K. Nambu Movies

Pioneering screen actress Anita Stewart, who had starred in Vitagraph's hugely successful serial The Goddess back in 1915, attempted to jump-start a waning career with yet another chapterplay, Mascot Pictures' low-budget The Isle of Sunken Gold. But producer Nat Levine famously caught them on their way up or down, and Stewart was definitely in the latter category. Here she shared top billing with Duke Kahanamoku, the Hawaiian swimming champion, but unlike The Goddess, The Isle of Sunken Gold was geared thoroughly to the small fry, who tended to dismiss the leading lady as just another prop. A treasure map is once again the center of attention, with Stewart, a white jungle princess, holding one half and gallant sea captain Bruce Gordon the other. There is a gang of extremely hostile mutineers, a mysterious figure known only as the "Devil-Ape" and sundry other serial ingredients. But front and center there is Kahanamoku, the serial's perhaps strongest selling point. Mascot went on to dominate the serial field in the 1930s, but The Isle of Sunken Gold was not one for the record books. As for Anita Stewart, except for a Buster Keaton two-reeler, The Hollywood Handicap (1932), her screen career had come to a rather ignominious end. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Douglas Fairbanks is at his most graceful and charismatic in one of the classic silent films of the 1920s. As the thief of Baghdad, his movements are dance-like -- nothing like the athletics he performed in most of his other films. In this Arabian take, the thief ignores the holy teachings and sneaks into the palace of the Caliph (Brandon Hurst). All thoughts of robbery slip away, however, when he sees the beautiful princess (Julanne Johnston). Princes have come from many faraway lands to win the princess' hand (and it's amusing to watch her face growing ever more alarmed at their arrival, because each one is uglier than the last). The thief disguises himself as a prince and the princess falls in love with him. After having a pang of conscience, the thief confesses all to the Holy Man (Charles Belcher), who sends him to find a magic chest. He braves many obstacles to get it, and when he returns he discovers that the Mongol Prince (Sojin) has taken over the city. Using the chest, the reformed thief creates armies of men out of nothingness and recaptures the city. He then uses the cloak of invisibility to spirit the princess away on a magic carpet. Fairbanks stole some of the special effects for his film from Fritz Lang's Der Müde Tod, which he had purchased for American distribution. The Thief of Baghdad, with its look of unrealistic beauty (courtesy of art director William Cameron Menzies), was not fully appreciated in its day. Because of its huge cost (two million dollars -- a real fortune in those days), it made little money. After that, Fairbanks stuck closer to the swashbuckling persona he felt his audience wanted. Available now on DVD, the remastered film features a new score by Carl Davis. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi