Burglars of "Baghdad" Castle

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Original Title	馬具田城の盗賊
Japanese kana Rendering	Bagudajo no tozoku
English Title	Burglars of "Baghdad" Castle
Production Date	1926
Author	Noburo Ofuji
Duration (minutes)	14
Sound	silent
Color	b/w
Plot	In a castle in the capital of Azuma-no-kuni there is a lazy young man called Dangobei who robs people of their wallets. One day, Dangobei picks up a good-luck charm that the beautiful princess, lady of the castle, lost. Knowing that a man who obtains the treasure of the Dragon Castle can marry the princess, Dangobei heads there with the good-luck charm in hand. First, Dangobei enters the country of snow and uses the tip of his umbrella to defeat a monstrous centaur who was bullying the spirit of snow. As a token of thanks, the spirit of snow says to Dangobei “Do not treat the snow accumulated on your umbrella carelessly.” Another man who wants to marry the princess arrives at the Demon Abyss, but a dragon appears and eats him. When Dangobei throws the umbrella with snow on it at the dragon, the dragon eats it and disappears. Then, the spirit of snow appears and guides Dangobei to the underwater Dragon Castle. Dangobei gets a precious orb that grants wishes and returns to ”Baghdad” Castle riding the flying horse Pegasus. After returning to to find that an enemy is attacking the castle, Dangobei uses the precious orb to create an ally army to save the princess. Dangobei, who is now the general of this large force, successfully saves the castle and marries the princess. At the castle, a banquet continues with a portable shrine on parade during the day and fireworks at night.
Description	This is Noburo Ofuji's official debut work and the first animated film made using chiyogami paper. Dangobei (sometimes read "Dango no Hyoue"), the main character in Chiyogami Eiga, appears in this film for the first time. The story is about a cowardly boy who grows through overcoming difficulties - a theme consistent through the entire series of Chiyogami Eiga. The title, Burglars of “Baghdad” Castle, created after the American movie The Thief of Bagdad (1924), is itself quite interesting. The original was three reels of 35mm film with a total length of 666 meters, lasting 30 min. (at 18fps). The existing film is a 16mm digest version (Marvel Graph) released by the Jujiya Kogataeiga Division.
Production Company	Jiyu Eiga Kenkyusho*
Distribution	Chuo Eigasha*
Release Date	Jul 15,1926
Credits: Director	Noburo Ofuji*
Credits: Staff, Cast, etc.
Intertitles	T1「MARVEL GRAPH マーヴェルグラフ」、T2「馬具田城の盗賊」、T3「今は昔吾妻の国に馬具田と云ふ都がありました」、T4「馬具田城」、T5「これは都一の怠者團子兵衛と申すものでござる」、T6「やつこれはこれは」、T7「花日傘顔みるまでの美しさ」、T8「やこれはこれは」、T9「やっこれはこれは」、T10「しめたぞ」、T11「美人の譽れ高い城主の姫君」、T12「お婿様になるために怪龍城へ寶物をとりにゆくのさ」、T13「凡て幸福は汝自らの努力によつて得べきものなり」、T14「怪龍城へ」、T15「雪の國」、T16「たすけて････」、T17「雪の精」、T18「いつでも雪の精をいぢめる怪馬人」、T19「こわやこわや危きに近よらず」、T20「あれ･･…」、T21「傘につもる雪を決して粗末になさいますな」、T22「我がものとおもえばかろき傘のゆきと…」、T23「あんまりかろくもないぞ」、T24「魔ヶ淵」、T25「お助け下れたお礼に怪龍城えご案内申しませう」、T26「怪龍城」、T27「思ふことたちどころに叶ふ稀代の寶珠」、T28「馬」、T29「どうしたんだ」、T30「敵軍殺到!!」、T31「お城がとられたんだよ」、T32「敵！來たる」、T33「お城の危難を救つた團子兵衛は三国一のお婿様となりました」、T34「めでたやめでたやよろこべよろこべ」、T35「幸福は自らの努力によつて得るものなり」、T36「終」。
Censorship - Date and Number	[参考]内務省検閲番号：A78(1926年4月2日)。
References	・木村千疋男「主要日本映画批評馬具田城の盗賊」『キネマ旬報』1926年8月1日・第235号、52頁。
Frames per Second	18fps
Source of Digital Copy	The 16mm positive donated from individuals
Completeness	complete (no credit information)
Additional Notes	The mark of "*" will provide an additional explanation gained from the bibliographical information.
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