Events Calendar

P.M. @ Penn Museum
Secret Cinema: The Thief of Baghdad (1924)

The Secret Cinema is known for presenting classic films of all genres-from B-films to mega-budget Hollywood classics to obscure shorts, always in 16mm film-never video! Jay Schwartz, founder of Secret Cinema, curates a special series of films specifically for the Penn Museum in 2011-2012. Join us for what promises to be unique adventures in foreign lands, and free popcorn!

Free with Museum admission. Free with your PennCard.

The Thief of Baghdad, 1924, silent with live musical accompaniment by Don Kinnier Douglas Fairbanks (Senior), one of the greatest American movie stars of the silent era, enjoyed one of his best-remembered roles in this exciting and beautiful fantasy/adventure based on the Arabian Nights stories. He plays the ever-sunny Ahmed the Thief, who attempts to steal the heart of a beautiful princess after entering the Palace of the Caliph by magic rope and enduring a series of tests, ranging from the Caverns of Fire to the Flight of a Thousand Stairs. One of the most opulent films of its era (costing a then-record two million dollars), Thief of Baghdad is still magical, thanks to William Cameron Menzies' majestic fairy-tale art direction and Raoul Walsh's fast-paced direction. And, of course, the luminescence of its charismatic star, who early in his film career authored a best-selling book of philosophy called Laugh and Live.