Ali Baba Bujang Lapok

1961

Ali Baba in Burlesque

P. Ramlee As The Leader Of The Thieves · Directed By P. Ramlee

Ali Baba Bujang Lapok is a 1961 Malay comedy film directed and written by P. Ramlee, who also stars. The film was produced in Singapore by Malay Film Productions Ltd. The film, loosely based on ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’ from the Thousand and One Nights, is the third instalment in the Bujang Lapok series.

Deep in the bustling streets of Baghdad lived Ali Baba, a simple man who earned his living by collecting firewood. Though he worked tirelessly every day, he struggled to make ends meet, often relying on his wealthy brother Kassim Baba for financial assistance. Kassim Baba viewed Ali Baba with contempt, belittling him for his lack of ambition and failure to improve his circumstances.

One fateful day, as Ali Baba gathered firewood near a cliff, he chanced upon a group of thieves making their way to a nearby cave. With the head thief reciting an incantation, the door to the cave opened and the group disappeared inside.

Curiosity piqued, Ali Baba waited until the thieves had left before approaching the cave himself. Reciting the same incantation as the thief, he found himself standing before a treasure trove of unimaginable wealth.

Overwhelmed with awe and disbelief, Ali Baba took only a small case of gold coins from the cave and quickly returned home. His newfound riches astounded Kassim Baba, who became consumed with greed and demanded to know the secret to his brother’s success. Blinded by his lust for wealth, Kassim Baba made the fatal mistake of attempting to steal from the cave himself.

As Kassim Baba loaded up his donkeys with gold and jewels, the thieves returned and captured him. In a cruel twist of fate, he was brutally murdered and his body cut into pieces as a warning to others who dared to trespass on the thieves’ territory.

Ali Baba was devastated by the loss of his brother, but knew that the thieves would soon be coming for him as well. Determined to protect himself and his family, he devised a plan to outwit the thieves and safeguard his fortune, and, thanks to his servant Marjina, the thieves are defeated.

Ali Baba Bujang Lapok contains elements of anarchic comedy, burlesque comedy, satire and farce. The movie is notable for P. Ramlee’s vision of extending a short story into a full-length film and for the fact that it is one of the few films in which he plays the villain. The movie also mocks the legal status of cannabis and opium in then-British Malaya for humorous effect.