This film  is a low budget  Saturday matinée type film from the 1950’s but in fairness that is exactly what it was meant to be – a bit of colourful fun.

It is not dis-similar to the  1950 Universal Studio Tony Curtis “Son Of Ali Baba” type films and “Son Of Sinbad” with Vincent Price. These films may not be great, but they were really good for us young kids – at the time wanting to see these exotic adventures – and somehow we all grew up with the Hollywood version of what it was like in those far off days. Probably nothing like reality but we weren’t bothered about that.

The interesting thing about the film was that  how Lucille Ball who was still under contract to Columbia did not want to do this film and the Studio Heads didn’t think that she would,  but she accepted and as soon as the film was completed she left.

Can’t say that I am – or was ever – a fan of Lucille Ball so I will quickly move on to Patricia Medina who I did like. She was at the time of this film married to Richard Greene our own Robin Hood – but that marriage ended in divorce in 1951 – about the time this was released –  and she married Joseph Cotton and lived her life in California.

I have been very lucky to find a rare interview on Youtube  with Patricia Medina – it is 30 minutes long but really interesting and insightful – trouble is, it seems impossible to transfer it on to this Blog.

She talks about her film life and work and being signed by MGM without a screen test – one of only three who could say that and one was Mickey Rooney. She also talked quite warmly of her first husband Richard Greene and said that he was probably the most handsome man she ever met.  However she describes Jospeh Cotton as the love of her life – she said that in thirty years of marriage they only spent one night apart – and she said that was Hell.

Jospeh Cotton and Patricia Medina were married at the home of David O. Selznick and Jennifer Jones in 1960     and there were many film people there – and the happy couple went on to have a wonderfully fulfilling and loving marriage.

After his death she admitted to sinking into depths of despair and sadness but soldiered on.  Patricia Medina said that if she watched one of his films on Television it would make her would cry – particularly if his voice came from the TV even when she might have been in another room

THE MAGIC CARPET is great fun. A Sam Katzman Super Cinecolor  costume extravaganza with John Agar, Patricia Medina and Lucille Ball 

Apparently that year Monogram’s ALADDIN and HIAWATHA were also in Super cine-color.

A Newspaper advertisement for the film

A very colourful scene – In SuperCinecolor

Super Cinecolor

ABOVE – John Agar and Patricia Medina

Raymon Burr in The Magic Carpet.  A couple of years before his role in Rear Window – and not too long before he found fame and success with Perry Mason

Sometimes with these films you could but a Viewmaster – a series of colour slides from the film that you viewed through a special gadget – above is the actual Viewmaster and  ‘The Magic Carpet’  circular slide show from the film