Siren of Bagdad
{{Short description|1953 film by Richard Quine}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Siren of Bagdad
| image = Siren_of_Bagdad_poster.jpg
| caption =
| director = Richard Quine
| producer = Sam Katzman
| writer = Robert E. Kent
Larry Rhine
| narrator =
| starring = Paul Henreid
Patricia Medina
Hans Conried
| music = John Leipold
| cinematography = Henry Freulich
| editing = Jerome Thoms
| distributor = Columbia Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1953|05|20}}
| runtime = 73 min.
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Siren of Bagdad is a 1953 Technicolor fantasy adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by Richard Quine set in the medieval Iraq. It stars Paul Henreid as a travelling Master magician who seeks to recover his troop of beautiful dancing girls who are to be sold into slavery. Patricia Medina portrays his love interest who seeks to overthrow the corrupt Grand Vizier with the magician's help.{{Cite web|url=http://allmovie.com/work/siren-of-baghdad-110394|title=Siren of Bagdad (1953) - Richard Quine | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie}}
Hans Conried plays the sidekick to Quine's magician, who is transformed into a beautiful blonde woman who spies and distracts the Grand Vizier while retaining Conried's voice.
Plot
{{More plot|date=November 2014}}
Kazah the Great, a magician is traveling in Arabia with a circus.
Cast
File:Patricia Medina-Siren of Bagdad-Promo-Van Pelt.jpg, Paul Henreid and Patricia Medina in Siren of Bagdad]]
- Paul Henreid as Kazah the Great
- Patricia Medina as Princess Zandi
- Hans Conried as Ben Ali
- Charles Lung as Sultan El Malid
- Laurette Luez as Orena
- Anne Dore as Leda
- George Keymas as Soradin
- Michael Fox as Telar
- Karl Davis as Morab
- Carl Milletaire as Hamid
Production
Patricia Medina signed a three-picture contract with Sam Katzman, of which this was the first.{{Cite news|title=MISS MEDINA SIGNS 3-YEAR CONTRACT: Actress to Make Three Films Annually for Katzman -- 'Siren of Baghdad' Will Be First|author=THOMAS M. PRYOR|date=Sep 8, 1952|work=New York Times|page=18}}
Filming started 3 September 1952.{{Cite news|title=FREDRIC MARCH SET FOR FOX FILM LEAD: Signs for Top Role in 'Man on a Tightrope,' Anti-Communist Story to Be Made Abroad|date=Aug 2, 1952|work=New York Times|page=7}}
It was Henreid's third swashbuckler for Katzman. The actor later recalled that Quine "wanted to do the film as a satire, a Chaplinesque burlesque of pirate films."{{cite book|title=Ladies man : an autobiography|last1=Henreid|first1= Paul|last2= Fast|first2= Julius|year=1984 |publisher=St. Martin's Press|page=203}}
Reception
The movie had a successful preview which Henreid said "Every situation joke worked; the audience howled. I came out beaming, and producer Sam Katzman, Quine and I congratulated one another on the very funny picture."Henreid p 203
He said Katzman's wife was the only one who did not think the film would be a success, saying "People who go to pirate pictures want just that, a pirate picture. They aren’t as sophisticated as this preview audience. They want their pictures to follow a strict formula. This picture pokes fun at the sacred formula—and I don’t think they’ll accept that." Henreid said "she was absolutely right. The picture was a flop! "{{cite book|title=Hollywood Talks Turkey – The Screen's Greatest Flops|first=Doug|last= McClelland|publisher=Starbrite|year=1989|url=https://archive.org/stream/HollywoodTalksTurkeyTheScreensGreatestFlopsByDougMcClellandStarbrite/Hollywood_Talks_Turkey_The_Screens_Greatest_Flops_by_Doug_McClelland_%28Starbrite%29_djvu.txt}}Henreid p 204
Comic book adaptation
- Eastern Color Movie Love #21 (June 1953){{Grand Comics Database issue|id=264027|title=Movie Love #21}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Siren of Bagdad (1953 film)}}
{{wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb title|id=0046322|title=Siren of Bagdad}}
- [https://archive.org/details/variety190-1953-05/page/n145/mode/1up/search/%22sam+katzman%22?q=%22sam+katzman%22 review of film] at Variety
- {{TCMDb title|id=27973}}
- {{AFI film|id=51028|title=Siren of Bagdad}}
{{Richard Quine}}
{{Sam Katzman}}
Category:1950s adventure comedy films
Category:1950s historical comedy films
Category:American adventure comedy films
Category:American historical comedy films
Category:Films directed by Richard Quine
Category:Columbia Pictures films
Category:Films adapted into comics
Category:1950s English-language films
Category:English-language adventure comedy films