Sabu and the
Magic Ring
(1957, U.S.) color 56 minutes
With: Sabu (Sabu, the stable boy), Daria Massey (Zumila), William Marshall (Ubal, the genie), Peter Mamakos (Mazufar, wazir), John Doucette (Kimal, the stable master) Vladimir Sokoloff (The Old Fakir), Robin Morse (Yunan, the magician), George Khoury (Phransigar, the assassin), Bernard Rich (Ali), Robert Shafto (The Caliph of Samukan), John Lomma, Ken Terrell
***
SYNOPSIS: Young Sabu is a happy stable boy in the kingdom of Samukan, in charge of taking care of the Caliph's elephant. Searching for a lost diamond, he finds instead a mysterious ring which, unbeknownst to Sabu, conjures up a genie when he rubs it.
Sabu soon goes to the marketplace to visit his girlfriend, Zumila, the fruit vendor. The two visit Abdul, the storyteller, who is telling a group of children the tale of King Solomon and his magic ring. Again Sabu absent-mindedly rubs his own ring, and again a giant genie appears beside him.
Meanwhile, the Caliph's evil Prime Minister plots against his ruler, slowly poisoning him in his daily meals. The genie Ubal finally appears to Sabu when he rubs the ring again. The Prime Minister listens in, and desires the ring for himself. Later, Yunan, an exiled magician, offers his services to the evil Prime Minister; to prove his power, he turns the Caliph's favorite canary into stone.
Soon, Sabu is attacked for owning the ring, but Ubal intervenes just in time. Sabu banishes Ubal, and hides the ring, so it will cause no more trouble. Soon, Sabu is captured and tortured by the Prime Minister. Eventually, Sabu is released, and goes to market to fetch Zumila, but the other vendors pretend they have never heard of her; they are under the spell of Yunan.
Sabu goes to fetch the ring, which he has hidden somewhere on his favorite elephant, but it has been stolen by an enemy. Ubal materializes, and settles things so that Sabu may retain the ring. Elsewhere, Yunan has Zumila under his spell. Ubal has soon found her, and tells Sabu. Yunan paralyzes Ubal as Sabu tries to reach Zumila. Sabu rubs the ring, but Ubal and Zumila are now both under Yunan's spell.
Yunan and the Prime Minister argue over who should get the ring. Ubal is trapped in the dungeon, but soon breaks free and comes to Sabu's aid. Ubal gathers the Prime Minister and Yunan, exiling Yunan to the South Pole. Sabu and Zumila hide in a box against the Prime Minister's soldiers. A goose swallows the magic ring; Sabu hides inside a basket in order to gain access to the precious fowl.
Sabu and Zumila run off with the goose; a Fakir helps their escape through a secret "assassin's gate." The Prime Minister meets with the Caliph, who confesses that he hasn't been feeling well lately. The Caliph informs the Prime Minister that he has not chosen him as his successor, but has slated Prince Achmed of nearby Damascus to assume the throne upon the Caliph's death.
The Fakir soon betrays Sabu and Zumila, demands 1,000 denard to keep his silence. Sabu battles the forty thieves, as Ubal aids. Soon, Zumila obtains the ring, and gives the blackmail money to the greedy Fakir.
Zumila tells Ubal to turn Sabu into a prince. We next see Sabu riding into town on his elephant. The Prime Minister thinks that the arriving 'dignitary' is actually his rival, Prince Achmed of Damascus. Sabu gains entry to the Caliph's chambers under the pretense of being Achmed, and manages to tell his beloved ruler of the plot to overthrow him by the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, another flunky reveals that he has just killed the real Prince Achmed, so the Prime Minister knows that Sabu is an imposter. Ubal gives Caliph an the antidote to combat the poison in his system. The Caliph drinks it, and jumps up, rejuvenated. He prepares to fight, but is knocked out by the Prime Minister's men.
Ubal supplies Sabu with a magic carpet with which to manage their escape, but the Prime Minister and his men arrive, so Sabu uses the carpet to knock them over, until they can fashion their escape. Sabu and the Prime Minister fight, until Zumila orders Ubal to end all fighting.
Later, the Caliph of Samukan thanks all parties for sparing his kingdom. In gratitude, Sabu gives Ubal back the magic ring, so that the genie may finally find peace. Ubal returns the favor, by granting Sabu and Zumila eternal happiness.
THE END
***
SABU AND THE MAGIC RING is a strange little curio, a combination of an Arabian Nights-type adventure film with some light comedy thrown in. It would not be surprising to find that the episodic film was composited from episodes of an unsold television series, as the stage-bound and well-scrubbed production looks very much like similar TV product of the day such as RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE. Still, the movie is enjoyable, with an older, wiser Sabu essentially reprising the role he started almost twenty years before in the Korda's excellent adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's THE JUNGLE BOOK (1940). Most pleasant is the music score by Marlin Skiles, who scored other Allied Artist productions of the period, including Bowery Boys comedies and THE DISEMBODIED (1957). According to publicity materials, the film was released theatrically in color, but only black and white television prints seem to exist on the hour-long feature. The film was originally released on the bottom of a drive-in double bill, but it also made its way to Kiddie Matinees as a seperate attraction. An oddity worth note.
On May 5, 2006, Phil Lindholm adds: "SABU AND THE MAGIC RING was, indeed, a television show. Three parts were edited together to make the feature film. (Source: Leonard Maltin's "TV-Movies", circa 1980). In San Francisco, SABU played on the bottom half of a double bill with the neighborhood theater release of Disney's SLEEPING BEAUTY in mid-1959, after it's roadshow release."
Video/DVD availability: unavailable
Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
Screenplay: Samuel Roeca
Original Music by Marlin Skiles
Cinematography by Harry Neumann
Film Editing by William Austin
Art Direction by Dave Milton
Costume Design by Eileen Younger
Produced by Maurice Duke
Directed by George Blair
