Many centuries ago
in ancient Persia,
the wealthy young men were sent
to the Imperial Military
Academy in Baghdad
by their fathers
who in former years have endured
hardships and privations
while fighting valiantly
to rid the land of futile tyrants.
It was a matter of the gravest concern
to these fathers that their sons,
reared in the lap of luxury,
might prove unfitted
to withstand adversity,
should it strike.
Kashma.
Happy birthday, Kashma.
Happy birthday, Kashma.
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday, Kashma.
I'll see you tonight,
oh breath of my life.
We shall both see you.
At the Academy, these young men
were taught discipline,
horsemanship, and proficiency
in the use of lance and scimitar,
to all of which they dutifully
applied themselves
while waiting for night to fall
when they could indulge
in feasting and drinking in company
with the fairest maidens in the land.
By far, the most dashing
of these young blades
was the son of Ali Baba,
renowned champion
of the oppressed,
Kashma Baba.
Cadets of the
Imperial Military Academy,
it seems that I must again
remind you
that as future officers
of the Royal Guard Regiment,
the highest standard of dignity
is expected of you at all times.
Cadet Kashma Baba,
are you listening?
Most earnestly,
Noble Commandant.
Cadet Kashma Baba,
we are delighted to be reminded
that you were born
but we do not enjoy
hearing it screamed
from the balconies
while the Corps
is on the line of march.
See that it doesn't happen again.
Hear and obey,
Noble Commandant.
Troop,
prepare to dismount.
Dismount.
Troop, dismissed.
Kashma...
do you think the wenches
will hear and obey?
I shall lecture them
severely tonight
at the feast, Mustafa.
Don't forget, comrades.
Kashma has invited all his friends
to his feast tonight.
Rare wines from Khayyam's
own vineyards
and the loveliest houris
in all the land to entertain you.
Are you listening, comrades?
Yeah.
Am I also invited
to your feast, Kashma?
Why, Hussein,
since when does the son
of the Caliph
become a friend of Kashma Baba?
The lowborn son of a thief.
Were it not for his father's
immense wealth,
that jackal would've never
been permitted
to set foot in the academy.
Kashma wouldn't dare refuse us
admittance to his feast, Hussein.
We could drink his rare wines
and steal his loveliest houris.
Mustafa, I'll give you
my black stallion
if you pull me across the table.
Which I've wanted for a long time.
And which I will now get.
Come on, Mustafa, pull him over.
Come on, Mustafa.
Pull.
Pull him over.
Come on, Mustafa.
Pull, pull.
Take your arm from Kashma, Calu.
We agreed he was to be mine
for the first hour.
I know we did, Theda,
but I've been thinking.
How do I know I'm gonna get him
for the last one?
Stop worrying. You won't.
Kashma.
Theda isn't being fair.
I shall ride him
in fond remembrance of you.
The feast has but begun
and already you have lost me
my fine stallion.
Now behave yourselves or by dawn
I will be a pauper.
One at a time, Kashma.
Be careful, Kashma,
they've been drinking
and Hussein is looking for trouble.
If he looks hard enough,
he'll find it.
I suppose one must expect
a reception of this kind.
It's in keeping with your lack
of breeding, friend Kashma.
Since you have seen fit to
enter my house, Hussein,
you shall be accorded
the privileges of a guest.
Therefore accept
my sincere apologies
for that magnificently thrown plum.
I shall even allow you
to sit next to its fair thrower.
Comrades,
our uninvited guests
have arrived in time.
For Zaza,
famed dancer from Cairo,
is about to entertain us.
She has a grace of a gazelle
and the fire of a goddess.
Tomorrow, I'll tell you
if you were right.
She shall be mine.
I'll find you another,
for you can never tell
what is behind the mask.
You want her for yourself.
Kashma Baba always keeps
the best for himself.
Generously reserves the crumbs
for his guests.
If Zaza wants you, Hussein,
she shall be yours.
I shall feast my eyes
upon your dazzling beauty,
O Bird of Paradise.
You planned this,
you lowborn son of a jackal thief.
Kashma, guard yourself.
Why do the boys always fight
when they could have
so much more fun with us?
Patience, patience.
They'll get to us in time.
The odds are no longer even.
I don't see why we have to
share Kashma with Zaza too.
We'll be lucky
if we get the chance.
Oh, my God.
Oh.
Let's give him
a merry heave-ho, huh?
Kashma, come here,
the honor of expediting
your most unwelcomed guest
should be yours.
One,
two,
three.
You'll suffer for this Kashma.
You must visit me again,
friend Hussein.
Dink up comrades,
the wine is plentiful
and the night is young.
Stop.
Come back here.
Stop, I tell you,
you're not allowed in here.
Don't wait until
I get my hands on you.
If my master catches you,
daughter of a vanishing flea,
you will get 50 lashes
in the marketplace.
Come out miserable wench,
come out, I say.
All right, drown.
Ten-thousand curses
upon you, wench.
What the? Oh.
You feel better now?
Wetter, anyway.
It must've been a wonderful feast.
I feel terrible.
Well.
What have we here?
That's what I'm trying to find out.
Master, beware of that
root of all evil.
She pushed me in the pool, she...
Quiet Babu.
Who are you?
Kiki.
I come from Morocco.
Kiki, huh?
I don't remember seeing you
at the feast.
I was not there.
I was hiding in the garden.
She confuses me, you try.
Your name is Kiki, huh?
You're from Morocco,
and you're hiding here?
Yes. From Rama.
And now,
we're getting some place,
and who is Rama?
Well, Rama has a troop of
dancers and he is cruel,
he beats me,
that's why I'm hiding from him.
And rightly so,
none but a dog would lay hand
on one so beautiful.
And may I stay?
- Well...
- I will sing for you,
I will dance, uh, I will...
Brighten our lives, eh, Mustafa?
Most assuredly Kashma.
But master, you're due
to report to the Academy
within an hour,
I myself will get rid
of this unmentionable
female for you.
Kiki will remain here
as my guest.
Aye.
This fiendish terror
to be a guest in this house?
But master, all dancing girls
are notorious thieves.
That is not true.
Oh, but such a lovely thief.
Hide her in the tower room
where none of the servants
will see her,
you will be safe there
until I return.
Mustafa, you better clean up
while I put on a fresh uniform
or we'll both be on the carpet
before the Commandant.
Your master's very kind
and very handsome.
Are you still angry
because I kicked you
in the pool?
Am I still angry? Ayee.
Come with me you triple-tailed
serpent of Gehenna.
Of all the houses in Baghdad,
why did you pick this one
to hide in?
Last night,
as I fled through the alleys,
I heard singing and laughter
and I saw young men being tossed
from an archway into a pool,
and I said,
"Kiki, in this house,
you will find happiness
and much understanding."
Where stays this Rama
with his troop of dancers?
Oh, no.
You will tell Rama where I am,
and he will take me away
and beat me again.
Besides, your master
will be very angry
if I'm not here when he returns.
I only intended to learn
if there is a man
by the name of Rama
who has a troop of dancers.
Alms for the love of Allah.
Alms for the love of Allah.
Alms for the love of Allah.
Alms for the love
of Allah, I die of hunger,
I die of thirst,
alms for the love of Allah.
My eyes have seen
his blessing this day
and so shall yours old one.
Blessings on you noble master,
may Allah give you long life
and many sons.
That was a goodly brawl,
I lost my way last night
and woke up in the marketplace
with my arms
around a mangy camel.
But you did better
than Mustafa.
He couldn't even
find a door to leave by.
Believe me Herat,
the one thing I was not hunting
was a door.
Why Hussein,
Zaza was broken-hearted
that you left her suddenly.
She thought you were
very ill-mannered
but I assured her
that was impossible
since you are
the son of the Caliph.
Someday the son of the Caliph
will kill you.
I shall be careful
not to turn my back.
Attention.
It will be unfortunate
for you Cadet Baba
if there was any caterwauling
by wenches
from their balconies today.
I have warned all the wenches,
noble Commandant.
Troops.
Attention.
Prepare to mount,
Mount.
Advance in column of twos...
from the left.
Walk.
Hut.
Kiki.
What have you done with Babu?
He isn't in the house
so I thought probably
you kicked him
in the pool again.
Well, if he were here, I would.
He doesn't like me,
he still thinks I'm a thief.
Babu's a very suspicious man.
You see,
he himself was once a thief.
He was a member of a band
of 40 thieves,
my beloved father,
Ali Baba was their leader.
Your father was a leader
of a band of thieves?
Who robbed the rich
and gave to the poor.
The rich called him a thief,
the poor worshiped him.
And Kashma takes
after his father,
he is kind to the poor,
to those who are
in much trouble.
Such a small hand to be in trouble.
The softness tells me
it has not known hard work.
And what else does it tell you?
Master, master...
Go away Babu, I'm very busy.
Master, I must talk
with you in private.
It is most important.
Now tell me what else
you see in my hand.
That there's
no such person as Rama,
and no troop of dancers
from Morocco in Baghdad.
So now Babu is happy.
Why did you lie to me?
I was afraid
you wouldn't let me stay if,
if I told you I'd escaped
from the harem of the Caliph.
You escaped
from the harem of the Caliph?
Well would you want to spend
your life in his harem?
I could devise
a worst fate for myself.
How is it that you fell
into his clutches?
I was a handmaiden
to the Princess Azura of Fez.
We were traveling to Cairo
when Bedouins attacked the caravan.
They brought the princess here
and sold her to the Caliph,
who now sends her as a gift
to the Shah.
I was destined
for the Caliph's harem.
Hiding an escaped slave
is a very serious crime,
especially one belonging
to the Caliph.
Do you wish me to go away?
I shall always remember you,
Kashma.
Were you to leave,
the stars would lose
their brilliance,
and night its magic.
Check.
What is it, Areef?
The slave girl
signaled from the window
that all goes well, Excellency.
And Kashma Baba?
Has but now returned
to his house.
Your spy has done well, Kareeb.
He always does well, Excellency.
Captain Baka,
you have your orders.
See that you
carry them out skillfully.
I believe that is checkmate,
Kareeb.
Except for my black knight
which now takes your queen,
and I regret, Excellency,
it is you who is checkmated.
My father's palace
lies in a broad valley
on the banks of the Euphrates.
Is that very far away?
About 12 hours' ride from here.
Some say it's the most
beautiful spot in all the land.
In the palace gardens,
there are rare flowers.
The fountains crystal clear
and the air is filled
with the scent of jasmine.
I've often dreamed of dwelling
in an enchanted palace.
Perhaps someday you will.
You could've waited and given her
a chance to choose between us.
When it comes to Kiki,
I've decided
- to be a very selfish fellow.
- Well, if you wanna keep her,
you'd best hide her,
the Caliph's guards
are searching the houses
up the street.
More highhandedness
from his Excellency,
what is it this time?
They seek a slave girl
who has escaped from the palace.
You might find it difficult
to account for her.
I would, indeed.
For Kiki is the missing slave girl.
But I thought...
you'll have to get her out of here,
for none search so expertly
as the Caliph's guards.
And the Caliph and his son
have no love for me.
It would please them mightily
to find her here.
The Caliph would have you
kicked out of the corps
and thrown into prison.
Quick, you must do something,
Kashma.
I know, I know,
but where can I hide her
in this accursed house.
Perhaps there's someplace
in your father's valley
where I could hide.
The very thing,
but the hiding place
will be my father's palace.
Open in the name of your Caliph.
Master, Master,
the Caliph's guards
search the house next door.
To the stables, quickly.
Goya, the silk merchant,
is old and feeble, Captain.
I doubt that his house
will yield a missing slave girl.
But nevertheless, my orders
are to search all houses.
However, the house of Kashma Baba
may prove more fruitful.
Master, I bet you not
to take this Root-of-All-Trouble
to your father's palace.
You misjudged Kiki,
and you worry too much.
There's nothing to worry about,
the guards seek a slave girl
who escaped
from the Caliph's palace.
Now, she is no longer here.
Kiki is the missing slave girl?
- And very lovely too.
- Hay.
Come, we'd best return
to the house,
for unwelcome guests
will arrive shortly.
Kashma Baba
and the missing slave girl
just left
by the rear gate, Captain.
Excellent, she has followed
the Caliph's orders exactly
and now so shall we.
Guards, follow me.
Open up, open up
in the name of the Caliph.
What do you want?
Where is Kashma Baba?
Word came that his father
had been taken ill.
Kashma, like a dutiful son,
left immediately.
We are not looking for him.
Then whom do you seek?
We seek a slave girl
who has escaped
from the Caliph's harem.
I'm sorry, Captain,
but we're just out
of runaway slave girls.
However, you'll probably
wanna look around anyway.
That I will.
The instant I set eyes
on this Misbegotten Daughter
of Deceit,
I knew she would bring evil
on this house.
Kiki is gone.
No one can prove she was ever here.
There's nothing to worry about.
What?
No missing slave girl?
Whence comes this?
Small and dainty.
And from the exquisite perfume,
the owner was very lovely.
If you find her, Captain,
let me know who she is
and I shall reward you.
Perhaps this will enlighten you.
It resembles a golden half-moon
resting on a bank of a clouds.
Exactly.
It is the crest
of the captive Princess Azura
of the Royal House of Fez
whom the Caliph was sending
as a gift to the Shah.
Last night
she escaped from the palace.
You mean the missing slave girl
is the Princess Azura?
None else.
And, my gay young peacock,
this handkerchief was found
among the cushions
in the tower room.
Arrest Cadet Mustafa
and this shivering servant.
Take them to the palace.
This is my father's palace
and yonder lies
the Valley of the Sun.
I never dreamed
anything could be so beautiful.
There is an apartment
in the east wing
that overlooks
the bend in the river.
It shall be yours.
What is it?
Aren't you happy?
Ever since I can remember
when I am most happy
I wanna cry.
Then I shall have to warn
my father about you,
for he is always said
that there's no room for tears
in the Valley of the Sun.
Quick, take cover
among the rocks.
If it's the Caliph's guards,
I shall lead them from you.
Hurry.
Tala.
Kashma.
Oh, it is good to see you again.
It has been so long.
During which time
you've become a woman
and a very lovely one.
Ah, I see you've
had good hunting, as usual.
Yes, I shot these at dawn.
I'm taking them to your father.
Tala, this is Kiki.
Lovely, isn't she?
I've seen none fairer.
What is she doing here?
Kashma rescued me
from the harem of the Caliph.
When Kashma and I
were children,
we used to pretend
that I was a princess
in the power of an evil king.
And then when I was about
to be thrown into his harem,
I would scream for Kashma
who always arrived
in time to rescue me.
Remember, Kashma?
And now,
were I to get into trouble,
why, I would scream for Tala
to rescue me.
After which
I would carry him off
to my lair in the forest.
Such muscles.
Such endurance.
Are not Og and Mog magnificent,
Noble Ali Baba?
Yes, I suppose they are,
Ishmael.
But they have been tied up
like this
for three days now
and it's getting
a trifle monotonous.
But, Master,
they are the greatest endurance
wrestlers in all Asia.
Why, only last year
in Samarkand,
Og and Mog
tied each other in knots
for seven weeks.
It's a calamity which,
I assure you,
shall not be repeated here.
Kashma.
Father.
Greetings, Tala.
You have an unexpected leave
from the Academy?
Father, this is Kiki.
We need your help.
Come, let us seek
a quieter place to talk.
Now tell me of this trouble
you are in, my son.
Kiki was handmaiden
to the Princess Azura of Fez.
Bedouins attacked the caravan,
brought Kiki
and the Princess to Bagdad
and sold them to the Caliph.
There is evil in the world
and much of it is wrought
by the Caliph.
The Caliph is sending the Princess
as a gift to the Shah.
Kiki was destined for his harem
but she escaped
and hid in my house.
Freedom is a treasure beyond price
and here in the Valley of the Sun,
my daughter, you shall find it.
When Kiki is most happy
she always wants to weep, father.
Do I perceive another motive
for bringing Kiki here
beyond placing her in safety?
I find that life without her
would be very lonely, Father.
And you, my daughter?
I think I love Kashma,
but we have just met.
Later, perhaps,
if he should still want me.
I shall always want you.
Oh, she's very happy, Father.
With all this happiness,
I have a feeling
I am about to gain a daughter.
So this is the young man
who helped Kashma Baba
steal the royal captive?
What have you to say for yourself?
I remember nothing, Excellency.
The young man remembers
nothing out of loyalty
to his friend Kashma Baba,
no doubt.
Cadet Mustafa,
I advise you
to loosen your tongue at once.
It is not necessary
for him to speak, Commandant.
I have been informed
that Kashma Baba
has fled to his father's palace,
taking with him the Princess Azura
whom I was sending
as a gift to the Shah.
I have dispatched
a courier to the Shah
advising him
of this outrage to his dignity
and requesting permission
to avenge his honor.
After your court-martial,
Cadet Mustafa, Commandant,
please send him to me
for more suitable punishment.
- Captain Yussef.
- Sir?
Take the prisoner
to the guardhouse.
Prisoner and escort,
forward, march.
I had hoped for brilliant
military careers
for you and Kashma.
I am indeed sorry.
What will they do
to Kashma's father
if the princess
is found in his palace?
It's treason
against the mighty Shah.
For that,
his estates and great wealth
will be confiscated.
It's a pity Kashma's father
will receive no warning
of the impending attack.
Mustafa,
if you were to hit an officer of
the Corps and steal his horse,
you could be in no worse trouble
than you are already.
May Allah bless you
for this, Captain.
What?
After him!
Steady those horses.
10,000 devils,
have you learned nothing
at the Academy?
You have been informed
of the outrageous crime
committed by two
of your comrades.
His Excellency, the Caliph,
has graciously given you
the opportunity
to wipe out the stigma
against the honor
of the Corps of Cadets
by inviting you to ride with him
to the palace of Ali Baba,
and avenge the insult
to His Exalted Eminence.
the Shah.
Any cadet who does not wish
to volunteer,
let him advance.
Your Excellency,
Your Excellency,
this is...this is...
Treason.
And I shall report it to the Shah.
Yes, Your Excellency.
- Captain Yussef.
- Sir?
See that these traitors
are confined to the Academy
for the next hundred
and eighty days.
The remaining loyal cadets
will take their places
at the head of the column.
Walk.
March.
Until further notice the guards
will be instructed to permit no cadet
to leave the limits
of the Academy.
Gentlemen,
I salute you.
The Caliph is an avaricious man,
and if he should learn
that Kiki is here,
I think that gold
will quickly sooth his anger.
It's you I'm worried about,
my son.
By now Mustafa has explained
to Captain Yussef
that you were ill
and I had to come to you.
The Captain is a good friend
of the cadets.
Even so, you are absent
without leave from the Academy
which is a serious offense.
At dawn, Kashma,
you must return to Bagdad.
We shall do our best
to console Kiki
during your absence.
Mustafa.
What has happened?
The Caliph had spies
watching your house, Kashma.
He knows you brought
the missing slave girl here.
My father will buy Kiki's freedom
from the Caliph.
Come, join us at the feast.
The Caliph cannot sell
what he has already promised
to the Shah.
Am I not right,
Your Royal Highness?
Royal Highness?
Kiki is no handmaiden.
She's the Princess Azura of Fez,
and promised to the Mighty Shah.
Princess?
Kiki, tell me this is not true.
I only sought
to regain my freedom.
Mm, regardless
of the cost to your friends.
The love you bear my son,
Princess, is a strange one.
- Father, I never dreamed...
- The Caliph and his guards
are riding to attack this palace
to avenge the insult to the Shah.
Well, at least your tidings
broke that up.
The Caliph has long sought an excuse
to crush the House of Baba.
Now it seems he has found it.
If harm befalls Kashma
or his beloved father,
- I shall slit your...
- Kashma gave his protection
to the Princess.
No harm must come to her.
The important thing now
is to decide
how best to deal
with the Caliph.
The old Forty Thieves
would have known
how to deal with him.
But we are not longer young.
Therefore, we must fight him
not with arms,
but with strategy.
Kashma, you and Mustafa take
the Princess to the hills
and watch over her.
The rest of you,
hurry back to your farms.
But Father, what of you?
I shall ride
to the palace of the Shah.
It may be possible I can explain
this matter to him.
But if you fail?
It shall be as Allah wills.
Now, hurry, my son,
for there is little time.
If Your Highness is ready.
Saddle my horse for me, Ishmael.
We have searched thoroughly,
Excellency,
but this all the treasure
we can find.
A mere pittance.
Where do you hide your treasure?
So it is not the Princess
you seek after all?
Where is it?
That you shall never learn.
Oh, he's old, Father.
Another blow would break
his scrawny neck
and we're not done
with the mangy Thief.
Dead, he will be but
slim pickings for the vultures.
Alive he will serve us well.
What do you mean?
His son must also know
where this treasure is hidden
and he would deliver it
to the palace
to ransom his father
from the dungeons.
Word of this left
among the farmers of the valley
would soon reach Kashma's ears.
The Shah shall learn
that you came not to avenge him
but in search of treasure
for yourself.
Take him out.
But first still his tongue
to stop his seditious ravings.
Hussein, put the palace
to the torch.
I want no monument left
to the house of Baba,
save only ashes.
You two men stay with me.
Farouk, Dragna,
wait outside with our horses.
I do not like
the thought of my father
riding alone
to the palace of the Shah.
I sense an evil hand
has wrought this chain
of circumstances.
Mustafa,
why do you think the spies
of the Caliph
were watching my house?
There was no reason
unless they had followed
the Princess
when she escaped
from the Caliph's palace.
The spies follow the Princess
yet do not arrest her.
And of all the houses in Bagdad,
she chooses mine to hide
and still the spies do nothing.
Then they permit her to escape.
Strange, indeed.
Perhaps Your Highness
can solve this riddle.
I didn't escape from the palace.
The Caliph sent me
to your house.
- He promised me that if...
- When I held you in my arms,
I should have tasted the venom
on your lips.
A princess with the heart
of a carrion.
Kashma, The Caliph and his guards
swarmed into the palace
before I could saddle
your father's horse.
I had no chance to warn him.
Kashma, wait!
Alone you can do nothing.
You'll only be killed.
Kashma!
Guard her well, lest she escape
to rejoin the Caliph.
You'll wreak no more harm
on my master.
Over there.
Wait,
if you kill one
the other will give the alarm
and Kashma might be caught.
I will remain on watch.
If Kashma is captured,
my arrows will serve to rescue him.
Kashma is lucky
to have so lovely a protector.
What have you done
with my father?
That you will learn
from the peasants if you live.
They've fired the palace.
What of Kashma?
He may still be inside.
Keep me covered.
I'll try to find out.
It's Mustafa.
Quick, into the palace.
How did I get out here?
Allah lent me the strength.
You, Princess?
You risked your life to save me?
Is it so strange
that a girl would do so
for the man that she loves?
Where's Hussein?
He fled the room
after wounding you.
He must not escape.
Hussein.
Hussein, halt, Hussein.
Stand and fight.
I shall return
with the palace guards.
You and your father's people
shall pay for this.
The devil's own luck is with me,
for with Hussein as my prisoner,
his life would have been hostage
for my father's.
Kashma.
We searched the palace for you.
We feared you had perished.
Perished I would have,
had not the Princess dragged me
from the flames.
Yet she did not hesitate
to lie to you
and to bring evil upon you
and your father.
Who is now a prisoner
of the Caliph.
My mother is also a prisoner
of the Caliph.
If I failed to induce you to
take me to your father's palace
she was to die.
A likely tale.
You don't believe me.
I believed Kiki the dancing girl.
I even believed Kiki
the runaway slave.
- But to believe...
- By tomorrow
she will have another story.
You have obeyed
the order of the Caliph.
Why do you not return to him
and claim your mother's freedom?
Because I've learned
that the word of the Caliph
is not to be trusted.
Ha, look who speaks now
of trust and distrust.
Beware, Kashma.
She may be spinning another web
to trap you.
We must warn
the people of the valley
to flee to the hills
before Hussein returns
with the guards
to avenge Dragna and Farouk.
It is fortunate
for the people of the valley
that you're safe, Your Highness,
for your father gave me orders
that if any harm
had befallen you
every farm in the valley
was to be put to the torch.
Then you did not find me
until after every farm
in the valley
had been put to the torch.
That's an order, Captain Baka.
Vengeance.
If you want vengeance
there's the one who has brought
this evil upon us.
Kill the traitoress.
Stand back all of you.
Are you mad
that you would avenge yourselves
against a defenseless girl?
If so then you are more evil
than the Caliph's guards.
She is a fiend in human form.
What of our farms
that she has helped to destroy?
The Princess
was but another victim
of the Caliph's evil schemes.
He has long sought an excuse
to rob my father of his treasure.
- Stand aside, Kashma.
- Out of the way.
No, Kashma,
I shall not come between you
and your people.
Though the flames devour
your farms
you have not lost all.
You still have your freedom.
But my beloved father
who gave you this freedom
rides in chains
to the Caliph's palace.
Have you no thought of him?
Aye,
in our blind anger we did forget
our noble benefactor.
Forgive us, Kashma.
Kashma.
Kashma.
Who did this to you, Hassan?
The Caliph's guards.
They sent you this message.
If you deliver your
father's treasure to the palace,
in turn the Caliph
will release your father.
The promises of the Caliph
are as black as the dried blood
on his torture chamber.
He would accept the treasure
then throw us
into the dungeon
beneath the palace.
Kashma.
You know, we'd gladly
give our lives for Ali Baba.
But we are few.
What can we avail
against the Caliph's guards?
Many years ago
a stalwart band of Forty Thieves
feared not another evil Caliph
and his hired butchers.
True. I, myself,
did slay four
of that Caliph's guards.
Now I am old
and my weapon arm is weak.
But the weapon arm
of your son is strong.
Is his heart craven as a jackal's
or is it valiant as was yours
when you rode
with my father into battle?
Let all the sons
of the Forty Thieves
who fear not to attack
the Caliph's palace
step forward.
I will ride with you, Kashma.
- And I.
- Lead the way.
- Count on me.
- I will go with you, Kashma.
See to your weapons,
we ride within the hour.
I must go with you, Kashma.
You are afraid
I would try to escape
to warn the Caliph.
You are anxious to ride with us
because of your mother,
Princess?
And for the same reason
that I dragged you
from the fire.
I shall guard her
until the attack begins.
After that,
she can do no harm.
Come, we must find robes
to cover these uniforms.
Thank you, Tala.
My eyes are not blinded by love.
I shall guard you well.
Comrades, we disperse here.
Keep your weapons hidden
beneath your robes.
When darkness falls
we shall assemble
in the marketplace.
May Allah ride with you.
And with you, too, Kashma.
And so I ordered the Commandant
to have Corps of Cadets,
escort the Shah
into the city, Excellency.
Why do you think
our mighty ruler honors us
with this sudden visit.
Perhaps his visit
has to do with Ali Baba.
Then I shall inform
His Magnificence
that Ali Baba resisted my guards
and perished in the flames
of his palace.
Hussein, I'm glad you're safe.
I was worried about you.
Tell me, my son,
what of the palace of Ali Baba.
It lies in ashes,
together with all the farms
in the Valley of the Sun.
The crops in those farms
were very valuable.
They are naught compared
to the treasure of Ali Baba.
And soon Kashma
will be knocking at our gates
to ransom his thieving father.
When I think of the hundred
and seventy-eight
dreary days and nights
that have to pass
before those handsome boys
can come and visit us again.
Well, what is there
to be so happy about?
I'm thinking
of that 179th night.
Look, Theda, the royal banner
of the mighty Shah.
Who cares.
Kashma.
Oh.
Oh, Kashma,
life has been so lonely
since you left us.
Nobody come to see us anymore.
The Commandant
ordered the cadets
confined to the barracks
for a hundred and eighty days
for refusing to ride
on your father's palace.
It's too early for the corps
to be returning
from the drill grounds.
- What is happening?
- They escort the Mighty Shah
to the Caliph's palace.
The Shah here?
Kashma, we cannot risk harm
to the person of the Shah.
We'll have to postpone
the attack.
So long as my father
is a prisoner
in the Caliph's palace,
I shall postpone my plans
for neither potentate nor Shah.
Tonight the Caliph
will be feasting the Shah
in the banquet hall, here.
It is through this window
that must shoot your arrows
to create confusion
while we storm the gates.
Do you think you can do it?
Do not fear, Kashma,
my arrows shall find their mark.
If we are successful
this night it shall be
because of you, Tala.
Troops,
prepare to dismount.
Dismount.
Troops,
dismissed.
I've brought you much
unhappiness, haven't I?
There are many things
I shall have to forget.
I assure, Your Exalted Eminence,
I had always held Ali Baba
in great esteem
and I was profoundly shocked
to discover
it was with his sanction
the Princess Azura
was stolen from you.
I have known Ali Baba
for many years.
I have valued his friendship.
It is difficult to believe
that he would turn against me.
But it is true,
Your Exalted Eminence.
Ali Baba's son stole
the princess for himself.
When we rode to the palace
to demand her return,
we were attacked and two
of my comrades were slain.
It's time for us
to be leaving, Kashma.
Kashma, I have a right
to go with you,
for my mother is also
a prisoner of the Caliph.
If that is true,
we shall try to save her also.
You still don't trust me.
I do not know
how this night will end.
But if by dawn I have not returned,
take this gold and buy passage
on a ship to Morocco.
He still loves her.
For each woman,
there is a man to love her.
If I have misjudged you, Princess,
remember only that the slave girl
I once held
in my arms I loved truly.
See to it
that she does not escape.
Kashma is no longer
interested in us.
Yet now we must guard
his woman for him.
Think you that is fair, Theda?
Men are never fair,
but we if we aren't,
we don't get any.
And it was only after my son's
two comrades had been slain
that I attacked
and fired the palace.
Ali Baba, the traitor,
perished in the flames.
Father.
He's dead.
Your Eminence, this way.
Guards.
Guards.
There's an assassin.
Go search the balconies.
I sent three arrows through
the windows of the banquet hall.
The first found its mark.
The Caliph is dead.
Once we enter the palace,
we turn right down
the steps to the dungeon.
Guards, guards,
an assassin is loose.
Follow me.
Come back, come back.
Oh, Kashma will be furious with us.
Little fool,
do you wanna break your neck?
Oh, she's jumped
across the barracks wall.
Now she will have all those
wonderful cadets to herself.
Perhaps she will send
some of them over here.
Would you?
Why tarry we?
Well, stop tarrying and come on.
Oh, hurry, hurry
or we'll be too late.
They've burned
Ali Baba's palace to the ground
and they took him prisoner.
- And where is Kashma?
- Here in Baghdad.
He and Mustafa
are at the Caliph's palace now
with some of the young farmers.
They're trying
to rescue his father.
He only has a few men and
there are many palace guards.
You've got to help them
or they'll be killed.
Attention.
At ease.
Just how did you gain
entrance to the barracks?
I came over the rooftops
and I leaped across
to the wall of the barracks.
Do you suppose you could
guide us back the same way?
Oh, yes, but we must hurry
for Kashma is in great danger.
Let those who would come
with me get their weapons.
Here we are, boys.
Here we are.
Wait, boys, we're here.
Well, can't you see?
We're here.
Boys, boys, this is me, Calu.
Here I am.
Oh, for pity's sakes.
What hath the Princess
that we hath not?
All the cadets.
Have done
with your fiendish torture.
He can stand no more.
You'll kill him.
It's useless to try
to appeal to them, Ali Baba.
It will only goad them
to further brutality.
Father, they shall pay for this.
But first, my son,
you must release Kiki's mother,
the Princess Karma.
Then she spoke the truth.
Release the prisoners.
The hand of Kashma Baba
is behind this.
We've searched the palace
and found no one, Your Highness.
Then you search the houses
near the palace
and put all to torture
until they reveal
the assassin
who loosed the arrows.
Captain Baka,
somebody has broken through
to the dungeons.
Block all the exits
from the palace.
We'll have them in a trap.
Guards, follow me.
Guards, guards.
If Allah is with us,
we shall escape the palace.
We heard shouting
then all was quiet,
- perhaps too quiet.
- It may be a trap.
Then we shall fight
our way out of it.
Guard my father
and the Princess closely.
We can't break through.
We'll make our stand
in the Great Hall.
At them, guards,
slay the traitors.
Go on.
Ali Baba.
The Caliph informed me
that you had perished
in the flames
of your palace, Ali Baba.
But he did not inform,
Your Exalted Eminence,
that he had contrived
a situation
to make me appear traitorous
in your eyes.
The Caliph sent my daughter,
the Princess Azura,
to the house of Kashma
with orders to make him take her
to the palace of Ali Baba.
If she failed,
I was to die by slow torture.
The instigator of that evil plan
was yourself, Kareeb.
Forgive me,
Your Exalted Eminence.
It is true.
The Caliph ordered me
to devise a scheme to enable him
to gain the vast treasure
of Ali Baba.
Put up your swords.
Hussein.
Assemble the prisoners.
You had best see if you can make
peace with the Mighty Shah
for all of us.
That's an order, Cadet Baba.
You have fought valiantly
even as your noble father did
before you.
Old and trusted friend,
you have need of a new palace
and I of a new Caliph
I can trust to rule Baghdad.
The Princess Azura is very lovely.
But guard her closely,
for not even a Shah
would be above stealing her.
Hear and obey,
Most Exalted Eminence.
Mother, this is Kashma
who trusts no one,
not even his own heart.
In spite of the falsehoods
she tells, Your Highness,
I love her dearly.
Have I your Royal permission
to relieve you of her care?
I prophesy an era
of great peace and tranquility
in my homeland.