Sokurah is the main antagonist from the 1958 film The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
He was portrayed by the late Torin Thatcher, who also played Pendragon in Jack the Giant Killer.
Biography[]
Sokurah makes his first appearance when running away from a monstrous cyclops and holding a magic lamp. He cries out for help, and Sinbad and his sailors help him go back to their ship. But then, the cyclops tosses a boulder at them, causing the lamp to fall into the water. The lamp contains a genie named Barani, who Sokurah summons to do his bidding.
The wicked magician is determined to get the lamp back at all costs. On the journey, Sinbad's crew doesn't trust him. He puts on a show, turning the fair Princess Parisa's maid into a cobra woman. But when he makes a prophecy about Baghdad and Parisa's kingdom falling into war and chaos, the sultan banishes him.
That's when Sokurah decides to seek his revenge. He secretly casts a spell on the princess, shrinking her. The mission to find ingredients for a potion to save Parisa - one of which being the shell of a monstrous bird called the Roc - begin when the friends head out on a ship with Sokurah and Parisa to Colossa, evading shrieking demons.
As soon as they arrive on Colossa, Sinbad, some of the crew, and Sokurah discover a hoard of treasure but are captured and nearly wind up as lunch for the cyclops. That's when the evil sorcerer callously leaves them to their doom, but Parisa releases them. Sinbad drives back the giant beast by blinding it and luring the monster to its death and, knowing Sokurah's treachery, keeps the lamp until the magician reverses the spell he cast on the princess.
Sokurah leads Sinbad and his crew to the Roc's nest, where they make a meal out of a nestling and escape from the angry mother. Our hero manages to obtain the lamp and a piece of the eggshell but is captured by the monster. In a bid to gain the lamp, Sokurah kills Sinbad's friend Harufa by spearing him in the chest, then kidnaps Parisa and takes her to his underground lair.
Sinbad, aided by Barani, tracks down Sokurah and sneaks into his cave, which is guarded by a menacing dragon. He confronts the sorcerer, who restores Parisa to her normal size. Then, the brave sailor refuses to give him the lamp, and Sokurah summons a skeleton warrior to kill them both. After defeating the skeleton, Sinbad and Parisa escape from the cave and make their vow to release the genie. But as soon as our hero and heroine reach the exit, they are attacked by another cyclops. Sinbad releases the dragon, which brings down the ogre, but Sokurah sics the dragon on him and his crew. Then, Sinbad and his crew struggle to prepare a giant crossbow originally planned by the wicked sorcerer. They shoot the dragon in the chest, killing it, and as a result, the monster accidentally topples onto Sokurah and flattens him.