The plight of a common thief is complicated when he hides out with a country family that mistakes him for the new preacher in town. The mistaken identity transforms the perpetrator in ways he did not expect.

Antonio Zarro was still a college film student when he lovingly assembled the 60-minute Bird in a Cage. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's The Pilgrim: the central character is a petty thief who is mistaken for a clergyman. The effect that the thief has on a small rural community, and the community's effect on him, is the nucleus of the film. The material is simple (and sometimes simplistic), but demands artistry. Novice filmmaker Antonio Zarro delivered that artistry, and in so doing won a special Oscar.—Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide