Siren Of Bagdad is a rather broad satire from Columbia of all those Arabian Knights Maria Montez films from Universal. Even after Maria died young those sets got a good dozen years use over at Universal International for such people as Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Jeff Chandler.Playing the title role is Patricia Medina the beautiful daughter of the deposed sultan. Against her charms the witty and sophisticated Paul Henreid, magician and head of a traveling entertainment troupe doesn't have a chance. His troupe of dancing girls plus his assistant Hans Conreid get involved in the politics of Bagdad as they help Medina kick out the usurper. That magician's magic box meant to entertain never saw quite the service it saw in this film. Came in quite handy.Also coming in handy are those dancing girls. As usurper Charles Lang is seeking to replenish his harem the girls provide a wonderful entrée into intrigue.This is a decent enough satire, don't try to take it seriously, just relax and enjoy.

That immortal line sums it up, folks. This campy desert feature has even more gags than it has harem girls, and they're often as funny as they are unbelievable. Paul Henreid plays a dashing magician (with a dash of Vaudeville) in a kind of low-rent "Arabian Nights" empire. Henreid's famous role in "Casablanca" must have led to a fascination with the Sahara, because he did more than one sword-and-sandal picture later, though they were an odd fit. Patricia Medina, who had her own long career in costumers, is beautiful as the "siren" but doesn't have much chemistry with Henreid. The great character actor Hans Conreid, as Henreid's wise-cracking sidekick, utters the immortal line quoted above, among others. I would like to think that some minor studio executive said, "Paul Henreid and Hans Conreid? Aren't they the same guy?" That's the spirit in which this one was made.

While many have panned this film, the dancing and theatrics were excellent entertainment. Costuming and sets were well done and while the plot lacked a lot of depth, the mirth and special effects were interesting and ahead of other offerings from the mid 1950's.Casting was done with relative unknowns that worked diligently at coming across as middle eastern while obviously actually being from Mexico or South America...(distinct Spanish dialect in the accents).Dancing and magic was fun and believable. Sit back and enjoy, but don't expect any surprises...

On January 10, 2008 I watched four Paul Henreid swashbuckler/sand and sandal movies one after the other on Turner Classic Movies. "Thief of Damascus", "Last of the Bucanneers", "Pirates of Tripoli", and "Siren of Bagdad" from 6;00 a.m to 12;00 p.m. Why would anyone do such a crazy thing? I suppose it was some kind of innate desire to journey back to my childhood and down memory lane and catch up on a much forgotten past. The film that stands out of the group, in my opinion, was "Siren of Bagdad". This film really challenges the limits of the concept of "the willing suspension of disbelief". One of the most humorous moments comes when Kazah (Henreid), a magician, turns his friend Ben Ali (Conried) into a beautiful blond belly dancer. The Sultan (Charles Lung) flirts with the sexy vixen beckoning her to speak. Hans Conreid's voice makes an obvious sharp contrast with the belly dancer's beauty. Consequently,the reason for the strange voice is palmed off as the result of someone scaring his/her mother by whistling when she was caring them. Wow! What a stretch. Conried was given some of the best lines in the campy script such as "I would ask you for a match if they had been invented by now", and "When does the next camel to Basra arrive?" Throw in a former Pro Wrestler, Karl "Killer" Davis (Morab)of "Mighty Joe Young" fame, and Sylvia Lewis, one of the sexiest 1950's belly dancers you will ever see...and this turkey makes the necessary transition. In other words...the film is so "bad"... that you walk away thinking it was "good". Does that make any sense to you? If it doesn't .... I don't recommend this film.