The Adventures of Hajji Baba

(1954)

94 minutes

Action / Adventure / Romance

Directed by Don Weis

Cast:

John Derek as Hajji Baba
Elaine Stewart as Princess Fawzia
Rosemarie Bowe as Ayesha
Amanda Blake as Banah
Paul Picerni as Nur-El-Din
Donald Randolph as The Caliph
Thomas Gomez as Osman Aga
Pat Sheehan as Handmaiden
Joanne Arnold as Susu
Pat Lawler as Slave Girl
Peter Mamakos as Chief Executioner 
Kurt Katch as Caoush 
Leo Mostovoy as The Barber 
Joanne Arnold as Susu 
Veronica Pataky as Kulub
Linda Danson as Fabria 
Robert Bice as Musa 
Carl Milletaire as Captain

In the 1950's, historical spectaculars set in the Far or Middle East became the repository for exploitive tales of eroticism, pure lust, and concupiscent freedom. The 'decadence' of previous times gave American filmmakers an excuse to satisfy viewers' libidinal and voyeuristic desires. All this holds true for The Adventure of Hajji Baba, a racy, sex-soaked oasis of a film. John Derek stars as an Arabian prince given a mission to escort the beautiful princess Fakzia across a desert to her wedding.

Haji bets a friend that he will have succeeded in seducing her by the trip's end and the games begin. The two, elegant in their self-assurance, trade barbs and entendres until they're captured by robbers who are in turn captured by a group of renegade Amazons. The Amazons are all former harem girls who have taken to highway robbery and kidnapping to extract a measure of justice from the society that imprisoned them. Haji convinces the leader of the Amazons to let him live and she does as long as he can perform sexually. This buys him enough time to plan an escape with Fakzia and finally cross the desert. Hajji, of course, collects on his bet. Redolent with offscreen hints of prodigious debauchery, The Adventures of Hajji Baba is a unique, and unexpected, product of '50's cinema.