"Thief" gave Fairbanks a new direction. He was a comedy star, but after this movie he became a "swashbuckler". The movie had many special effects such as flying carpets and monsters and magical Djinn. The Arabian-style set was huge. The movie was remade twice: once in 1940 with Sabu and then in 1961 with Steve Reeves. The Fairbanks version was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1996.