MGM pulled out all the stops when they made this highly-entertaining and very colourful piece of Hollywood hokum set in an Arabian Nights middle east that only existed in a set director's imagination. Ronald Colman enjoys himself hugely as the rascally Hafiz who tries to pass his daughter (Joy Ann Page) off as a princess so she can marry royalty. But she's in love with a humble gardener (James Craig). But, of course, he isn't really a gardener, he's the Caliph of Baghdad in disguise, spying on the local Grand Vizier (Edward Arnold). Meanwhile, Hafiz has been dallying with Jamilla, the Vizier's wife (Marlene Dietrich). It's Dietrich who has the most famous scene in the film, dancing seductively in wht is little more than a coat of gold paint. The Hayes Office had a field day with that scene! Enormous fun, this film lives up to the word extravaganza. Don't think, just enjoy.

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