The Thief of Bagdad (1924) with original Mortimer Wilson score

Filmed at a cost of over $1,000,000, "The Thief of Bagdad" was one of the most expensive films of the silent era. Featuring what at the time was “state-of-the-art” special effects including a flying carpet, an invisibility cloak and a magic rope as well as large impressive sets helped Fairbanks achieve his complex visual concept for re-creating this Arabian Nights fantasy

In 2008 the American Film Institute named "The Thief of Bagdad" one of the top 10 films in the fantasy genre.

Silent movies were never really silent....they were almost always shown with live music which helped set the mood for the various scenes. Most movies never had an "official" score and for those that did the scores were usually just compilations of existing music - extracts from operas, classical standards or generic photoplay music written for film accompaniment. "The Thief of Bagdad" was the rare exception, Douglas Fairbanks commissioned Mortimer Wilson to compose a score of entirely original music for the New York premier in 1924. The score was technically very challenging, probably beyond the skills of most movie theatre orchestras. Instrument parts included Flute(Piccolo), Oboe, 2 Clarinets, Bassoon, 2 French Horns, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Tympani & Percussion, Harp, and Strings.

This is the complete film with the original published score composed Mortimer Wilson for the New York premier in 1924. This score was also used by large theatres throughout the country during its release.