This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster for the 1983 Nader Galal
film Nobody Saw and Nobody Knows AKA Wala Men Shaf wala Men Deri
based on story, screenplay and dialogue by Farouk Sabri and
starring Adel Imam as Morsy. Morsy is an elementary school history
teacher with financial problems and unfulfilled ambitions. His life
becomes much more complicated when he is drawn into the milieu of a
glamorous prostitute [Iman].
Cast and crew: Nader Galal, Adel Imam, Iman, Maali Zayed, Salah
Nazmi, Ibrahim El-Shamy, Aqila Rateb, Ali El Sherif, Ahmed Rateb,
Mahmoud Al Qalaawi, Farouk Sabry, Ghanim Behnasy
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Moaty and al-Thaghr
Khamis to promote the 1978 Nader Galal film Judge and Executioner
AKA Woman's Revenge (an alternate title shown
on this poster) based on story, screenplay and dialogue by Faisal Nada
and starring Naglaa Fathy as Nahed. Plot summary: Laila [Miriam Fakhr
Eddine] takes revenge against Sherif [Rushdy Abaza] for two-timing her
and Nahed.
This isa 27" x39" Egyptian poster designed byGasour and Abdel Aziz
for the 1976 Nader Galal film No Time for Tears based on a
story by Rizq Helmy, screenplay by Rizq Helmy and Abdel Hay Adib and
starring Naglaa Fathy as Azza. Plot summary: Azza is a dancer who
falls in love with an Egyptian army officer named Amr [Hussein Fahmy]
and promises to marry him. When she hears he has been killed, she
immerses herself dancing in Cairo's nightclubs to pay expenses and
cope with her grief; she is shocked and confused when Amr unexpectedly
turns up alive and well. She does not know where to begin.
Cast and crew: Naglaa Fathy, Rizq Helmy, Abdel Hay Adib, Hussein
Fahmy, Nader Galal, Mahmoud Nasr, Nour El-Sherif, Mahmoud El-Meliguy,
Amina Rizk, Hussein El-Sherbini, Ehsan Sherif, Ahmed Abaza, Mohamed
Shawky, Safia El Emari
This is a 53" x 78" Egyptian four-piece billboard poster designed
by Morteda Anise for the 1994 Nader Galal film The Terrorist
[al-erhabi] written by Lenine El-Ramli and starring Adel Imam as Ali
Abd al-Zaher. Plot summary: When Ali Abd al-Zaher is hit by a car
after assassinating an army officer under a directive from his
spiritual leader Brother Seif [Ahmed Rateb], he receives medical care
from Dr. Fouad Masoud, [Mohamed El Dafrawy] the father of the driver,
who lives in a wealthy part of Cairo. While under the doctor's care
Ali tries to conceal his contempt for the Western lifestyles he sees
around him among the upper class Egyptians. The film was seen as an
attack on Islam by many in Egypt; Adel Imam remained an outspoken
supporter of Hosni Mubarak until the end of his regime in 2011.
Cast and crew: Nader Galal, Lenine El-Ramli, Mohamed El Dafrawy,
Adel Imam, Sherine, Mustafa Metwalli, Ahmed Rateb, Hanan Shawki,
Salah Zulfikar, Madiha Yousri, Ibrahim Youssri, Magda Zaki, Said
Tarabeek
Pictured is a 25.25" x 36.5" Egyptian poster designed to promote the
1992 111-minute Nader Galal color film Wickedness [al-shariss]
starring Youssra based on story, screenplay and dialogue by Magdy
Hidaya with cinematography by Samir Farag. Plot summary: This is a
police/gangland movie set in the Port of Alexandria. Three siblings
lived in Alexandria. The first one Hamam [Mahmoud Hemida] was the
leader of a gang of drug dealers operating under the cover of a
shipping office inside the port. He succeeded in recruiting his
little brother Khamis [Mahmoud El Guindi] for the narcotics trade, but
their sister Fatma [Youssra] refused to engage in this illicit
activity. She objected to their criminal trade and remained a simple
sales worker at a clothing store. Fatma had a love relationship with Mansour
[Youssef Mansour], a friend to her brother Khamis, but he was away
from the neighborhood for many years; when he returned they renewed
their relationship and decided to marry. The return of Mansour and his
emotional tie with Fatma are a central part of the film's early
development. Al-Agrudy [Nour El-Demerdash], a narcotics dealer in
competiton with Hamam, wanted to marry Fatma, but she refused him.
During an argument with Hamam he killed Zein [Ashraf Abdel Baqi], one
of Hamam's agents; Khamis took revenge by killing three members of
Al-Agrudy's gang. Al-Agrudy demanded that Hamam kill his brother
Khamis, but Hamam just made his brother apologize to Al-Agrudy.
Mansour, an athletic man skilled in shooting and the martial arts who
had been absent for a considerable period engaged in unknown activity,
then emerged as a police agent charged with purging the Port of
Alexandria of narcotics gangs; he asked Fatma to help him with his
secret mission. Hamam shot his brother Khamis, who died later in a
hospital. Fatma was heartbroken and furious with her brother Hamam.
Hamam was then killed in a confrontation by Al-Agrudy as Fatma
watched. Then Mansour took on Al-Agrudy's gang in a heroic
one-against-many fight; just as Al-Agrudy was about to shoot Mansour,
Fatma shot and killed him, thus completing the purge of the Port of
Alexandria. Youssra gets top billing on the poster for this film and
she deserves it. She holds the film together.
Cast and crew: Nader Galal, Youssra, Mahmoud Hemida, Mahmoud El Guindi, Youssef Mansour, Nour El-Demerdash, Ashraf Abdel Baqi, Mohamed Dia, Samir Farag, Magdy Hidaya, Othman Abdul Menem, Ahmed Abo Abeya, Diaa El-Merghani, Sayed Hatem, Khaled Youssef, Fekri Sadeq, Abir Adel
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Hassan Mazhar Gasour
to promote the 1990 Nader Galal 122-minute color film Network of
Death [shabaket al-mawt] starring Nadia El Guindy based on story,
screenplay and dialogue by Bachir El Dik with cinematography by Samir
Farag. Plot summary: Nadia El Guindy plays the part of Nour Abdel
Rahman, a widow whose daughter is addicted to drugs. In an effort to
save her daughter, Nour gets involved with a gang smuggling drugs into
Egypt from Greece. This is another film with many astonishing
displays of expert marksmanship with pistols, showing scene after
scene where victims are instantly killed by pistols fired by shooters
who barely take the time to aim. These master gunmen appear on both
the criminal and law enforcement sides.
Cast and crew: Nadia El Guindy, Farouk Al-Fichawi, Nader Galal, Yousef Fawzy, Samir Farag, Bachir El Dik, Nabil al-Helfawy, Osman Mohammad Ali, Ahmed Abdel Hadi
Billboard advertising this film near Gomhuria Street, Cairo 1990
Mountain Tough Guy [futuwwet al-gabal] (1982) - (Farid Shawqi) Egyptian film poster
Shown here is a 13.5" x 19.5" poster designed by Sami to promote the
1982 105-minute Nader Galal color film Mountain Tough Guy
[futuwwet al-gabal] starring Farid Shawqi with story, screenplay and
dialogue by Abdel Hai Adib based on the Eugene O'Neil play Desire
under the Elms with cinematography by Ibrahim Saleh. Plot
summary: The wealthy Hassan was unable to get close to the dancer
Aziza, who rejected him, but Hassan asked her father for hand and her
father agreed because there was money involved and he needed some
money. This disrupted the plans of Sekina, the widow of Hassan's
brother, who had been hoping to marry Hassan. Meanwhile Sekina's son
Omar was in love with Aziza and he promised to marry her somehow.
They kept meeting even though Omar was torn between loyalty to his
uncle who had educated him and his love for Aziza. Aziza asked Hassan
for a divorce, because he had promied he would give her a divorce
after she had a child, but he refused to keep his promise. She
confessed to him that she was in love with Omar, but when Hassan
learned this he decided to kill Omar. When Aziza tried to save Omar
she killed her husband accidentally. Omar was angered by this and
killed her. Then the police came and arrested Omar.
Cast and crew: Nader Galal, Farid Shawqi, Eugene O'Neil, Desire under the Elms, Abdel Hai Adib, Ibrahim Saleh, Bussy, Farouk Al-Fishawy, Zahrat El-Ola, Saleh al-Iskandarani, Abol Fotouh Omara, Soheir Zaky
Pictured is an Egyptian promotional poster designed by Gasour and
Anise for the 1983 125-minute Nader Galal color musical Five Doors Bar
[khamsa bab] based on the 1963 Billy Wilder film Irma La Douce,
with screenplay and dialogue by Sharif Al-Minbawy and cinematography
by Ibrahim Saleh. Plot summary: In the 1940s Kollu Mashi (Fouad El
Mohandes) owned a bar in the Ezbekia neighborhood where prostitution
was allowed. The singer Taragy (Nadia El Guindy) worked with the pimp
Abbas (Youssef Eid), with whom she divided her daily take. He
protected her and a number of other girls of the night in an area
where the police would take bribes in exchange for ignoring what was
going on. The policeman Mansour (Adel Imam) was transferred to the
neighborhood and all attempts to bribe him, as had been done with his
predecessors, failed. One night he took everyone to the police
station, but Abbas planted drugs in his room and he was fired.
Mansour went back to working as a tough guy and took over the
neighborhood. He fell in love with Tragy, tried to convince her to
repent and tried to get money for her so she could live in better
conditions. He impersonated a wealthy man, then married her after she
repented; Abbas was arrested. This film was initially banned in Egypt.
Cast and crew: Adel Imam, Nadia El Guindy, Nader Galal, Fouad
El-Mohandes, Fouad Ahmed, Ibrahim Saleh, Billy Wilder, Youssef Eid,
Sharif Al-Minbawy, Rashad Othman, Hosny Abdel Galil, Samiha Mohamed,
Youssef El-Assal, Saeed Rostom, Wasil a Hussein, Hindam Mohammad,
Ibrahim Qadry, Sami Khattab, Shukry Mansour, Mutawe Owais, Sayed
Al-Hanawy, Imran Ali, Salah Alam, Mohamed Abo Hashish, Moemen Hassan,
Sami Atia, Gamil Ghali, Aziz Hafez, Luwais Youssef, Mostafa Nohal
Fouad El-Mohandes, Adel Imam and Nadia El Guindy shown in an 11x14 still from Nader Galal's Five Doors Bar.
Plot Summary
This film is an Egyptian adaptation of Billy Wilder's 1963 film Irma La Douce starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. In the 40s Kollu Mashi (Fouad El-Mohandes) owned the Five Doors Bar in Cairo's Ezbekiyyah quarter, where illicit relationships were allowed. The prostitute Taragi (Nadia El Guindy) worked with the pimp Abbas (Fouad Ahmed) who took a share of her daily take and protected her and number of the other girls of the night in the neighborhood. The police officer on duty was in the habit of taking a fee in exchange for not disclosing what was happening.
An upright officer named Mansur (Adel Imam) was transferred to the neighborhood; all the efforts to bribe him, as had been done with his predecessor, failed. One night he even took everybody to the police station. The pimp Abbas contrived a retaliatory scheme, with help from Taragi, to stash some narcotics in Mansur's room, then reported him to the police. Mansur was then fired from the police force.
Mansur began working as a ruffian laborer, dominating the neighborhood. He fell in love with Taragi. He tried to save money for her so she could live a better life and disguised himself as a rich foreigner who appeared occasionally as one of Taragi's customers. This is the plot's weakest element, for the viewer is asked to believe that Taragi is sleeping alternately with Mansur and his foreigner alter ego without realizing they are the same man!
Mansur knew Taragi was supporting an invalid son at a nearby rehabilitation facility and paid the boy's expenses. He married Taragi after she repented and gave up prostitution, and the pimp Abbas was arrested after a dramatic fight scene in which Mansur gave him a good clubbing with some sticks he found in an alley.
***********
This film was skillfully acted with the three lead characters played by some of the real giants of Egyptian cinema, Fouad El-Mohandes, Adel Imam and Nadia El Guindy. It had beautiful sets and high production values from Nader Galal, one of Egypt's great directors. The work provided the most wholesome sort of entertainment: a dramatic love story and a tale of moral restoration and evil vanquished.
Yet the film was banned, in all probability due at least in part to the presence among the bar patrons of a male cross-dresser and dancer. This man, though prominently featured, was just an incidental character in the plot; but in 1983 Egyptian authorities might not have been ready for a public exhibition of gay behavior.
Since Egypt relies heavily on its police to maintain order and state control, it is also possible the film's portrayal of a criminal who outwits a policeman might have been deemed inappropriate as public entertainment.
Egyptian film poster for Nader Galal's The Five Doors Bar [khamsa bab] (1983)
