by Bruce Eder
review
The first of two feature-film versions of Edward Knoblock's play to star Otis Skinner -- who totally defined the role of Hajj on-stage for a generation -- this is a surprisingly lively and enjoyable fantasy. Skinner is sufficiently charismatic in the role of Hajj to overcome any deficiencies in the technique of director Louis J. Gasnier, and if the movie isn't quite up to the standard of, say, Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Baghdad (1924), it's still diverting viewing today, and it's also interesting to see this story as it existed before Wright and Forrest musicalized it.
