The Thug (1952) - (Farid Shawqi) oversize 35" x 45" Egyptian film poster
Story by Farid Shawqi, cinematography Mahmoud Nasr, screenplay by Naguib Mahfouz, Atef Salem, Farid Shawqi and Mahmoud Sobhi; starring Farid Shawqi, Hoda Soltan, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, Abdel Waress Assar, Mahmoud Ismail and Said Abu Bakr.
A destitute youth who could not find a way to support himself was treated harshly by circumstances. He lived in a humble room in an old quarter. He was pursued by creditors and had no consolation other than his love for the owner of the house, who gave him food. This overpowered him with despair. He tried to hang himself but the ceiling fell in with his weight and a flood of currency came crashing down with him that was hidden in the floor of the room above his. He found himself awash in cash and free to begin living a life of luxury. He adopted the outlook of an arrogant wealthy person; this led him into a boistrous life where he was fascinated by money. He hid his past and chased beautiful women, neglecting his fiance and provoking the feelings of the people in the quarter. Blinded by money, he had become a thug. However the blessing did not continue for the money had been stolen from a bank by a criminal who had hidden it in the floor above the room he had been renting. The criminal came back to the room one day and did not find the money. He realized the thug had stumbled across his treasure. He went looking for him, discovered his identity and told him he could not spend those currency notes because the police knew the serial numbers. However the police came and arrested the criminal as they were planning what to do with the money.The thug stopped his fiancee's marriage to someone else and married her after deciding to return the money to the authorities, even as he was surrounded by police who had come to arrest him.
Cast and crew: Atef Salem, Naguib Mahfouz, Hoda Soltan, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, Abdel Waress Assar, Mahmoud Ismail, Said Abu Bakr, Mahmoud Sobhi, Mahmoud Nasr, nmsp, Farid Shawqi, El-Sayed Bedeir