The 1924 silent film 'The Thief of Bagdad' starred which swashbuckling actor?

The 1924 silent film The Thief of Bagdad starred the swashbuckling actor Douglas Fairbanks. He played Ahmed, a charismatic thief whose adventures lead him into a romance with the daughter of the Caliph of Baghdad. The film was directed by Raoul Walsh and distributed by United Artists.

Fairbanks also served as producer and helped shape the story, making the film a showcase for his athletic style and imaginative screen persona. It featured enormous palace sets, elaborate costumes, a magic rope, a flying carpet, fantastic creatures, and large crowd scenes. These elements made it one of the most ambitious and expensive American films of the silent era.

The film marked Fairbanks’s move from genial modern comedies into grand adventure fantasies, following The Mark of Zorro and Robin Hood. It is sometimes confused with the 1940 Technicolor remake, which starred Sabu and divided the central hero into a prince and a thief. The 1924 version remains closely identified with Fairbanks and is widely regarded as his masterpiece.