Review of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Courageous sailor Sinbad (an appealingly earnest Kerwin Matthews) embarks on a perilous quest to break a spell put on his beloved fair maiden Princess Parisa (ravishing brunette beauty Kathryn Grant) by cunning and wicked powerful magician Sokurah (grandly played with lip-smacking aplomb by Torin Thatcher). Nathan Juron's strong, robust direction maintains a steady pace throughout and stages the action set pieces with considerable rip-snorting brio. Ray Harryhausen's marvelously vivid and lifelike stop-motion animation creatures include a ferocious gigantic Cyclops, a vicious two-headed giant bird beast, an angry fire-breathing dragon, an exotic four-armed snake woman, and, best of all, a lethal sword-wielding skeleton who fights Sinbad at the film's incredibly exciting conclusion. Kenneth Kolb's smart, colorful script has a few nice gritty touches (Sinbad's crew is largely made up of hardened criminals and the Cyclops puts a screaming man on a splint over a fire so he can cook and eat him). Richard Eyer delivers a charming performance as a sad imprisoned little boy genie. Bernard Herrmann's lively, rousing, flavorsome score, Wilkie Cooper's rich, vibrant color cinematography, and the engagingly sincere tone are likewise on the money excellent and impressive. A real delight.