Tampa Theatre concludes its Summer Classic Movie Series with a special silent film screening of The Thief Of Bagdad, a 1924 Arabian Nights-style adventure starring Douglas Fairbanks. Fresh from three different successful productions — The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, and Robin Hood — Fairbanks was enjoying the peak of his career when wrote, produced and starred in the film as Ahmed, a carefree Middle Eastern street rogue who abandons his thieving ways when he falls for the Caliph of Bagdad's daughter. To win her heart and the approval of her father, Ahmed embarks on a quest to find the rarest of treasures and bring it back to the Caliph. The reward? His daughter's hand in marriage. Marked by some of the most elaborate sets in silent film history and featuring myriad visual effects (flying carpets, winged horses and the like), The Thief Of Bagdad is a visual treat. The film was recently hand-tinted and toned, and several lost scenes added during a three-year restoration process. The restored film is screened with lively accompaniment by Rosa Rio on the theater's Wurlitzer organ. Sun., Aug. 26, 3 p.m., 711 N. Franklin St., downtown Tampa, $10 general/$8 students, seniors and military, 813-274-8981, tampatheatre.org.
This article appears in Aug 22-28, 2007.