The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954) User Reviews

Elaine Stewart looked cool, lush and marvelous...

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 15 May 2005]

Anyone who has been married to both Ursula Andress and Bo Derek, must have something… Now in a white or orange turban and playing a brave young barber called Hajji Baba, in Isphahan, Persia, John Derek is still attractive to women and especially to Princess Fawzia (Elaine Stewart).

In the Fifties, Derek was the dashingly good-looking young hero of adventure films, rated by his teenage female fans as a 10 on the scale of male beauty…

In "The Adventures of Hajji Baba," Derek helps an insolent princess – disguised as a boy – on her way to marry a distant powerful prince (Paul Picerni) against the wishes of her father… Once they arrive to meet him, in the desert, they soon discover he is a rogue, whose plans for marriage are purely for one ambitious purpose… Hajji Baba then rebels against the prince, rescuing and winning the heart of the beautiful princess by believing in himself…

The glamorous Elaine Stewart looked cool, lush and marvelous as the spoiled selfish cruel princess who walks through the entire motion picture expressing her bad temper, and silencing everyone by threat…

By the early Seventies and despite public interest in her, Stewart's career did not fulfill its potential… Her phase was over, but she had certainly proved that she could be a star and, 35 years later, fans of Fifties' movies are still enamored of her

`Isn't it nice to face life together, being in love always in love.'

[IlyaMauter · 7/10 · 26 May 2003]

The Adventures of Hajji Baba is remotely based on the book by a British writer James Morier who was actually raised in a harem and later served as an English diplomat at the court of the sultan of Iran in the first part of the 19th century. The book called The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan enjoyed quite a success at the time of its release in 1824 not only in England but also in Iran, the fact that encouraged the author to write a sequel called The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan in England where our hero is sent to learn its customs and way of life. This film version hasn't borrowed much from the book except perhaps the name of the main character – Hajji Baba (played by John Derek) and his profession – the barber whose banal, but sweet story we follow as he runs of with a beautiful but very capricious princess Fawzia (Elaine Stewart) who tries to escape from marriage to a man she isn't really crazy about which is imposed by her authoritative father Khalif (Donald Randolph) who is not particularly inclined to consider his daughter's opinion regarding choosing her lifetime partner especially when his power and monetary interests are at stake. But the main Hajji Baba's interest in helping the fugitive princess lies not in her attractive physical appearances but in a ring with a priceless emerald in it, which she happens to possess and which Hajji happens to covet. But gradually a struggle ensues inside of our hero's heart as about the change in the flow of his preferences to the girl instead of the emerald, which are also fed by the attraction the princess feels each time stronger towards the irresistible barber.

While all this internal fight is going on, our heroes come through numerous adventures most excitingly dangerous of them being caught by a band of beautiful women-outlaws several of whom were once Fawzia's personal servants who managed to escape mainly from princess' ill temper and promptly turned into bandits.

Overall Adventures of Hajji Baba is an ultimate what can be called sex and sand adventure comedy with a lot of beautiful women and sand in it all filmed in larger than life Cinemascope, which somehow covers the films poor story and is significantly helped by a pleasant title song performed by Nat King Cole which can be heard several times throughout the film - `Hajji, Hajji, Hajji, Hajji, Hajji Baba, Hajji Baba.' 7/10

Joyous and attractive Oriental adventure with romance , pursuits , entertainment and amusement

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 15 October 2020]

More fabulous than the tales of the Arabian Nights .. more exciting than the travels of Marco Polo .. more spectacular than the splendors of Kubla Khan ! It deals with a rogue young called Haji . Who's Hajji ¿ Hajii ; John Derek was the most romantic barber and masseur who ever lived , the joy-boy of every harem from Ispahan to Istanbul . Along the way Hajji falls in love for a gorgeous princess : Elaine Stewart and both of them are captured by a tribe of brave Amazon women commanded by a tough leader : Amanda Blake .

Orient adventure movie with thrills , emotion , fights , dazzling spectacle of swordplay, and colorful scenarios . Although the story has been told earlier , tight filmmaking and sympathetic performances win out . Stars John Derek who gives a likable acting as the stalwart hero attempting to save a princess . Derek was an actor and director of considerable success , however, being most known for his marriages to famous stars as Linda Evans , Ursula Andress and Bo Derek . His partenaire is the beauty Elaine Stewart , a young actress who had limited hits . Being accompanied by a good cast such as Thomas Gómez, Paul Picerni, Claude Akins, Laurette Luez , Rosemarie Stack who married actor Robert Stack and Amanda Blake of "Gunsmoke" series .

Here outstanding the brilliant and glimmer cinematography in Universal Studios style by Harold Lipstein, photographed with the revolutionary new anamorphic lens in Cinemascope, Color by De Luxe . And hear Nat King Cole sing the nation's newest son hit "Hajji Baba" , along with the evocative soundtrack by the classic composer Dimitri Tiomkin . The motion picture produced by Walter Wanger in medium budget was professionally directed by Don Weiss. This filmmaker was a fine craftsman usually working for television , shooting episodes of known series as Bareta , Mannix, The Virginian, Batman , Kolchak, Planet of Apes , Wide Country , Twilight Zone Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Checkmate, Aquanauts , The Detectives, The Thin Man, Wagon Train, Burke's Law, Perry Mason, Ironside , Hawaii 5.0 , The Immortal, Rodeo and several others . And occasionally for the big screen as Gene Krupa story , Billie , Pajana Party , Half a Hero, A Slight case of Larceny, The Ghost and the invisible bikini and this Adventures of Hajii Baba . Rating : 6/10 , attractive and decent oriental aventure but no extraordinary .

Good fun! Make it 7.5!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 10 June 2016]

Although most critics gave this movie the thumbs down (yes, there were actually some who praised it, including the Monthly Film Bulletin of all journals), and most contemporary patrons thought it at best mediocre fare, it has improved quite a bit with time. In fact, compared with the rubbish offered elsewhere on TV these days, it's actually rather good fun. It seems the astute producer, Walter Wanger, had the good sense to make the movie in two versions: CinemaScope and standard screen (so that theaters unequipped for Scope would not miss out). The latter of course is the version shown on TV. And very nice it looks indeed. The color, divorced from grainy CinemaScope, is appealingly sharp. The framing and compositions are more attractive too, being noticeably tighter than the rather loose widescreen line-ups. Admittedly, Don Weis was never much of a director, the acting is poor and the script juvenile stuff; but Thomas Gomez flings off his dialogue with a very agreeable gusto, Elaine Stewart makes a very decorative heroine and Mr. Derek looks suitably dashing. There are bevies of scantily-clad cuties scampering around and whenever things get even the slightest bit dull, Mr. Nat King Cole, accompanied by Nelson Riddle's orchestra, is whizzed on to liven things up — even under dialogue.

They don't make like this anymore...thank goodness!

[jjnxn-1 · 4/10 · 30 April 2013]

Priceless junk that is pretty much explained by its title. John Derek was a good looking man and at times an adequate actor but not here although the script such as it is doesn't really lend itself to major thesping. Elaine Stewart as the princess is even worse enacting her role with all the passion of a petulant schoolgirl and showing that her eventual participation in numerous game show as a hostess was probably the best use of her talents. The only cast member to emerge with any kind of distinction is Thomas Gomez who chews the high grade ham as an good hearted but opportunistic trader. The costumes are just about what you would expect from this sort of sword and sandal flick but keep an eye out at about the hour mark for a young slave maiden wearing what truly appears to be a mop on her head!! The most baffling aspect of the whole thing is that it has a score conducted by Nelson Riddle and an (awful) theme song sung by the great Nat King Cole that is repeated over and over again throughout the flick. Enjoyable once in a mindless colorful way.

A take-off of Ali Baba

[TroyAir · 30 October 1998]

A classic "B" movie from the 50's, this film features numerous women dressed up like a Vargas painting. I don't remember much about the movie other than a slave girl gets tied down to a table and the soles of her feet are lightly cropped, that Haji encounters a band of Amazon-style women warriors, and that Elaine Stewart's character is captured and bound to a frame until Haji comes to her rescue. No nudity, no harsh language, nothing offensive, just the usual damsels in distress. Since the film was made in the fifties, you can bet that those scanty costumes are sewn onto flesh-colored bodysuits. Still, the slave girl cropping is a bit risque for the time and may be worth seeing.

The adventures of Hajji Baba

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 31 December 2023]

Out to make his fortune, young barber Hajji Baba encounters the beautiful but spoilt Princess Fawzia on her way to elope with the evil prince Nur-EI-Din. Agreeing to escort the princess to her intended groom in exchange for an emerald ring, Hajji sets off on a dangerous and surprising journey

The Adventures of Hajji Baba is quite fun - a typical tongue-in-cheek Arabian adventure (A riot of sword fights, kidnappings, creepings into tents, torturings, scimitars clanging, amusing dialogue, chases across the desert, and kissings by the light of the moon) with the usual Hollywood/ orientalist smatterings, yet it's appealing with its sumptuous Technicolor and it's beautifully shot in thrilling locations. John Derek and Elaine Stewart are brilliant in their roles - their characters are a little unsympathetic. Fawzia is spoiled and capricious, and Hajji is greedy and superficial. They are not contrived in a totally flawless way - they are real amidst the dreamy desert background. It's quite an enjoyable film with the most impressive cinematography and desert location and good action.

Sara Lee Arabian Nights cheesecake

[Waiting2BShocked · 2/10 · 2 February 2007]

This fantasy does indeed look sumptuous, and it is rendered in particularly eatable colour. But beauty is only skin deep, and this is otherwise a particularly ghastly addition to the endless stream of 50s overdressed and underwritten exotica.

Performances are generally very junior at an Arabian Nights pantomime level, although a minor gaggle of lascivious cheesecake ladies in a permanent frenzy does cut a strikingly camp dash and stops things from getting too unbearably dull.

Otherwise the most surprisingly redeeming factor is, for once in his career, the presence of John Derek; combining perfectly adequate Errol Flynn Jr-type physical heroics with an agreeably broad sense of self-parodic charade; a versatility very rarely displayed in any of his more 'serious' thespian outings.

A most excellent fantasy

[grafxman · 10/10 · 28 September 2005]

Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke as the savage leader of a band of scantily clad, horse back riding amazon warriors.

One very mean princess.

A trick horse.

Arab barbers.

Harem girls.

Camels, donkeys and lots of horses.

Desert sands, rugged mountains, oasis.

Colorful wardrobes of many brilliant colors.

All of this set to the wonderful and haunting lyrics of Nat King Cole.

A couple hours of complete idiocy

[bigaviboy · 1/10 · 12 May 2002]

Let me start off by saying that this movie is awful. The acting, script, and directing is some of the worst ever seen and as a result made for a very funny movie to laugh at. I didn't understand the point since i was laughing to hard at the lite motif which goes, "Hajij, Hajij.." repeatedly. It takes a lot of talent to make a movie this horrible.

Idiotic but magnificent

[howardeisman · 10/10 · 29 November 2011]

Sure, many of the performers read their lines as if they had just learned them five minutes before. The plot had already been used to death by 1954, and it was quite juvenile to begin with. But:

It had a catchy Nat Cole song which had been a hit when this movie was released In its own way, it is a protofeminist film Female desert brigands attacked on horseback, many of then standing on their horses, wearing only bra type tops Preternaturally attractive leads; exotic looking feature players (esp. Blake and Stack) Some great lines (e.g. Female outlaw leader to captured woman dancer: can you ride and use a sword? Dancer: I have other ways of conquering men) Nice color Quick and simple entertainment.

What is impressive about this not-very-expensive looking film is that all stunts were done by real people. Much more fun than computer generated effects.

A bunch of baba babel.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 13 September 2020]

Tedious pacing and the repetitive Nat King Cole song makes this an empty hour glass where the sand evaporated rather than shifted. Barber John Derek kidnaps Arabic princess Elaine Stewart for her own protection to keep her out of the hands of the evil Paul Picerni who wants to take over caliph Donald Randolph's throne. They join the caravan of merchant Thomas Gomez, are hijacked by the tribe of Amazons (led by Amanda Blake) and face various adventures in trying to prevent Picerni from conquering Randolph.

No magic carpets or genies in bottles, just trite and cliched dialog and characters (especially Gomez), with cartoonish color photography and no element of surprise even in the most dangerous of situations. Even when Stewart and Derek are bound and left for the vultures to feast on, there's never any doubt that they'll escape. Derek and Stewart have nice chemistry, but their love scenes interrupted by the theme song over and over is just annoying.

The presence of Blake and her band of female soldiers is a unique twist, but they are written with little consistency. Considering that this ambitious production was made by the studio formerly known as Monogram, I should be impressed by the scope, but there has to be something more than just widescreen to help it stand the test of time.

Comment on John Derek after watching Adventures of Hajji Baba

[childoasis · 17 June 2005]

John Derek was ahead of his time in the movement to uplift the status of women. This movie is really about women claiming their power and not being relegated to a status unequal with men. In his own life, he was so appreciative of the feminine ideal and he served the women he loved quite devotedly. I believe that he was more invested in life than in movies. I believe that he was as handsome as any of the great swashbucklers, and as good a performer. It is such a grace that he played Joshua in the Ten Commandments. Joshua is a true hero of the Bible - of the Hebrew and Christian traditions, both. He was an artist of high integrity and profound passion. This movie shows him in one of his best moments, career-wise, and in our insatiable appetite for entertainment, let us not overlook his travail in this life.

When seen today, it's shortcomings are obvious.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 21 August 2021]

"The Adventures of Hajji Baba" is a really bad film that looks great. For some reason, this film looks like an A-picture...with glorious Technicolor, some lovely sets and a longer running time than a B-movie, though it's not even good enough or believable enough to be a B due to some godawful writing and silly casting!

The story is set in Persia, a land where everyone looks and sounds like they attended charm school in the United States....well, all but the willful princess, whose part is just written horribly. She spends most of the movie pouting, screaming and bellowing like a cow with a migraine! The scene at the bath early in the film is simply godawful! This woman describes herself as a '17 year-old' early in the film....but Elaine Stewart clearly is in her mid-20s and just comes off ridiculously....no, BADLY. I can't see how this film in any way helped her career.

The bottom line is that the dialog is terrible, the story silly and yet the film LOOKS nice and features the inexplicably singing of Nat King Cole....yes, Nat King Cole in a movie set in Persia! His voice is like butter...but certainly NOT to be mistaken for a Persian! Overall, a silly and insipid film that only gets worse with age.

Just Awful!

[jackhuntermtl · 1/10 · 27 August 2016]

10 minutes into a film main actress goes into entire speech about being innocent and not knowing about love, and says "I am 17 and not married, so and so got married at 14". I thought she was 30+. So, I go and look up who she is, when she was born, what year movie is from and at time of filming she was 25, looking 30+. Playing a 17 year old which supposedly behaves like she is 12. Just ... too bizarre for me.

That kills it for me. While sometimes performance is great and I can ignore nonsense like this, in this films case there is no depth. It appears to be very cheaply done knockoff of Ali Baba, with unattractive, untalented cast.

Main male character similarly is near middle aged, playing a child. Most of remainder of male cast behave like they are all homosexual, while rest of female cast are all in 20's but acting like maybe set of 13 year old schoolgirls.

Really weird film. Its supposed to be some kind of comedy/adventure, but its neither, its just garbage.

One of the better examples of Hollywood exotica

[jameselliot-1 · 9/10 · 26 November 2021]

The technical quality of this example of exotica is superb. This is probably the best looking exotica movie produced by Hollywood in the 50s, far more lavish looking than Rock Hudson's The Golden Blade. The attack of the Amazons in the desert is astonishing with the women standing on their racing horses and strangling male soldiers with a garrot.

how to make a film about Persians without them!

[EXzombie13 · 3/10 · 22 January 2019]

The representation of Arabs and Persians is unfathomable and funny! the film is all over the place, the dancer's scene has nothing to do with belly dancing, the clothing and colors of turbans is a joke, the fighting choreography is somewhat decent!

you can enjoy the film if you want to see how Hollywood perceived the exotics of the Middle East!

Good?, No... Great!

[bhburke · 9/10 · 2 February 2014]

The Adventures of Hajji Baba

This movie is excellent.

Listed as 'B' movie, which it is.

But this is no normal 'B' movie. The location scenery is superlative. In fact, some of the natural rock scenes I have seen many times in other famous movies. The direction is top notch. The acting is genuine and moving. Some very difficult lines are delivered with the utmost professionalism. EVERY actor AND EVERY actress is great! This movie is very impressive. To me, this movie is so good that it should be required viewing. The best 'B' that I have ever seen.

But this movie goes beyond that. The (especial the women's) horse riding is very good. The ladies put the men to shame. It seems that the advertisement for hiring was "beautiful breasted barrel riders need only apply". Every female actress in this movie is gorgeous. For the men, one scene near the end, where the villain gives chase... he rides with his body unmoving.

The wardrobe is inspired. The costumes are equally sparse as they are beautiful AND functional. As an aside, I would have put primal scissor cuts in the leotards of the Amazons.

The sets are also awesome. Clearly to me, a stage director had built the minimalistic but dramatic sets. It is difficult to put in words how wonderful it to see such a laconic set. But look! Masterpiece, zen like, archetypal. Very good sets.

There is one scene, which I am sure was supposed to be filtered as a night scene (when Hajji was rescuing the princess from the rope cross), was changed back to the actual film of full light. This exposed to me that the direction is tight. And the attention to detail made me, as a viewer, to more fully concentrate on the details. This made the movie more enjoyable because I have a want to be a couch coach.

There's more! I don't know how the dialog was conceived and/or refined. Some of it is very contrived but at least effective. But, some of it is also inspirational. It seems to me that when the writers let go of the period that they did their best work. Honest and straightforward. In my mind, just a little more rewriting and a bigger budget would have propelled this movie into a classic.

Ooh, I'm crazy, you say?! This movie was all ready better than Ivanhoe from the first scene. And, never looked back. The only movie, that comes to mind, that I can reasonably compare is 'The Robe'. But that is a classic, isn't it?

The location manager needs to be commended. Unfortunately, in one scene the plants (to my eye) are spray painted red for effect. But in all the other scenes, the plants are shown off in great detail and for good effect.

OK, that was the good.

The male lead. The eyebrows, too much. I would have waxed a little from the bridge out to the ear to relieve some of the 'puppy' look. The haircut is consistent but a little long. I would have went with a GI crew. His acting is the hardest to relate with, however, glimpses of true feeling are displayed. Wish that it were more.

The female lead. One scene she flicks her bangs back with were hand. Awesome. In the next, she uses a head shake to flick back her bangs back. Not awesome. That's the worst thing that I can say about the female lead! The leotards. NO. The answer is no. In one scene, a female player is shown WITHOUT tights. Thank god! Too bad the director didn't recognize this.

Not enough closeups!! Hey, I'll trade two minutes of beautiful legs for two minutes of beautiful eyes! And, yes, that trade was possible. This is a western after all.

Signing off. Moxy

A good movie of the 50's.

[gator-31 · 10/10 · 15 February 2001]

The hauntingly beautiful music sung by Nat King Cole sets this movie apart from the other Arabian romance pictures, with the dashingly handsome John Derek as its hero. This is a movie that I saw many years ago when I was approximately 8 years old, and it has stuck in my memory.

Seen it in 1955

[ron-302 · 8/10 · 5 January 2001]

Liked it then... and would like to see it again. Loved the background singing of Nat King Cole. Cant wait for it to be on video! I would be interested in anyone knowing of a source of the video or whether it is available to purchase. Please note we use the PAL system in Australia.

Good if you didn't have a home TV set

[hap-4 · 8 June 1999]

The best thing about this movie is Nat King Cole singing the title song.

Many great adventures for Hajji and a beautiful woman to go with him.

[georgeredding · 8/10 · 4 October 2023]

John Derek is himself quite excellent is his role as the great lover who goes into tents to charm the women there and knows well that he can; in one scene he charms Amanda Blake (later "Miss Kitty") temporarily.

Derek plays well this handsome lover and is very convincing in his role; he does well as the barber and much later a prince. The beautiful Elaine Stewart also portrays well the beautiful princess Fawzia, spoiled calaph's daughter who, up to a point is very mean.

This movie is an "Eastern", since the setting is Persia of the eleventh or about the twelfth century.

We men have to be honest: what man wouldn't want to have as his traveling companion Miss Stewart? Come on, guys! Again, she is convincing as the princess who touches Hajji's heart and, for a while, even breaks it.

Since the acting is, again, convincing, since the Persian desert gives a "you-are-there" feeling, and, since there is a beautiful icon, to me this qualifies as a an outstanding cinematic me this, and any more is a favorite of mine.