The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad

 

Five years prior to Jason and the Argonauts, Harryhousen and Charles Schneer also collaborated together for the production of The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad. Additionally, Bernard Herrmann (also from Argonauts) was brought in to compose the movie soundtrack. With such a talented trio, it is no wonder that this one has such a positive reputation among critics. 7^th Voyage was the first of three Harryhousen movies that chronicled the adventures of Sinbad the Sailor, as he travels the seas battling evil wizards and monsters.

Sinbad (Kerwin Matthews) and his sailors get caught in a storm while en route to Baghdad with his bride-to-be, Perisa (Kathryn Grant). By the next day, the crew realized they have been blown off-course, to the island to Colossa. Looking for food and supplies, they instead find a magician named Sokurah (Torin Thatcher), as he’s pursued by a massive Cyclops. With the help of Sinbad’s crew, Sokurah is able to escape, though without his magic lamp. Distraught, he demands they help him return to the island to retrieve it, but is refused. Later, Sinbad and Parisa land in Baghdad to prepare for their wedding. The event is politically crucial, for it will end animosity between their two countries (Parisa being from Chandra). The happiness is crashed however, as Sokurah continues to make his demands to return to Colossa. In an attempt to please the kings of Baghdad and Chandra, he transforms Parisa’s maiden into a snake creature. While performing a dance for the royalty, her tail accidentally wraps around her neck, chocking her. Sokurah ends the spell, but succeeds in impressing the kings. However it was not enough to return him home. He further frustrates the kings by foretelling a war between Iraq and Chandra that can only be stopped by helping him return to Colossa. Thereafter he is banished from Baghdad.  In anger, he secretly casts a spell on Parisa, shrinking her whole body size from normal to only a few inches. His treachery infuriates her father, who promises war on Baghdad in retaliation. Desperate, Sinbad turns to Sokurah to change her back. However, in order to do so, Sinbad and his sailors must let him return to his island, where his potion is that will help the princess. On their way back, some of the new crew (mostly ex-criminals) commit mutiny, imprisoning Sinbad and his original crew. Their victory is short-lived though, as a horde of screaming demons drive them to insanity in the middle of another night storm. Crashing on Colossa, the heroes set out to look for the lamp. Dividing up, some of the men find a pool of red-looking water. Though not certain of how safe it is, the thirsty men drink it, becoming intoxicated. Elsewhere, the others find a cave full of treasure, and the lamp. It turns out to be a trap however, and the Cyclops attacks and captures them. Sokurah again commits treachery, leaving the sailors to die in their prison. Meanwhile the drunken sailors find the Cyclops as well and try to kill it. Needless to say they don’t get very far. Realizing the lock on their jail is out of reach, Sinbad turns to the hand-sized Parisa to climb up and unlock it. She succeeds, and they continue their fight with the Cyclops. After slaying it, Sinbad confiscates the lamp from the untrusted Sokurah. The wizard tells them he needs a piece of a rock (big two-headed vulture) egg to perform the magic act. Of course this means the men fight another Harryhousen beast, which kills off most of the sailors, leaving Parisa open to capture by the magician. Later, after he recovers, Sinbad is told by the Genie of the Lamp (Richard Eyer) where Sokurah’s lair is, and finds it in a cavern. Once he finds the magician, he forces him to restore Parisa. Sokurah complies, and Parisa is human-sized again. However, the magician then resurrects a sword-wielding skeleton to kill the pair. Does this sound familiar Argonauts fans? After a climatic duel, Sinbad defeats it. In their flight from the lair, Parisa fulfills the pair’s promise to release the Genie from the lamp, by dropping it in a lava flow. Getting close to the cave entrance, they also stumble across a chained dragon, which safeguards the place from the Cyclops. Slipping past, they also encounter another Cyclops, which pursues them back into the cave. Sinbad then releases the dragon from its restraints, allowing it to attack the intruder. In the midst of the fight, the two escape back to the ship, where a massive bow is prepared to kill whichever monster follows them. That turns out to be the dragon which succeeds in killing the Cyclops. Under Sokurah’s leadership, the dragon goes after the heroes. Using the cross-bow, the men are able to kill the dragon, which falls and crushes Sokurah. Leaving Colossa, Sinbad and Parisa reflect on their friends lost on the journey. Their moment is interrupted when Barani the Genie appears, who offers Sinbad his services as his apprentice, as well as the Cyclops’ treasure as a wedding gift. The trio united at last, they set out for home.

                                                              Breaking it Down

The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is universally praised for its classic tone. Similar to Jason and the Argonauts, the film is a romantic story type, with square-jawed young men fighting forces of evil. The difference is that while Argonauts was more of an epic, 7^th Voyage is more a classic fairy-tale. Whereas Jason fought against the Gods’ wrath, which is more of Greek story-telling, Sinbad fights to save his princess from an evil sorcerer. This is more in line with stories like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, where a young hero also saves his love from evil witches and black magic. Overall, the acting is excellent for this movie type. Kerwin Matthews is perfect for his role as a young but well-balanced hero. He is emotive when the occasion calls for it, and pulls off some good fight scenes. Kathryn Grant also fulfills her role well as the innocent but courageous Parisa. Yes she is the woman of the 50s in the sense that she needs being rescued throughout the movie. However she also rescues Sinbad’s crew from the Cyclops trap, and convinces Sinbad to release the Genie from the lamp as well. Essentially, Grant’s character isn’t simply demoted to a helpless role; she also saves the boys when they’re in trouble too. Torin Thather plays an acceptable villain in Sokurah. His lines are well-delivered, in his slimy persona. The problem with him is his character also competes with Tom Baker’s much more developed and devious “Kora”, who serves as Sinbad’s next movie villain. That can be a tough challenge for Mr. Thatcher, whose character can get overlooked in favor of Baker’s character. Either way, everybody here does a good job. The special effects here are some of the best Harryhousen ever pulled off, rivaling even the effects of Argonauts. In fact, he got the inspiration for the skeleton army in the other movie from this one, where the skeleton took on Sinbad. The Cyclops design is top notch as well, with its bizarre matchup of a human torso combined with horse legs and hooves. My personal favorite is the dragon, with its komodo-like body, and horns protruding from its head. I could go on and on describing this movie, but I would rather you just check this one out for yourself. The best and simplest way to describe it is: Nostalgic. This one is up there with Jason and his Argonauts!     

                          1958 Trailer of 7th Voyage of Sinbad