Sixteen years after the success of the seventh voyage of Sinbad, Ray once again returned to the Baghdad prince in 1794’s The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Like its predecessor, the Golden voyage enjoyed world-wide success and was a hit at the box office, though not to the extent of the seventh voyage. The film begins when Sinbad (played by John Phillip Law) comes into possession of a golden tablet, which he decides to keep. That night, he has a dream of a beautiful woman with a marking in the shape of an eye on her palm being engulfed by a darkly-clad man’s robes.  When he comes ashore on the country of Morobia, he meets up with the evil prince Koura (Tom Baker), who attempts to take it from him. Sinbad flees into the city, where he meets the Vizier of Morobia (Douglas Wilmer), a man who wears a golden mask after his face was destroyed by a ball of fire, presumably started by Koura. The Vizier has a golden tablet which fits perfectly with Sinbad’s, yet is still incomplete, requiring a third tablet to become whole. The Vizier informs Sinbad that if all three tablets are dropped into the fountain of youth on the lost island of Lemuria. The Vizier would use this power to keep his beloved country safe from evil, but he fears that if Koura got his hands on it, evil would rule Morobia. Unfortunately for him, Koura learns of everything the two discovered during their conversation through one of his creations dubbed a Humunculus, a weasel-sized bat-like creature who serves as an extension of the dark prince’s eyes and ears. Sinbad decides to leave immediately, but he is first met by a wealthy man asking him to take his worthless son, Haroun (Kurt Christian) along with him on his voyage. After reclining at first, Sinbad agrees to take Haroun when he sees the man’s slave-girl Marginia (Caroline Munroe), who looks exactly like the woman he envisioned, complete with eye marking. Noticing his interest in the girl, the man offers to give her to him if he also takes Haroun. Sinbad sets sail with the Vizier, Marginia, Haroun, and his motley crew to Lemuria to find the third tablet and keep Morobia safe forever on a journey which pits Sinbad against a living figure-head, the six-armed, sword-wielding goddess Kali, a second Humunculus, a majestic griffin, and a cyclopean centaur in one of the legendary sailor’s most unusual voyages ever.

Creatures to look out for:

Trivia:

• The entire film was completed for $982,351 a remarkably small sum even for a film in the early 1970's

• Fernando Poggi was once again on board to provide his valuable expertise for the use of the sword fighting sequences. Poggi strapped three of his stuntmen together with a very large belt. This then simulated the six arms of the living statue Kali.

• Originally they wanted to use the Alhambra palace for some of the shots but the authorities were asking for a huge fee for the rental, so they were forced to look elsewhere, eventually the found the Palace Generalife Palma, Majorca. Other scenes were film in the Caves of Arta (the temple of the Oracle) and the Torrente de Pareis.

• The miniature set for the Fountain of Destiny was huge the monoliths were 32 inches high and the fountain was constantly  maintained at a height of 51 inches. The rock background was over 15 feet high and the whole thing was built on a wooded platform 32 inches from the ground.