Thousand and One Nights [VHS]

There are a few things which might be considered dodgy by today's standards, a Persian princess with blonde hair, and the racial references are all muddled, but this is to some extent a spoof on the European "Arabian Nights" take on Persian legend, so it is not wholly incompatible. The most stunning thing is the art direction, which was Oscar nominated, and this manifests itself in the great sets and also the costumes. Technicolor was made for films like this and give a quality that is almost more than real. The script seems very contemporary and not at all 1940s, and Silvers seems like an American Frankie Howerd, placed in the period setting to give modern audiences some point of identification. He and Wilde sparkle throughout the movie, as do panto villains Hoey and Van Zandt and the two beautiful ladies playing the Princess and the Genie.

Even if you don't spot Carole Mathews, try to see Shelly Winters, also playing a handmaiden!