''.

and

were borrowed from MGM. Filming started 12 April 1954.

Linda Christian Linda Christian (born Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer; November 13, 1923 – July 22, 2011) was a Mexican film actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara ...

was meant to play a role but dropped out and was replaced by Amanda Blake. With the creation of CinemaScope, 20th Century Fox wooed film producers by agreeing to license their wide screen scope lenses to various non-Fox studios. ''The Adventures of Hajji Baba'' was the first of three CinemaScope films made by Allied Artists Pictures. In addition to supplying the widescreen camera lenses, Fox agreed to finance 50% of the films with Allied Artists receiving the domestic gross of the film and Fox receiving the overseas grosses of the film.FOX JOINS ALLIED TO MAKE 2 FILMS New York Times 15 Apr 1954: 35.

Reception

The film was a hit and made a profit of $673,593.

Availability

The film is occasionally shown on

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

and FXM. It had a small release on VHS. It is available on Blu-ray from Twilight Time.

Soundtrack

* Hajji Baba (Persian Lament) ** Sung by

Nat 'King' Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

** Music by

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City ...

** Lyrics by

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

** Arranged by

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventues Of Hajji Baba 1954 films 1954 adventure films 20th Century Fox films CinemaScope films Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin Films based on British novels Films directed by Don Weis Films shot in Lone Pine, California Films set in Iran Films set in the 18th century Films produced by Walter Wanger American adventure films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films