Patrick Wayne ( son of John ) was a busy little guy in 1977. Not content with fighting dinosaurs and volcano worshippers in 'The People That Time Forgot', he also starred in Ray Harryhausen's third and final 'Sinbad' epic. Now, for those of us of a certain age, the name Ray Harryhausen conjures up powerful memories. Whenever one of his films opened in '70's Britain, it was as though manna had fallen from Heaven: 'Clapperboard' ( an I.T.V. children's programme about movies ) devoted a two-part special to its making ( featuring interviews with everyone including the tea boy ),clips found their way onto 'Screen Test', 'Blue Peter', and, if you were lucky, 'The Krypton Factor', and bubble gum cards containing action scenes went on sale in sweet shops. There'd be a paperback book ( the one for this film was by John Ryder Hall ) and a poster magazine. Then you'd trot along to the local picture house to get in line to buy popcorn and see the thing ( praying the best seat in the house would not be taken ).

The plots were identical - Sinbad and his crew ( with a pretty girl thrown in for good measure ) are on a dangerous quest to find some mythical artifact which gives its owner eternal life or magic powers or whatever. But an evil wizard would try to beat them to it, and conjure up all manner of grotesque monsters to slow them down. Of course good would triumph over evil at the end. So it is written.

'Tiger' opens with a coronation going badly wrong. Just before young prince Kassan ( Damien Thomas ) is crowned Caliph of Bagdad, he is unexpectedly changed by magic into a baboon. Being an ape can seriously impair one's ability to be a Monarch ( though its never proved much of a hindrance in Britain ),so his comely sister, Farah ( Jane Seymour ) turns to Sinbad for help. He sets sail for the home of benign magician Melanthius ( Patrick Troughton ). There must be a good hairdresser amongst the crew, as everyone's crowning glories looks permanently fresh and clean. Along the way they pick up Dione ( Taryn Power, sister of Tyrone ). Zenobia ( Margaret Whiting ) the evil witch who changed the prince in the first place, gives chase in a barge rowed by a minotaur-like creature ( Peter Mayhew ) with a clockwork heart. What about the monsters? Well there's a giant walrus, a big wasp, a troglodyte, a sabre-toothed tiger, and some weird looking skeletal things who fight Sinbad near the start of the picture. And we've got Jane Seymour and Taryn Power skinny dipping for good measure. All you want from a movie.

While not the best 'Sinbad' ( 1974's 'The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad' scoops that honour ) by a long chalk, this is still good fun, beautifully photographed by Ted Moore and nicely scored by Roy Budd. It drags in parts, most notably the scene where Zenobia changes into a seagull to eavesdrop on her enemies. As 'Zenobia', Whiting chews the scenery nicely. I wish her character's fate had been resolved though, and dear Pat Troughton's wizard anticipates his later role in 'The Box Of Delights' television series.

'Tiger' opened to a mixed critical response, but us kids loved every absurd word of it. No more 'Sinbad' pictures were made surprisingly. Ray went on to make 'Clash Of The Titans' ( recently remade for no apparently discernible reason ) in 1981 before retiring. While his stop motion animations ( or 'Dynarama' as they were grandly called ) may seem dated to modern eyes, to those of us who were there at the time they remain as thrilling as ever. His monsters look as though they were the creation of a genius. Which they were.

Directed by Sam Wanamaker ( Zoe's dad ).

Evil witch Zenobia (a wonderfully robust and wicked portrayal by Margaret Whiting) casts a spell on Prince Kassim (handsome Damien Thomas) which transforms him into a baboon. Courageous legendary sailor Sinbad (a solid and likable performance by Patrick Wayne) embarks on a dangerous journey to the chilly Artic in order to reverse the spell before it's too late. Assisting Sinbad on his perilous pilgrimage are fiery Princess Farah (radiantly played by the beautiful Jane Seymour),flaky wise old wizard Melanthius (a delightfully dotty Patrick Troughton) and Melanthius' feisty daughter Dione (a winning turn by luscious blonde looker Taryn Power). Standing in Sinbad's way are Zenobia and her no-count son Rafi (a nicely venomous Kurt Christian). Director Sam Wanamaker ably maintains a brisk pace throughout, stages the frequent thrilling action scenes with considerable brio, and effectively creates a charming magical atmosphere. Ray Harryhausen's extraordinary stop-motion animation creatures include a chess-playing baboon (the sequence where the baboon reacts to its reflection in a mirror with startled grief is truly remarkable),a trio of skeletal sword-wielding humanoid insect demons, a powerful bronze colossus called the Minoton, a savage gigantic walrus, a helpful horned club-brandishing troglodyte, and a ferocious saber-toothed tiger. The scene where Power and Seymour go skinny-dipping is pretty bold for a G-rated film. Roy Budd's splendidly stirring'n'sweeping majestic orchestral score and Ted Moore's exquisitely rich, vivid and vibrant saturated color cinematography further add to the overall enjoyment of this engaging and satisfying fantasy adventure treat.

It would be easy to rip apart this film. After all, compared to the special effects of today this all looks very quaint and primitive. However, even with the obviously fake creatures made by Ray Harryhausen and the many fake looking props, there is a certain escapist charm about this film. So, if you can turn off that pesky brain and just relax and enjoy, you'll like "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger".

the film has an interesting cast. Two children of very famous actors are in some of the leading roles--Patrick Wayne (son of John) plays Sinbad and Taryn Power (daughter of Tyrone) plays a lesser character, Dione. In addition, the queen of mini-series (Jane Seymour as the Princess) and an ex-Dr. Who (Patrick Troughton--as the smarty-pants scientist) round out the cast of good guys. On the side of evil is the snarly scene-chewing Margaret Whiting as Zenobia. She has apparently turned the Crown Prince into a baboon so that her own son can take the throne. However, there is a minuscule chance that Sinbad can somehow find a way to turn him back--but first he needs to find the legendary smarty-pants, the alchemist Melanthius (Troghton). Once Sinbad and his group of friends find the smarty dude (more on that later),they make there way towards the Arctic regions to find the power of the ancients and transform the baboon into his gold old self--especially since his sister refuses to marry Sinbad unless her brother is restored.

The film is full of lots of action, grand vistas and silly Harryhausen stop-motion thingies. In many ways it's a throwback to older films (as most of his best work was from the 50s and 60s) and the style of film is much like an old Universal or RKO adventure film. Fun and silly---even if the handsome Wayne has all the charisma in this film as a piece of toast.

why all the white folks? left Melanthius alone with dangerous witch