ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP aka Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1917) – Remember how the 1976 movie Bugsy Malone presented a gangster tale with children in all the roles? And how Shirley Temple starred in an entire series of Baby Burlesque shorts with all-child casts in assorted genres? Well, this 80-minute silent film was earlier than all of them.
All but a few roles are played by children and the Genie is played by one of the adults in the cast – Elmo Lincoln, who would star as the first screen Tarzan the following year. The child cast members overact like crazy but to me that just adds to the cartoonish charm of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.
Sadly, only 40 minutes of this film have survived but at least the opening and the ending are intact. We get the usual elements – Aladdin, the beautiful princess, her father, the evil wizard and the Genie.
While competing to obtain the title lamp and therefore win the hand of the princess, Aladdin is left to die in a cavern by the villain of the tale. Our hero learns that the lamp contains a Genie and that magical being helps Aladdin win the day. He even transforms the bad guy into a fish peddler.
Special effects are as primitive as you would expect for 1917 but for me and my fellow silent movie geeks that’s a plus, not a negative. Nothing spectacular here, just a nice touch of nostalgic charm.
SANTA CLAUS (1925), A TERRIFIC LIVE-ACTION SHORT ABOUT SANTA CLAUS, HIS TOY SHOP, HIS REINDEER AND HIS FRIEND JACK FROST HERE.
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