Summary
“A Bird of Bagdad” unfurls a whimsical narrative steeped in the distinctive charm of O. Henry's storytelling. At its core is “Caliph” Quigg, a figure of compelling duality: a mundane restaurateur by day, yet a fervent seeker of nocturnal escapades, his spirit yearning for an elusive adventure reminiscent of Arabian Nights. This urban fable is set against the backdrop of Ogden, a harness maker's bustling establishment, where two diligent employees, Ed Simmons and Bill Hillman, find themselves entangled in a fervent romantic rivalry for the affections of Laura, Ogden's spirited daughter. Laura, though possessing her own nascent desires for a partner, finds herself constrained by the formidable will of her father, a man whose patriarchal authority is underscored by the implicit threat of the “harness strap” and a dismissive view of her youthful romantic inclinations. Ogden, a man of peculiar intellectual proclivities, rather than directly endorsing a suitor, instead presents a cryptic matrimonial challenge: a riddle demanding the identification of “what kind of a hen lays the longest?” The film culminates in a characteristically O. Henry-esque flourish, delivering a resolution as ingenious as it is unexpected, where wit and perception ultimately dictate the course of destiny.
Synopsis
"Caliph" Quigg runs a cheap restaurant by day and a seeker of adventure by night. Ed Simmons and Bill Hillman are two hard-working employees of Ogden, a prosperous harness maker. Laura, the harness-maker's daughter, is the object of both their affections. Laura has ideas of her own regarding a prospective husband but dares not communicate them to her father, fearing the harness strap. She is only a kid and should not be dreaming of husbands. Her dad is insane on the subject of riddles and when the question of which she shall choose for a husband is broached he asks the following riddle: "What kind of a hen lays the longest?" Get O. Henry's answer in the snappiest of climaxes.
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