Summary
A labyrinthine tapestry of geopolitical upheaval and domestic tragedy, Aladdin from Broadway navigates the precarious intersection of British nobility and Ottoman-era mysticism. The narrative commences with the existential displacement of James Fitzgerald, an antiquarian who abruptly inherits an English title, only to be severed from his family during a violent Turkish insurrection. What follows is a multi-generational odyssey of reclamation, sparked by a hubristic wager in a smoky New York club. Jack Stanton, an American adventurer possessing a formidable command of Arabic, ventures into the forbidden sanctity of Mecca to retrieve a hidden prayer book—a relic of Fitzgerald’s lost life. This quest for a memento mori quickly transmutes into a complex romantic entanglement in Damascus, where Fitzgerald’s long-lost daughter, Faimeh, is trapped in a web of forced matrimonial legality. The film masterfully employs the 'triple divorce' of Islamic law as a pivotal narrative engine, leading to a desert-bound pursuit involving disguises, sandstorms, and a profound exercise in cross-cultural empathy. Ultimately, the film reconciles its disparate geographic and emotional poles, transitioning from the sun-drenched perils of the East to the sophisticated resolution of a Broadway finale.
Synopsis
James Fitzgerald, an antiquarian, receives a letter from England that he has fallen heir to the title and fortune of his deceased brother. He leaves his Armenian wife and daughter in the care of Abu, a servant. An uprising among the Turks ensues and Mrs. Fitzgerald and the child are taken captive. Returning, Fitzgerald, with Abu, the servant, goes in pursuit. The only thing remaining of his home and wife is a small prayer book. Fitzgerald goes to Mecca to avoid capture, and hides the prayer book in a recess in the wall. Several years pass. Jack Stanton hears Lord Fitzgerald exclaim that it is impossible for any white man to emulate the feat that he did years ago. Stanton claims that if an Englishman could enter Mecca, an American could to it too. A bet is made whereby Stanton is to go to Mecca and, unaided, bring back the prayer book hidden by Fitzgerald. Stanton arrives at Mecca, disguised as a pilgrim. His father was the American Consul at Damascus in Stanton's youth, and his knowledge of Arabic is good. He finds the prayer book, but an Arab named Sadi steals it during the night. Stanton follows Sadi to Damascus. In Damascus Fitzgerald's daughter is living in the care of a presumed stepmother named "Light of Life," who contracts with Amad, a rich diamond merchant, to deliver Faimeh, as she is called, to him as his wife. The marriage takes place in spite of Faimeh's protestations. Amad utters the triple Moslem sentence of divorce, and she is again free. Amad is still desirous of having her, but under the Koranic law, cannot remarry her until she has been married to another man and divorced by him. With El Sabbagh he goes to find a man. They find Stanton, and he is inveigled to do as they ask. Through the lattice work Stanton and Faimeh are married, but Stanton gets a glimpse of her face and refuses to pronounce the triple divorce. A fight ensues and Stanton finds himself with his wife in a walled garden. They make their escape into the desert. There Stanton disguises Faimeh as a boy and himself as a Jewish story teller. Amad and El Sabbagh in pursuit, with Sadi, who has the prayer book in his possession, overtakes them but do not recognize them. A suspicion enters Sadi's mind and he returns and spies on them. Stanton discovers him and a fight ensues in which Sadi is knocked unconscious and Stanton recovers the prayer book. Stanton and Faimeh leave on Sadi's camel and meet Fitzgerald, who is on his way to Damascus. Fitzgerald takes Faimeh with him, but Stanton goes on alone, as the agreement in the wager is that he shall not accept assistance from any Christian. Amad and El Sabbagh find Sadi, who tells them about Stanton and the girl. They start in pursuit, and during a sandstorm Amad is separated from his companions. Stanton has taken refuge behind his camel and Amad stumbles upon him and crawls under the same blanket that is protecting Stanton. The storm abates. Amad tries to kill Stanton, who finally gets the upper hand, and when he has Amad in his power his pity for the older man grows and he finally compels him to get on his camel, divides the water and tells him to be on his way before he changes his mind. In Damascus, Fitzgerald, through the jewels Faimeh wears, discovers that she is his daughter. Faimeh and Fitzgerald search for Stanton and meet Amad, who tells them about his self-sacrifice. Days later a sun-blistered man, almost out of his mind, staggers into Fitzgerald's apartment. There he sees Fitzgerald and Faimeh in an attitude of endearment and taking a mistaken idea from it, utters the triple divorce and then falls in a faint. Faimeh nurses him through a long siege of brain fever, and on his recovery explains to him the reason for the occurrence that he has witnessed. After a time, back on Broadway, Fitzgerald settles his wager and a Christian marriage is performed.
