AllMovie

Generous portions of stock footage from 1948's Joan of Arc are somehow worked into the Arabian Nights proceedings of Thief of Damascus. His tongue firmly in cheek, Paul Henreid plays the title character, aka Abu Amdar. The plot has something to do with an evil desert chieftain (John Sutton) who agrees to end his siege of Damascus if Princess Zafir (Helen Gilbert) will promise to marry him. Abu Amdar and his band of followers hope to rescue the Princess from this grisly fate. That Thief of Damascus is not to be taken seriously is demonstrated by the supporting cast, which includes an impish Robert Clary as Aladdin and an oafish Lon Chaney Jr. as Sinbad. Stealing the show is Ms. Jeff Donnell as Scheherezade, who insists upon rattling off her 1001 stories to everyone in earshot, whether they want to hear them or not!