The Golden Blade

The Golden Blade is a 1953 adventure fantasy set in the ancient Middle East. Harun, a young merchant from Basra, travels to Baghdad to find those responsible for his father's death. There he comes into possession of a golden Damascus sword that carries a cryptic promise of either a crown or a stone tomb. With the blade in hand he rescues a young woman, Princess Khairuzan, from danger, and the two are drawn together despite his vow to keep his distance until his mission is done. Their path keeps crossing that of the grand vizier Jafar and his son Hadi, who have designs on the throne, and the sword becomes the object of a struggle that puts Harun, the princess and the country itself at risk.

Nathan H. Juran directed the film from a screenplay by John Rich, with Leonard Goldstein and Richard Wilson producing for Universal International Pictures. It came early in Juran's career, before the fantasy and science-fiction adventures he later became associated with. Rock Hudson leads as Harun, Piper Laurie plays Khairuzan, and Gene Evans, George Macready, Kathleen Hughes and Steven Geray round out the cast.

The film runs 81 minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.6 from just under 900 votes, while on TMDB its score is 6.7 from a much smaller group of users, suggesting a modest overall reception with a warmer response from that smaller audience.