The Magic Carpet

In the post-war years, Arabian fantasies were incredibly popular: an opportunity to feature scantily clad beauties in lavish color, with romantic stories and exotic backgrounds. Every studio made a few of these romps, using their most beautiful actors to great advantage and adapting epic plot lines without much gravity. Here, cast as a villainess, Lucille Ball is Narah, the daughter of Ali (Gregory Gay), pretender to the throne and royal assassin. The true heir, played by John Agar (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Fort Apache), smuggled away on a magic carpet when just a baby, grows up under an assumed name until he is old enough to claim his place alongside his beautiful love, Lida (Patricia Medina). Classic film villains Raymond Burr and George Tobias join in the spectacle - and producer Sam Katzman didn't forget the dancing girls!