Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Adventures of Hajji Baba Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 2, 2021

If the 1958 film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's immortal classic South Pacific is remembered at all these days, it tends to be for one of two reasons: either the fact that Doris Day, then arguably one of the biggest film and recording stars in the world, wasn't assigned the role of Nellie Forbush, which she seemed to have been born to play; and perhaps even more controversially, the colored filters that director Joshua Logan had cinematographer Leon Shamroy employ in several scenes, ostensibly to give the film "mood" and/or "flavor". With regard to that second item, there's a rather interesting pull quote from the venerable Bosley Crowther of The New York Times on the back cover of this release which states in part that The Adventures of Hajji Baba is "handsomely photographed in a variety of color combinations, which George Hoyningen-Huene has contrived." The name of George Hoyningen- Huene may not be exactly everyday household material, but some film trivia fans may know he's actually closely associated with another film from 1954, the Judy Garland version of A Star Is Born . Hoyningen-Huene is often listed as a "color consultant", and while that Crowther quote may seem to allude to Shamroy-esque effects, in fact Hoyningen-Heune's contributions to The Adventures of Hajji Baba are more in terms of production design than anything cinematography related. However, in the cinematography department, The Adventures of Hajji Baba was the first Allied Artists release in CinemaScope, in a licensing deal they arranged with 20th Century Fox. As will be discussed below, that particular arrangement may have been a technical challenge for the artisans working on the film, especially since CinemaScope and some notoriously "fussy" lenses were still in their relatively nascent stages.

While The Adventures of Hajji Baba offers its putative marquee stars in the form of John Derek and Elaine Stewart, it's perhaps salient to note (no pun intended, considering what's coming) that the film's trailer (included on this disc as a supplement) actually begins by touting the theme song is sung by Nat King Cole. This is yet another film where one can sense both a composer and lyricist struggling mightily to come up with something marketable, as I kind of cheekily mention in my Beloved Infidel Blu-ray review with regard to my comments about the isolated score track on that disc. What probably matters more than stars or musicians, though, in terms of The Adventures of Hajji Baba is that it was produced by Walter Wanger, who of course provided wartime audiences with some blessed "exotic" relief courtesy of such 1940s Technicolor explosions as Arabian Nights.

The source material for The Adventures of Hajji Baba was a series of tales by early 19th century British explorer James Justinian Morier, and without sounding too dismissive, Morier is probably not at the same level as Richard (Francis) Burton in terms of weaving a tale of intrigue and passion in the desert. That said, there's just not the same almost winking quality that some of the 1940s material with Jon Hall and Maria Montez could have, and a lot of The Adventures of Hajji Baba will probably come off as near camp to some (even more so than the Hall-Montez outings, which are at least breezily fun a lot of the time).

The story here involves a barber named Hajji Baba (John Derek) who sets out for fame and fortune, but instead "meets cute" with Princess Fawzia (Elaine Stewart), who is attempting to escape her father's plans for her to marry someone she doesn't want to. There's some none too subtle byplay involving the guy Princess Fawzia does want to marry (who may not exactly be a noble type), but the bulk of the film plays out in a series of bantering skirmishes between Fawzia and Hajji, with a number of villainous types basically either chasing them or capturing them at various moments. This includes a kind of interesting Eastern take on an Amazonian tribe, featuring a rare feature film performance by Miss Kitty herself, Amanda Blake.

The Adventures of Hajji Baba Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Adventures of Hajji Baba is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.55:1. CinemaScope gets featured billing in the credits, and if director Don Weis doesn't always fully exploit the widescreen framings, some of the outdoor desert material in particular looks very good here, with excellent depth of field and nice detail levels despite some rather spacious vistas. There are some issues with color temperature, with the first part of the film looking a bit on the dowdy side, tending toward browns, and with a somewhat gritty looking grain field. Things improve as they go along, and the later parts of the presentation are noticeably warmer, with an overall more nicely suffused look. As alluded to above, it can occasionally look like either lenses were creating a few problems or things weren't completely under control for one reason or the other, and so there are both the expected issues like "mumps", but also some slightly out of focus moments in various parts of the frame (that didn't strike me as having been done intentionally). The film has quite a few optical dissolves, and both image quality in general and color in particular experience expected downgrades in the "bumps" in and out.

The Adventures of Hajji Baba Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Adventures of Hajji Baba features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The surround track isn't always consistently immersive, but it does open up some of the scoring, as well as the ambient environmental effects that accompany some of the outdoor material. In both the 2.0 and 5.1 tracks, the music sounds appropriately full bodied, with Dmitri Tiomkin's colorful score presented with a nice burnished quality. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly, and I noticed no problems with regard to any significant damage or age related wear and tear. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Adventures of Hajji Baba Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD; 2:22)


• Isolated Music & Effects Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and can be accessed under the Setup Menu.

The Adventures of Hajji Baba Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The cast is game, and the production design and cinematography generally quite engaging, but the writing just never ends up completely delivering, and in fact may squander possibilities by offering a few too many threats (maybe just one or two too many different forces who are out to prevent Hajji and Fawzia from finding true love, which they are obviously destined to do). The title song by Nat King Cole is kind of unintentionally hilarious, though it does feature a colorful Nelson Riddle arrangement. Video is a little faded looking in the early going but tends to improve as things go along, and audio is fine, while supplements are limited, for those who may be considering making a purchase.