 Curtis was receiving numerous fan letters, so Universal awarded him the starring role in "The Prince Who Was a Thief" (1951), a swashbuckler set in the Middle East with Piper Laurie.It was a hit at the box office and Curtis was now established.He followed it up with "Flesh and Fury" (1952), a boxing movie; "No Room for the Groom" (1952), a comedy with Laurie directed by Douglas Sirk; and "Son of Ali Baba" (1952), another film set in the Arab world with Laurie.