One of the great fantasy films, The Thief of Bagdad (1940) is also included on that short list of movies which had long, complicated production histories of false starts, script rewrites, and multiple directors (Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan), yet managed to emerge as a special entity, effortlessly carrying off a unique single vision. In this case, that vision belonged to London-based Hungarian producer/ director Alexander Korda. By the late 1930s Korda had amassed an impressive crew of artists and craftsmen around him at London Films' Denham Studios, and much like his American counterpart David O. Selznick had with his production of Gone with the Wind (1939), Korda sought out a property to showcase the talent under his wing. Inspired by the success of his personal discovery - Indian actor Sabu - Korda hit upon the idea of casting the energetic youth in an Arabian Nights fantasy. Sabu was a stable boy for the Maharaja of Mysore when he was discovered by Korda and cast in Elephant Boy (1937) at the age of 13. The success of that film, co-directed by Zoltan Korda and the great documentarian Robert J. Flaherty, led to several more starring roles in Korda productions: The Drum (1938), again directed by Zoltan Korda; The Thief of Bagdad; and perhaps his most famous role, that of Mowgli in the Korda brothers' adaptation of Kipling's Jungle Book (1942). Released in December, 1940, The Thief of Bagdad won Oscars for Special Effects, Color Cinematography, and Art Direction, as well as a nomination for Miklos Rozsa's score. The film also won near-universal praise from the critics. Coming as it did just at the outbreak of World War II, The Thief of Bagdad eventually came to represent for many a cinematic last gasp of Old World innocence, magic, and adventure, forever lost during the horrors of war.