New York Times Film Review -- 4 July 1963
Captain Sindbad

Screenplay by Samuel B. West and Harry Relis; directed by Byron Haskin; produced by Frank and Herman King; presented by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer. Running time: 85 minutes

Captain Sindbad … Guy Williams
Princess Jana … Heidi Bruhl
El Kerim … Pedro Armendariz
Ga’go … Abraham Sofaer

Until about the last 20 minutes, it’s strictly abroad mishmash of fantasy-comedy, spilling out some lavishly gaudy sets of Old Arabia. As for plot, there’s the sinewy Sindbad (Guy Williams) trying to rescue a dead-pan Princess (Heidi Bruhl) from a wicked ruler (Pedro Armendariz), aided by a tippling, belching old magician.

Throw in a tired "Sheherazade"-type score, as Mr. Williams braves anything from crocodiles to a 12-headed monster (our count, anyway), and you have the kind of harmless trash that some kids may tolerate.

Yesterday, a cute little blonde in front of us took it all in stride, monsters included. She also perked up, leaning forward, for that final reel, when the picture slips from mediocrity into a wildly funny, eerie and casually beguiling adventure, not hard to take.

One set, a garishly tangled swamp, is nifty; so is the final one, for a palace skirmish. The King Brothers produced it, in Munich of all places.

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