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Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Final Project comparing a classical tale and one of its contemporary version
Academic year: 2020/2021
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San Francisco State University

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Final Project CWL 250- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Andrew Lang retold the famous folktale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from the 1001 Arabian Nights in 1891 naming it The Forty Thieves. It follows the story of poor Ali Baba and his rich brother Cassim living in a Persian town. One day in the woods, Ali Baba witnessed a group of forty people entering a secret cavern and having learned their secret code for entering, Ali Baba explored the hidden place afterwards. He found a manifold of treasures in there and packed some for his own home and family. Gold in Ali Baba’s fortune fueled greed in Cassim and hence, he too ventured for the cavern but unfortunately, upon heading out after gathering treasures he forgot the secret code and got killed by the thieves. Ali Baba found the body and brought it back to the family. Realizing that their secret was leaked, the thieves tracked Ali Baba down. The leader, disguised as an oil seller stayed with Ali Baba and brought oil jars with him which contained the other thieves. However, Cassim’s clever slave Morgiana had figured who the oil seller really was and poured boiling oil into the jars killing the other thieves. Lastly, amidst dancing to please the leader of the thieves, Morgiana stabbed him saving Ali Baba for good.

The plot of the 1944 film Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves by Arthur Lubin is quite different compared to the traditional versions of the same story. Set in Baghdad, during the period of the Mongol invasion lead by the cruel Hulagu Khan, the caliph Hassan is betrayed by Prince Cassim and killed by the Mongols. His son Ali, who had just confessed his love to Prince Cassim's daughter Amara, escapes and accidentally discovers cave Sesame, the hiding place of forty thieves lead by Baba, who later adopts the young Ali. The Mongols held Baghdad for ten years, and Ali Baba becomes the leader of the forty thieves. When the thieves acknowledge that a caravan is bringing Lady Amara to marry the tyrant Hulagu Khan, Ali Baba meets her but they fail to recognize each other and moreover, the Mongols capture him. Amara's servant Jamiel helps Ali Baba, and the thieves rescue him in Baghdad and abduct Amara. In Prince Cassim's garden, they experience flashes of their childhood but still remain unknown to one another. Ali discovers the truth at last, ardently fights for his love and also wins the freedom of Baghdad. Stories usually stay one dimensional whereas films tend to be larger than life hence, the plot lines of the aforementioned story and film are drastically different. The story retold by Lang concerns the brother Cassim and Ali Baba followed by their encounters with the forty thieves

win over the antagonists to earn a happily ever after. Since tales pass on to the upcoming generations, creating black or white characters is a symbolic trend amidst folktales to inculcate the basic values of life by creating a difference between the good and the bad. The film however dealt with the complicated grey shades of human emotions. It was made way after the story was written and with time, the lines between the good and bad started to blur for people. Ali Baba himself was a part of the group of thieves in the film which might have made people wonder but by then, it was expected that the audience matured enough to associate negative images with protagonists. Lastly, it can be said that art forms constantly adapt and evolve as per the time, culture and region while keeping their origins intact.

Works Cited Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Directed by Arthur Lubin, performances by Jon Hall and Maria Montez, Universal Pictures, 1944. The Forty Thieves. Retold by Andrew Lang, The Blue Fairy Book, 5th edition (London: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1891), pitt/~dash/alibaba#lang.

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Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Course: Fables And Tales (CWL 250)

University: San Francisco State University

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Final Project
CWL 250-01
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Andrew Lang retold the famous folktale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from the 1001
Arabian Nights in 1891 naming it The Forty Thieves. It follows the story of poor Ali Baba and
his rich brother Cassim living in a Persian town. One
day in the woods, Ali Baba witnessed a group of
forty people entering a secret cavern and having
learned their secret code for entering, Ali Baba
explored the hidden place afterwards. He found a
manifold of treasures in there and packed some for
his own home and family. Gold in Ali Baba’s
fortune fueled greed in Cassim and hence, he too
ventured for the cavern but unfortunately, upon
heading out after gathering treasures he forgot the
secret code and got killed by the thieves. Ali Baba
found the body and brought it back to the family. Realizing that their secret was leaked, the
thieves tracked Ali Baba down. The leader, disguised as an oil seller stayed with Ali Baba and
brought oil jars with him which contained the other thieves. However, Cassim’s clever slave
Morgiana had figured who the oil seller really was and poured boiling oil into the jars killing the
other thieves. Lastly, amidst dancing to please the leader of the thieves, Morgiana stabbed him
saving Ali Baba for good.

Students also viewed

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