Introduction to Ali Baba:

When he set out to direct Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in the years approaching 1944, Arthur Lubin surely had something to say concerning the outbreak of World War II. Whether coincidental or intended during the production of the film, Lubin’s Ali Baba quietly parallels the ideals of a war waged between two sides—a fight for power at the expense of innocent citizens. Much to the delight of the audience (and hardly a surprise in the escapist genre), Ali Baba and his band of underdog thieves save the day and stabilize the city of Baghdad (not to mention the fact that Ali gets the girl). As if these themes aren’t Western enough in nature, the movie has more to say about the alternate views held by two very different cultures—since when do films set in what today is Iraq appear as American western dramas?
Oddly enough, the extent of the literature available on Lubin’s 1944 Ali Baba is disappointing at best. For this reason, the purpose of this page is to reflect on the content present in the film and to generate some thought surrounding a movie otherwise intended as a way to escape from everyday life. Specifically, the motives of this blog are three-fold:

—To consider the origin of Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves: The Arabian Nights

—To discuss the influence Western culture holds within the film, directly surrounding the choice of actors/actresses, motives of the director, and the language of set design.

—To understand other possible themes woven into Ali Baba’s script and the influence WWII may have had on the film.

Through consideration of such topics, we as a society may better understand the implications culture and historical events may have in everyday life. And more often than not, such issues have direct correlation to the events of the present. To discuss is to collectively understand human nature, and in the case of Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves, draws contrast between what is historically considered ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ culture.