Arabian Nights is a 1942 adventure film directed by John Rawlins and starring Jon Hall, Maria Montez, Sabu and Leif Erikson.

The film is derived from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights but owes more to the imagination of Universal Pictures than the original Arabian stories.

His revolt fails, and he is sentenced to slow death by exposure, but Kamar's men storm the palace and free their leader.

Haroun, Sherazade, and the acrobats escape the slave pens, but are found by Kamar's army and taken to a tent city in the desert.

Upon learning of this insidious scheme, Ali and his fellow performers rescue Haroun, who then decides to free Sherazade with the help of the acrobats.

Kamar engages Haroun in a swordfight, while the acrobats set fire to the tents; and the arrival of the caliph's loyal troops, summoned by Ali, triggers a massive battle.

Nadan is stopped by a thrown spear and dies inside a burning tent, leaving Haroun, Sherazade, and their loyal friends to celebrate victory.

Looking for a follow-up he noted the box office success of The Thief of Bagdad which starred Sabu, who was under contract to Universal.

It is just a conventional fiction, dressed up in flashy costumes..."[11] Variety liked the film better, calling it "a colorful and actionful entertainment in tune with present audience requirements ... script and direction keep things moving at consistently fast clip, with dialog crisp throughout.

"[14] David Lardner of The New Yorker called the film "muddled" and suggested that Hollywood had been experiencing difficulty finding new roles for Sabu ever since Elephant Boy.