On Sunday the 27th of October I was looking forward to seeing the 1926 Douglas Fairbanks version of "The Thief of Baghdad". It was advertised thus:
"The Thief of Bagdad Review" Review 135 minutes, United States (1924), U
Full of astounding effects way ahead of their time, this first screen version of the famous Arabian Nights fable is wonderfully extravagant. Fairbanks not only produced and co-wrote, with Woods, but stars as the incorrigible thief who, with the aid of magic, tries to outwit the evil Caliph. Highly acclaimed at the time as being a ground-breaking piece of cinema, the silent production may look a little creaky today, but it still holds its own with the aid of a powerful central performance and its driving narrative."
Far from being the 1926 version, what was shown was the 1940 full colour, non-silent version with Sabu. No explanation was given. It is supposed to be shown again today the 30th, at 16.55. I wonder what will actually be shown?
Many thanks for your post - unfortunately the review of the 1924 film was put on the site in error, as we were always showing the 1940 version, and will be again tomorrow - many apologies for this mistake and the listings team are looking into correcting tomorrow's entry.
Unfortunately Channel 4 managed to do it again on Moday with "The Diary of a Chambermaid". What was advertised with the rather poor and silly 1946 version with Paulette Goddard but what was reviewed was what would have been considerably more interesting; the 1964 version directed by Buñuel and starring the incomparable Jeanne Moreau.
