Pictured is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Abdel Ghani to
promote an undated rerelease of the 1942 105-minute Kamal Selim
black-and-white film Dreams of Youth [ahlam al-shabab] starring
Farid Al Atrache based on a story by Youssef Wahby with screenplay by
Kamal Selim, dialogue by Badei Khayri and cinematography by Sami
Brail. Plot summary: Farid [Farid Al Atrache] became wealthy; he had
a passion for love so he became acquainted with his neighbor Elham
[Madiha Yousri], an orphan who lived with her Aunt Basiyouni [Marie
Munib]. With Bassiyouni's agreement Farid became Elham's piano
teacher. In a complication that plays itself out during the film a
dancer named Baheya [Taheya Cariocca] also tried to woo Farid, but he
did not love her even though they performed together.
Cast and crew: Kamal Selim, Abdel Ghani, Hassan Fayek, Bechara
Wakim, Farid Al Atrache, Madiha Yousri, Youssef Wahby, Badei Khayri,
Taheya Cariocca, Abdel Fatah Al Kasri, Sami Brail, Marie Munib, Abbas
Fares
This is a 5" x 6" 8-page Egyptian film program for the 1947 Niazi
Mostafa film War Profiteer written by Abu Seoud El-Ibiary and
starring Bechara Wakim as Hassanein. After the end of World War II,
to compensate for lost war revenues some wealthy traders took to
bribing government employees so they could get cheap goods for resale
at high prices. The daughter of one of the war profiteers fell in
love with a poor man. The war profiteer tried to buy off his
daughter's love, but the boy refused and the trader had to agree to
the marriage.
Cast and crew: Bechara Wakim, Niazi Mostafa, Kamal Al-Shennawi,
Elham Hussein, Abu Seoud El-Ibiary, Hassan Fayek, Aziz Osman, Marie
Monib, Leila Fawzi, Fathia Shahin, Farag al-Nahas, Hager Hamdi, Farid
Shawqi, Mohammad Kamal al-Masri
This is a 6.5" x 9.5" 14-page film program for the 1950 film My Sister Seteita> written\
and directed by Hussein Fawzi and Starring
Sabah as Hodhod. Plot summary: Hodhod was a singer who fell in love
with a famous singer named named Nabil [Saad Abdel Wahab]. To
insinuate herself into his life she impersonated his sister Seteita,
[Afaf Shaker] whom he had not seen in years.
This is a rare original Egyptian program for the 1945 Niazi Mostafa
musical Miss Bossy [al-anisa busa] based on story and dialogue
by Abu Seoud El-Ibiary with screenplay by Niazi Mostafa,
cinematography by Mostafa Hassan and starring Nour Al Hoda as Miss
Bossy. Plot summary: Fawzi Basha [Bechara Wakim] made an agreement
with his daughter Bossy that she would marry someone she loved because
of who he was and not because of his money. Fawzi went bankrupt and
moved into a humble dwelling in a poor neighborhood, where he wandered
the streets playing a keyboard while his daughter sang. His daughter
fell in love with a boy from a rich family named Mohsen [Mahmoud
Zulfikar]. Her father approved of their love but the boy's family
forbade his relationship with a girl who was a poor street musician.
Mohsen stayed with her anyway and they eventually married despite
their social differences.
Cast and crew: Niazi Mostafa, Hour Al Hoda, Hassan Fayek, Ferdoos
Mohammad, Bechara Wakim, Mahmoud Zulfikar, Abu Seoud El-Ibiary,
Mostafa Hassan
This is an original year 8" x 11" 12-page Egyptian film program for
the 1956 Niazi Mostafa film First Love based on a story by
Gerda Corbett and Botros Zarbenelli and starring Samia Gamal [1924 -
1994] as Zeinab. The program includes song lyrics, plot and key
photographic images. Plot Summary: There was a quarrel between Senia
the first dancer in a dance troupe and its director, and he fired her.
This gave Zeinab an opportunity to be the troupe's lead dancer.
However the group's main singer refused to sing in front of her.
Zeinab suggested to the director that he give the opportunity to her
lover, a novice singer named Salah, who succeeded with his first
trial; this made Senia resent him. She told Salah Zeinab was in a
relationship with the director, whereupon Salah's relationship with
Zeinab soured. The director rehired Senia. There was a quarrel
between Senia's assistants and Zeinab's assistants just before a
performance began. When Zeinab performed she made a place for herself
in the public eye. Then she went back to Salah, who had seen the
truth.
Cast and crew: Niazi Mostafa, Samia Gamal, Mohamed Mar'i, Abdel
Salam Al Nabulsy, Lola Sedki, Hassan Fayek, El Sayed Bedeir, Wadid
Serri, Hesham Wadid Serri, Gerda Corbett, Botros Zarbenelli
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Ahmed Fouad for the
1946 Wali Eddine Sameh film The Lady's Puppet starring Naguib
Al Rihani based on the 1898 Pierre Louys novel The Devil Is a
Woman AKA La Femme et le pantin, story by Naguib Al Rihani
and Badei Khayri and starring Naguib Al Rihani as Hassan. Plot
summary: In Cairo during the World War II a poor boy named Hassan
marries a runaway named Laaba, [Taheya Cariocca] who later becomes a
cinema performer; she leaves Hassan for another man, then agrees to
marry the other man while in Lebanon without telling him of her
existing marriage to Hassan.
Cast and crew: Wali Eddine Sameh, Naguib Al Rihani, Badei Khayri,
Pierre Louys, Taheya Cariocca, Suleiman Naguib, Aziz Osman, Bechara
Wakim, Hassan Fayek, Marie Munib, Abdel Fatah Al Kasri, Badei Khayri,
Mustafa Hassan
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster for the 1962 Hassan El-Seify
film Wife Killers Society based on story, screenplay and
dialogue by Youssef El Sebai, cinematography by Fouad Abdel Malek and
starring Salah Zulfikar as Mahmoud. Disclaimer: No wives are killed
in this farce! Plot summary: A husband named Nuh Effendi and his
wife Om Abdou [Hussein Riad and Marie Munib] were constantly arguing.
The husband noticed everyone he knew was having the same problem so he
decided to start a secret Wife Killers Society in the building where
they lived. He insisted on evicting Mahmoud [Salah Zulfikar] and
Sayed Khal Mahmoud [Abdel Moneim Ibrahim] who were living on the roof,
because they were late paying their rent.
Cast and crew: Hassan El-Seify, Salah Zulfikar, Hussein Riad,
Zahret al-Ola, Marie Munib, Zeinat Sedki, Khayria Ahmed, Abdel Moneim
Ibrahim, Hassan Fayek, Fouad Abdel Malek, Said Abu Bakr, Stephan
Rosti, Youssef El Sebai
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by an unknown artist
to promote an undated rerelease of the 1947 Anwar Wagdi
musical Leila the Rich Girl, a remake of Frank Capra's
1934 It Happened One Night, with story by Anwar Wagdi,
screenplay and dialogue by Badei Khayri and starring Laila Mourad as
Leila. Plot summary: Leila was a pretty girl from a rich family who
had lost her mother. Her father Hassan Rostam Basha [Bechara Wakim]
was dominated by his bossy new wife Monira [Olwiyya Gamil]. Monira had
imposed the bridegroom Gamil [Said Abu Bakr] on Leila because he was
her nephew and she was planning to use him to get the money Leila
would be receiving from her father. However when Gamil approached
Leila during the wedding ceremony she pushed him away and ran out of
the proceedings immediately. The press was full of reports about the
search for the missing bride's car, which was damaged on a bridge and
fell into the water; one of Leila's shoes she had been wearing at the
wedding was found in the car. The journalist Wahid [Anwar Wagdi] went
to the village where the accident had taken place and found Leila's
other shoe. He was surprised by the sound of the enchanting voice of
a young girl sitting on the bank singing in a tortured tone of voice.
Wahid approached the girl because of her beauty and the sweetness of
her voice. One of the people in the village told him she was the
daughter of the village mayor [Abdel Hamid Zaki]. She was sick and
everyone at her house was waiting for a physician who was on the way
from Cairo. Wahid knocked on the door and claimed he was the doctor
from Cairo looking for the girl. Once he saw her he realized she was
not the one he had seen on the bridge. Wahid and the girl, who said
her name was Farhana, left the mayor's house. Then Wahid learned the
girl with him was really Leila, the runaway bride everyone thought had
been killed because her loose shoes had been found. Back in Cairo
Wahid convinced Leila's father she was still alive by taking him to
the farmer's home where she was hiding. At first Leila thought Wahid
did not love her and was planning to take her back to the misery she
had been fleeing in exchange for reward money; instead Wahid was
finally able to awaken the conscience of Leila's father and make him
aware of the conspiratorial plans of his bossy wife and her nephew.
The basha divorced Monira publicly and Leila immediately went back to
Wahid, who was waiting nearby.
Cast and crew: Frank Capra, Badei Khayri, Abdelhalim Nasr, Olwiyya
Gamil, Bechara Wakim, Hassan Fayek, Said Abu Bakr, Abdel Hamid Zaki,
Abdel Nabi Mohammed, Reyad El Kasabgy, Laila Mourad, Anwar Wagdi
The title of this famous film became the title of a television series
written by Magdy Saber and directed by Mohamed Zoheir in which Syrian
actress Safa Soltan plays the part of Laila Mourad. The story in the
film is overshadowed in the minds of many Egyptians by the life of
Laila Mourad herself, who was a non-Zionist Jew converted to Islam.
In the film Mourad plays the part of a runaway who is unwittingly
caught up in the intrigues of a crime ring.
Cast and crew: Anwar Wagdi, Laila Mourad, Abdelhalim Nasr, Bechara Wakim, Zuzu Shakeeb, Farid Shawqi, Ismail Yasseen, Abdel Aziz Mahmoud, Hassan Fayek, Said Abu Bakr, Mokhtar Hussein, Stephan Rosti, Mohamed Choukoukou, Mohamed Salman, Abdel Aziz Mahmoud, Reyad El Kasabgy
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian one-sheet designed by an unknown artist
for the 1960 Hussein Fawzi film My Beloved [ya
habibi] يا حبيبي based on story,
screenplay and dialogue by Hussein Fawzi and starring Rushdy Abaza as
Galal. Plot summary: Galal was studying engineering and working
construction jobs to help his mother and complete his studies. He
loved his neighbor the orphan Elham [Laila Taher] who lived with her
uncle Ershi [Mahmoud El-Meliguy]. Her uncle wanted to marry her but
she refused because she loved Galal.
Cast and crew: Rushdy Abaza, Hussein Fawzi, Laila Taher, Nagwa
Fouad, Klelio, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, Hassan Fayek, Mohammad Ziauddin,
Neda, Mahmoud Azmy, Kamal Hussein, Abdel Ghani Al-Nagwa, Anwar
Mohammad, Samia Rushdy
Pictured is a first printing of a 33.5" x 45" Egyptian stone
lithograph poster made by an unknown designer to promote the
105-minute Mostafa Hassan black-and-white film The Unknown
Singer [al-moghani al-maghul] starring Mohammed Al Kahlawi based
on an idea by Mohammed Al Kahlawi with screenplay and dialogue by Abu
Seoud El-Ibiary and cinematography by Mostafa Hassan. Plot summary:
Mohammad and Shafiq grew up together. Shafiq became an engineer while
Mohammad was unable to finish school and became a skilled decorator.
Mohammad also had a beautiful voice and was able to record his singing
for radio broadcasts. Mahasen, Shafiq's cousin, loved Mohammad and he
reciprocated, but Shafiq also loved her. When Mohammad proposed to
Mahasen her father refused to allow it because he wanted her to marry
Shafiq. However when Mohammad won a prize for his singing he became
an important person and Mahasen's father changed his mind and allowed
the marriage.
Cast and crew: Mostafa Hassan, Mohammed Al Kahlawi, Amira Amir, Aziza Amir, Abu Seoud El-Ibiary, Choukoukou, Hassan Fayek, Bechara Wakim, Hagar Hamdi, Fakher Fakher, Souraya Fakhry, Abdel Hamid Zaki, Naima Gamal, Soad Hussein, Mousa Helmy, Abbas Ahmed, Gaber Ahmed, Abbas Hassan
This is a rare 76" x 100" eight-sheet Egyptian billboard poster designed by
Marcel to promote the 1945 Niazi Mostafa film Miss Bossy
[al-anisa busa] based on story and dialogue by Abu Seoud El-Ibiary
with screenplay by Niazi Mostafa, cinematography by Mostafa Hassan and
starring Nour Al Hoda as Miss Bossy. Plot summary: Fawzi Basha made
an agreement with his daughter that she must marry someone she loved
because of who he was and not because of his money. Fawzi went
bankrupt and moved into a humble dwelling in a poor neighborhood,
where he wandered the streets playing a keyboard while his daughter
sang. His daughter fell in love with a boy from a rich family. Her
father approved of their love but the boy's family forbade his
relationship with a girl who was a poor street musician. The boy
stayed with her anyway and they eventually married despite their
social differences.
Cast and crew: Niazi Mostafa, Nour Al Hoda, Hassan Fayek, Ferdoos Mohammad, Bechara Wakim, Mahmoud Zulfikar, Abu Seoud El-Ibiary, Mostafa Hassan, Marcel
These are two original-year Egyptian promotional posters designed by
Anwari for the 125-minute 1947 black-and-white Ahmed Badrakhan
film Fatmah starring Om Kolsum based on a story by Mustafa Amin
with cinematography by Abdelhalim Nasr. Plot summary: Fatmah (Om
Kolsum), a polite young nurse, was given the task of overseeing a
pasha's treatment. When the pasha's brother Fathy (Anwar Wagdy) saw
her he was taken by her beauty and the sweetness of her voice when she
sang. He fell in love with her and tried to attract her in various
ways but failed to arouse any interest. While he had a fierce desire
for her, he did not find any way other than marriage, so he actually
took her under marriage contract as a common law wife and had a
honeymoon with her in Alexandria. He returned with her, but they had
to live together in her humble home in one of the neighborhoods in
view of his father's anger about what had happened. Fathy could not
tolerate living there or interacting with the people of that
neighborhood, and he left after he was fed up with it. Chance led him
to the villa of Mervat (Mimi Shakeeb), an aristocratic girl. He made
preparations to marry her also because he had already promised her he
would do that. Fathy found that this was the way to please his father
the pasha, and he returned to his father's mansion forgetting his wife
the nurse. His father asked him to get the marriage paper from this
nurse, which he did but only after Fatmah had made a photocopy of it.
Fathy abandoned Fatmah but she had become pregnant by him and had his
child, although he denied it. The people in the neighborhood met and
decided to raise the issue of Fathy. In the midst of these events
Fathy told his wife Mervat about the situation and then went to
Fatmah's house to ask her forgiveness. He was struck by an automobile
on the way, just when he had come to his senses and decided to return
to Fatmah with regret for what he had done and acknowledge that he was
the father of her son.
Cast and crew: Mustafa Amin, Om Kolsum, Suleiman Naguib, Zuzu Shakeeb, Anwar Wagdi, Saneya Shawky, Ahmed Badrakhan, Abdelhalim Nasr< Mimi Shakeeb, Hassan Fayek, Ferdoos Mohammad
This is an undated rerelease Egyptian poster made to promote the 1948
Anwar Wagdi 123-minute black-and-white film Amber [anbar]
starring Laila Mourad as Amber based on a story by Mohamed Kamel
Hassan with screenplay and dialogue by Anwar Wagdi and cinematography
by Abdelhalim Nasr. Plot summary: Reshwan Basha [Abdel Waress Assar]
is on a sickbed surrounded by family members. They are treating him
quite harshly and refusing to give him water. They have his only
daughter Amber [Laila Mourad] locked in the mansion bedroom. They are
doing these things to force the Basha to tell them where he has hidden
his wealth, which they desire. Anwar [Anwar Wagdi], owner of the Gold
Star Casino, arrives with his attorney Hassan [Hassan Fayek]. While
they are waiting to see the Basha, Anwar suddenly hears a sweet
melodious voice coming from the bedroom. He looks through a panel in
the door and sees Amber singing. After a short conversation with her,
he finds himself surrounded by the members of the gang that wants
Reshwan Basha's wealth. He tells them that he and his attorney Hassan
have come to buy the clothing of Reshwan Basha's late wife. The gang
agrees to sell him the clothing. These garments include a dress Amber
once wore. After Anwar and Hassan leave the gang members take Amber
and her sick old nanny to the bedside of Reshwan Basha, who is about
to die. They leave Amber with her father according to his wishes.
The Basha tells his secret to his daughter while the men in the gang
are eavesdropping outside. The Basha tells his daughter Amber he
married her mother against the wishes of his family, who fought him
throughout the years of the marriage; he was sure they were going to
fight his daughter after he died. This unhappy situation had led him
to sell all of his property and use the money to buy jewelry. He put
the jewels in a chest and hid it. He drew a map to its location and
sewed the map into the collar of a black silk evening dress, the same
dress Amber used to wear when she sang, and the same one Anwar has
purchased. Amber collapses in tears as the members of the gang rush
to the Gold Star Casino, which is a westernized nightclub where the
orchestra, led by Anwar as its trumpet player, plays jazz standards
such as Benny Goodman's I Found a New Baby. These melodies are
mixed with performances by Laila Mourad and others of show tunes
composed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab, some in the style of Western jazz,
others with Egyptian scales and rhythms. Anwar tries to persuade
Horia [Zeinat Sedki], a woman singer in his troupe, to wear the dress
he has purchased, but she vehemently refuses. During the argument the
hidden map comes out of the collar of the dress; Anwar gives it to
Hassan, not knowing its value. After he learns what it is, he and
Amber evade the gang, eventually make their way back to the mansion
and find the hidden chest of jewels. This discovery is followed by a
fight with the covetous gang, then a gala celebratory marriage between
Anwar and Amber.
Cast and crew: Laila Mourad, Anwar Wagdi, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Abdelhalim Nasr, Mohamed Kamel Hassan, Bechara Wakim, Hassan Fayek, Said Abu Bakr, Ismail Yasseen, Mahmoud Choukoukou, Elias Moadab, Stephan Rosti, Farid Shawqi, Reyad El Kasabgy, Zeinat Sedki, Abdel Moneim Ismail, Aziz Osman, Abdel Waress Assar
Pictured is a 23" x 35" poster designed by Dimitri Gabriel and Hassan
Mazhar Gasour to promote the 1951 Helmy Rafla two-hour
black-and-white film The Beloved Country [al-balad al-mahbub]
starring Taheya Cariocca based on a story by Abu Seoud El-Ibiary with
dialogue by Abu Seoud El-Ibiary, screenplay by Helmy Rafla and
cinematography by Bruno Salvi. Plot summary: A wealthy farmer owns
hundreds of acres of land. He advises his son to marry his friend's
daughter but she refuses because she does not want to marry a
farmer. Her father pressures her to marry him because this will
relieve him of financial hardship due to the money he will get
after they marry. However the girl loves her cousin in Cairo who does
not have money. The boy meets a dancer and and asks her to teach him
the ways of modern life and how to interact with girls. He wants all
of this so he can please the girl who has refused him. The dancer
falls in love with him. Meanwhile the girl discovers the truth about
her cousin, who abandons her after learning her father is on the verge
of bankruptcy. Then the girl agrees to marry the first boy. The dancer
withdraws from their lives.
Cast and crew: Abu Seoud El-Ibiary, Helmy Rafla, Bruno Salvi, Taheya Cariocca, Ismail Yasseen, Saad Abdel Wahab, Soad Makawy, Hassan Fayek, Sherifa Maher, Zeinat Sedki, Abdel Waress Assar, Abdel Salam Al Nabulsy, Wedad Hamdy, Soraya Fakhry, Zaki Ibrahim, Amina El-Said, Dalal Mahmoud, Abdel Moneim Ibrahim
This is an original 22" x 34" Egyptian poster designed by Hassan
Mazhar Gasour to promote the 1954 111-minute Niazi Mostafa
black-and-white film Love Taxi [taksi al-gharam] starring Hoda
Soltan based on story and dialogue by Abu Seoud El-Ibiary with
screenplay by Niazi Mostafa and cinematography by Abdel Aziz Fahmy.
Plot summary: A wealthy girl took a ride in a taxi one day and she and
the driver fell in love, but the driver was ashamed to show his
feelings because of the huge difference in their social classes. She
asked him to marry her but he refused for that reason. She then tried
to trick him by dressing as a poor girl who worked as a singer in a
nightclub. The driver fell in love with the singer, only to discover
she was the same rich girl. After overcoming interference from a few
people they knew, they finally married.
Cast and crew: Niazi Mostafa, Hoda Soltan, Abdel Aziz Mahmoud, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, El Sayed Bedeir, Hassan Fayek, Zeinat Sedki, Said Abu Bakr, Abdel Salam Al Nabulsy, Abdel Aziz Fahmy, Abu Seoud El-Ibairy, Kheiria Kheiry, Hekmat, Fawzi Ibrahim
Pictured art two first-printing Egyptian posters designed
by Studio Adly and Ahmed Fouad to promote the 1949 113-minute Ahmed Badrakhan
black-and-white film I Love You Only [ahebak enta] starring
Farid Al Atrache and Samia Gamal based on story and dialogue by
Youssef Gohar with screenplay by Ahmed Badrakhan and cinematography by
Ahmed Khorshed. Plot summary: Monir [Farid Al Atrache] was an
insignificant employee at the Telegraph Company, and an artist: a
musician who had never found a place for himself. He met a dancer
named Nadia [Samia Gamal] and they fell in love, but Monir soon became
jealous of Nadia's dancing teacher Ghazal [Abdel Salam Al Nabulsy] and
ended his relationship with her. He met a girl named Souraya [Zeinat
Sedki] who was about to commit suicide because her father [Hassan
Fayek] was forcing her to marry someone she did not love. Monir saved
her from doing that, but her fiance immediately disliked him. It
later became apparent Monir had no interest in marrying Souraya and he
went back to Nadia after his faith in her love was restored. His
father financed his production of a big musical, which was an
outstanding success.
Cast and crew: Ahmed Badrakhan, Farid Al Atrache, Samia Gamal, Ismail Yasseen, Hassan Fayek, Zeinat Sedki, Lola Sedki, Abdel Salam Al Nabulsy, Ahmed Khorshed, Youssef Gohar, Stephan Rosti, Mahmoud Choukoukou, Souraya Helmy, Sanaa Samih, Mohamed al-Dib, Abdel Moneim Ismail, Ali Qadri
