This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Seif and Wahid Fahmy
for the 1973 Atef Salem film Les Miserables based on the 1862
Victor Hugo novel of the same title using a screenplay by Rafiq
al-Saban and starring Farid Shawqi as Hamed Hamdan/Hassan al-Kashef.
Plot summary: Hamed Hamdan is a poor man sent to prison for stealing a
loaf of bread. He escapes, becomes rich and changes his name to
Hassan al-Kashef, but though he uses his wealth charitably to help
people in need, he is still subject to public disdain because the
people know his origins.
Cast and crew: Victor Hugo, Atef Salem, Youssef Wahby, Farid
Shawqi, Adel Adham, Laila Eloui, Mohsena Tewfik, Fardous Abdel Hamid,
Abdel Waress Assar, Rafiq al-Saban, Ahmed Bahgat, Abdel Moneim
Bahnassy
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
Pictured is a 9.25" x 9.25" 12-page Egyptian program designed to promote the 1956 95-minute
black-and-white film Sea of Love [bahr al-gharam] written and
directed by Hussein Fawzi starring Naima Akef with screenplay by
Hussein Fawzi and Amin Yousef Ghurab, dialogue by Amin Youssef Ghurab
and cinematography by Mohamed Abdel Azim. Plot summary: Touna [Naima
Akef] and Amin [Rushdy Abaza] were sweethearts in Damietta in a
fishing compound owned by their two fathers. They loved the constant
clear skies and the pure waters of the Mediterranean but each became
angry and jealous when seeing the other interacting casually with a
member of the opposite gender. Amin's boat was caught in a storm and
he was badly injured. A theater director [Youssef Wahby] recognized
Touna's talent and offered her work as a performer, so she went to
Cairo and became a showgirl so she could pay Amin's costly medical
expenses at a Cairo hospital.
Cast and crew: Hussein Fawzi, Youssef Wahby, Naima Akef, Rushdy
Abaza, Mohamed Abdel Azim, Amin Youssef Ghurab, Abdel Salam Al
Nabulsy, Samiha Tawfiq, El Sayed Bedeir, Abdel Waress Assar, Mokhtar
Hussein, Saad Ahmed
This is a 24" x 35" original Egyptian poster designed by Alzaria for
the 1941 film Leila, the Girl from the Country written and
directed by Togo Mizrahi and starring Laila Mourad as Leila. Plot
summary: Laila Mourad has the part of a country girl who becomes
disillusioned with city life in Cairo and returns to her farm with a
new appreciation for country life.
Cast and crew: Togo Mizrahi, Laila Mourad, Youssef Wahby, Mimi
Shakeeb, Taheya Cariocca, Bechara Wakim, Zouzou Shakeeb, Anwar Wagdi,
Ferdoos Mohammad, Hassan el Baroudi, Fakher Fakher, Salwa Elaam, Abdel
Salam Al Nabulsy, Soad Abdou
This is a 23.5" x 35" Egyptian poster designed by Al-Zaria for the
1942 film Leila the Schoolgirl written and directed by Togo
Mizrahi and starring Laila Mourad as Leila. Plot summary: Youssef
[Youssef Wahby] is a famous attorney who welcomes his orphan cousin
Leila into his mansion after she completes her studies. Leila brings
happiness to the mansion. This changes Youssef and makes him happy,
but he falls in love with an unfaithful woman. Leila tries to correct
her, but Youssef believes Leila is the one who has a lover and he
throws her out of his house.
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Hassan Mazhar Gasour
and Ahmed Fouad for the 1952 film Eternal Love [habib al-ruh].
The film was written and directed by its star Anwar Wagdi with
cinematography by Wahid Farid. It tells the story of a talented woman
named Layla [Laila Mourad] who gives up her promising musical
profession for the benefit of her husband Wahid [Anwar Wagdi] who
needs her and demands that she devote herself to him instead of her
career as a performer.
Cast and crew: Youssef Wahby, Mimi Shakeeb, Ferdoos Mohammed,
Ibrahim Emara, Wedad Hamdy, Abdel Nabi Mohammed, Wahid Farid, Anwar
Wagdi, Laila Mourad, Salah Mansour
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian one-sheet poster for the 1969 Kamal El
Sheikh film Miramar ميرامار based on a story by Naguib Mahfouz and
starring Shadia as Zohra. Plot summary: Zohra left her village and
went to the Miramar boarding house in Alexandria, where she worked as
a maid. There were various classes of people in the boarding house
including feudal lords who were resentful of the revolution's
nationalization of their land, a former ministry attorney who had lost
his influence, the old journalist Amer Wagdi [Imad Hamdi] and Mansour
Bahi, [Abdel Rahman Ali] the perplexed man of culture. Sarhan
al-Beheiri [Youssef Chaban] was a member of the Socialist Union and
his opportunistic side appeared in his effort to steal the company
where he worked and in his telling Zohra falsely that he loved her
before abandoning her and marrying someone else. Talaba Marzuq
[Youssef Wahby] stood by Zohra. The boarding house seemed to be
divided into two parts, the first part being the class that had been
harmed by the revolution and did nothing but make jokes and womanize
as Hosni Alam [Abu Bakr Ezzat] did, and the second part being the
young people like Mansour Bahi, the fugitive from the revolution who
was arrested. Talaba Redwan was an old journalist who had chosen to
live in the shadows. Zohra had been hurt by these circumstances and
was planning to leave the boarding house but then the newspaper seller
Mahmoud Abul-Abbas [Abdel Moneim Ibrahim] said he wanted to marry her
because he loved her.
Cast and crew: Kamal El Sheikh, Shadia, Naguib Mahfouz, Youssef Wahby, Youssef Chaban, Imad Hamdi, Nadia El Guindy, Abdel Moneim Ibrahim, Abu Bakr Ezzat, Ahmed Taufiq, Ismat Rafat, Abdelhalim Nasr, Abdel Rahman Ali
Pictured is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Hassan Mazhar
Gasour and Dimitri Gabriel to promote the 1956 95-minute Hussein Fawzi
black-and-white film Sea of Love [bahr al-gharam] starring
Naima Akef based on a story by Hussine Fawzi with screenplay by
Hussein Fawzi and Amin Yousef Ghurab, dialogue by Amin Youssef Ghurab
and cinematography by Mohamed Abdel Azim. Plot summary: Touna [Naima
Akef] and Amin [Rushdy Abaza] were sweethearts in Damietta in a
fishing compound owned by their two fathers. They loved the constant
clear skies and the pure waters and each became angry and jealous when
perceiving the other interacting casually with a member of the
opposite gender. Amin's boat was caught in a storm and he was badly
injured. A theater director [Youssef Wahby] recognized Touna's talent
and offered her work as a performer, so she went to Cairo and became a
showgirl so she could pay Amin's costly medical expenses at a Cairo
hospital.
Cast and crew: Hussein Fawzi, Youssef Wahby, Naima Akef, Rushdy Abaza, Mohamed Abdel Azim, Amin Youssef Ghurab, Abdel Salam Al Nabulsy, Samiha Tawfiq, El Sayed Bedeir, Abdel Waress Assar, Mokhtar Hussein, Saad Ahmed
Pictured is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Hassan Mazhar
Gasour and Mohamed Abdel Aziz to promote the 1975 Hassan Ramzi
94-minute color film The White Gown [al-reda al-abiad] starring
Naglaa Fathy based on screenplay, dialogue and story by Hassan Ramzi
with cinematography by Mahmoud Nasr. Plot summary: Omar [Youssef
Wahby] is a man with a good heart who lives in the mentality of the
past. He becomes angry when he learns his only son Kamal [Magdy
Wahba] has married a poor girl named Hoda [Naglaa Fathy] without
telling him about it. Before the marriage, Hoda had been caught
stealing a wallet from a man who was dating her named Ahmed [Ahmed
Mazhar] but then she marries Kamal and they live happily until he dies
in a traffic accident while under stress due to a demand from his
father that he divorce Hoda. Then Hoda is denied custody of her
daughter Sofa [Manal Afifi]. When Sofa gets older she becomes a
beautiful young woman and is later reunited with her mother on her
wedding day. On that same day Hoda is also forgiven in a renewed
contact with Ahmed, the man she had once robbed.
Cast and crew: Naglaa Fathy, Ahmed Mazhar, Hassan Ramzi, Magdy Wahba, Youssef Wahby, Zahrat El-Ola, Hayat Kandeel, Ibrahim Saafan, Salah Nazmi, Sa'eed Saleh, Leila Fahmi, Huseein Kandil, Hoda Ramzi, Mahmoud Nasr, Fatheya Chahine, Hassan Afifi, Manal Afifi
Pictured is a 34" x 47" Egyptian poster designed by Fawzi to promote
the 1960 84-minute Hussein Fawzi black-and-white film The Police
Inspector [mofatesh al-mobahes] starring Youssef Wahby based on a
story by Hussein Fawzi with dialogue by El-Sayed Ziada and
cinematography by Mohamed Abdel Azim. Plot summary: The husband
[Abdel Hafiz al-Tatawy] of a pretty dancer named Hoda [Sharifa Fadel]
catches her with her lover Hossam and pulls out a gun to shoot her.
In her defense Hossam [Rushdy Abaza] turns the gun back against the
husband and shoots him. Hossam flees and as he is about to board a
train he sees a police inspector [Youssef Wahby] at the station, who
then sits opposite him in the passenger car. Hossam moves to another
car but the officer follows him and falls asleep with him in a private
cabin; Hossam leaves the train and gets on a bus, but the officer
again runs to catch the bus and sits opposite him. At this point
Hossam is convinced the officer is pursuing him and confesses to the
shooting. He is surprised when he learns the inspector knows nothing
about his crime; the inspector has just been on his way to attend his
sister's wedding. The inspector decides to cancel the vacation to turn
the criminal in. On the way to the police station during another
escape attempt it becomes clear to the officer that Hossam has fled
his father's home and that he has seduced a girl who has had his baby.
The inspector has emotional conflicts and wants to correct what is
between Hossam and Hoda. He brings them together and discovers the
man Hossam shot did not die. Hossam is released and goes back to Hoda.
Pictured is a 27" x 39" Egyptian promotional poster designed by Hassan
Mazhar Gasour to promote the 1953 101-minute Youssef Wahby
black-and-white musical comedy The Marital Obedience Dwelling [beyt
al-ta'a] starring Youssef Wahby based on story and screenplay by
Youssef Wahby with cinematography by Mostafa Hassan. Plot summary: In
this domestic battle of the sexes comedy there is harsh bickering
between husband Gamil Rushdy [Youssef Wahby] and wife Fekiya [Hoda
Soltan]. The husband insults his wife and their life becomes such an
unbearable hell that the husband uses an obedience cane on his wife.
This only makes matters worse so they go to a judge. The wife demands
a divorce and the husband demands that she live with him in a marital
obedience dwelling. The judge sides with the husband and orders the
wife to obey her husband and live in a special obedience dwelling
where she must do as he directs. The wife complies and goes to the
obedience dwelling (a special apartment that has been rented and
furnished for the purpose with such things as signs that read
"relatives are scorpions" and "down with my mother-in-law") along with her
mother [Marie Munib], who was the reason for most of the
bickering. The husband works on refining his wife and the
mother-in-law learns not to interfere in her daughter's affairs. Peace
is restored, the disagreements between them disappear and love and
happiness replace the disputes that were ruining their lives.
Cast and crew: Youssef Wahby, Hoda Soltan, Ismail Yasseen, Farid Shawqi, Marie Munib, Zouzou Mady, Mostafa Hassan, Hagar Hamdi, Fakher Fakher, Hussein El-Meliguy, Shafik Noureddin, Amina Kheyri, Hassan el Baroudi, Mohamed Sabih, Gamalat Zayed, Abdel Aziz Badawi
Pictured is a 24" x 36" Egyptian poster designed by Wahdan to promote
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 and he had a passion for love. That
was why 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
Bahia [Taheya Cariocca] also tried to woo Farid, but he did not love
her even though they performed together.
Cast and crew: Kamal Selim, 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
Pictured is a 27" x 39" Egyptian rerelease poster designed by an
unknown artist to promote the 1958 104-minute Hassan El-Seify
black-and-white film My Dark Darling [habibi al-asmar] starring
Taheya Cariocca and Samia Gamal based on story, screenplay and
dialogue by Mahmoud Ismail and with cinematography by Abdel Aziz
Fahmy. Plot Summary: Samara [Samia Gamal] was a poor girl with an
abundance of femininity and beauty engaged to a mechanic named Ahmed
[Shukry Sarhan], but her love for dance drew her to her neighbor, a
dancer named Zakia [Taheya Cariocca]. She secretly went with Zakia to
the hall where she worked. She met a weathy man there named Rostom
[Youssef Wahby] who liked her and wanted to court her but she rejected
him; she later changed her mind and married him, deciding this was her
only way out of poverty; he worked on her appearance by buying her
luxurious clothing and jewelry. When Samara's fiance learned she had
unexpectly disappeared to marry the rich man, he became furious and
swore he would take revenge against her. Zakia tried to calm him by
ushering him into a relationship with an international trader [Mahmoud
El-Meliguy] who took him on as an associate in a shady trading
operation. In this operation Ahmed changed his name to Ibrahim and
ran into Rostom and Samara by chance in Lebanon. Samara's husband
also turned out to involved in criminal activity and when she saw
Ahmed again in Lebanon they were not getting along. She tried to
rekindle her relationship with Ahmed without success; Ahmed had found
a new life. Rostom's assistant Semsem [Stephan Rosti] tried to kill
Ahmed after Rostom has realized the nature of their former
relationship. Ahmed survived the murder attempt; then Zakia and Ahmed
began to form a relationship, but Zakia was killed by Semsem in a
domestic shootout in Rostom's sumptious home in Lebanon. When Samara
and Rostom returned to Cairo Rostom was shot by the police. Ahmed and
Samara were left alone together in Cairo at last to pick up the pieces
in their old relationship.
Cast and crew: Hassan El-Seify, Samia Gamal, Taheya Cariocca, Youssef Wahby, Shukry Sarhan, Abdel Aziz Fahmy, Mahmoud Ismail, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, Stephan Rosti, Shafik Noureddin, Souraya Fakhry, Mohammed Tawfik, Riri
This is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Ahmed Fouad to promote
the 1961 Hassan Al Imam 134-minute black-and-white film Money and
Women [mal wa nisa'] starring Soad Hosny with screenplay by
Mohamed Osman, dialogue by Abdel Rahman Sherif and cinematography by
Abdel Aziz Fahmy. The film was produced by the Nihas Studio. Plot
summary: Shahata [Youssef Wahby] worked at a civil hospital known for
its good ethics. He crusaded against embezzlement at work and
therefore all the employees feared him and made sure anything
suspicious they did was not evident to him, while at the same time he
watched them closely. Shahata lived with his daughter Ne'mat [Soad
Hosny] and his wife [Amina Rizk]. A low-ranking employee named
Hussein [Salah Zulfikar] came to court Ne'mat but Shahata found himself in a bind
because he was unable to properly outfit his daughter. He asked the
company for an advance, but the office refused. A corrupt employee
offered to lend him some money in exchange for a security deposit, but
Shahata then discovered the employee had embezzled this money. The
employees plotted against Shahata. One of them set the hospital
treasury on fire on one of the nights of Ramadan. Shahata was burned
to death when he rushed in to salvage the contents.
Cast and crew: Amina Rizk, Hassan Al Imam, Soad Hosny, Salah Zulfikar, Youssef Wahby, Abdel Aziz Fahmy, Mohamed Osman, Abdel Rahman Sherif, Fakher Fakher, Tewfik El Dekn, Nagwa Fouad, Neemat Moukhtar, Mohamed al-Dib, Salwa Mahmoud, Ragaa Hussein, Mohamed Sabin, Abdel Moneim Ismail, Hussein Ismail, Mohammad Shawqi, Awatef Youssra, Kamal al-Zeyni
Love Child (1953) 45" x 33" first printing Egyptian poster
Love Child [bint al-hawa] (1953) - (Faten Hamam) Egyptian film poster
Shown here is a 35" x 23.5" first printing of an Egyptian poster made
to promote the 1953 Youssef Wahby film Love Child [bint
al-hawa] starring Faten Hamama based on a screenplay and story by
Yousef Wahby with cinematography by Mostafa Hassan. The film was
produced by the Charles Nahas Studio. Plot summary: A man confessed
his love to a dancer and they had a relationship until he left her in
the end and did not marry her. The dancer had his child but the man
refused to marry her or recongize the child. This was the origin of
the woman's malice towards men. She made herself a judge of all of
them and resolved to get revenge. She left her town and sent to
Cairo. She became a famous dancer and was courted by wealthy men, but
she feared this life for the sake of her daughter, for whom had she
made a special life. She made every effort to provide her with
knowledge and ethics, fearing she might fall someday. However her
daughter established a relationship with a boy who resolved to marry
her. His father opposed this because of the mother's profession, but
the son argued the solution was to get the mother out of the
daughter's life. The mother agreed to this for the sake of her
daughter's happiness. However the mother died on the day her daughter
returned from her honeymoon.
Cast and crew: Faten Hamama, Youssef Wahby, Fakher Fakher, Taheya Cariocca, Marie Munib, Kamal Hossein, Zeinat Sedki, Aziza Helmy, Kitty, Abdel Hamid Zaki, Shafik Noureddin, Ibrahim Heshmat
This is an undated rerelease promotional poster designed by Mohamed
Abdel Aziz and Wahib Fahmy for the 1969 105-minute Hassan El-Seify
black-and-white film The Frivolities of Girls [dili al-banat]
based on a story by Naguib Al Riyhani with screenplay and dialogue by
Bahgat Kamar and cinematography by Wahid Farid. Plot summary: Anwar
Effendi (Farid Shawqi) was a simple employee in a government
department. His colleague Ja'far encouraged him to marry the daughter
of the office boss so he could be promoted. Anwar liked that idea.
He lived in an old suburban house he had inherited from his family.
In the middle of the night Fakria's (Nelly) automobile broke down on
the road and she had to take shelter at Anwar Effendi's villa. She
was the daughter of the jewelry merchant Al-Za'farani Pasha (Youssef
Wahby) and Anwar knew her. Fakria asked him to let her sleep there
until morning and he agreed under pressure. In the morning the boss
and his wife came to visit Anwar, their daughter's fiance. Fakria
knew they were coming and played a trick on them by sleeping in
Anwar's bed. The worst happened, the boss had a fit of anger and left
the house after making threats; Fakria ran away. Anwar Effendi
followed her and asked her to explain the situation to his fiance's
father. They met with the pasha who agreed under pressure from his
daugher to explain the situation to the office boss. Things returned
to normal; then Fakria went to the office to visit Anwar wearing
indecent clothing, which got him fired. He went to talk to Za'farani
Pasha about it, who became so angry with him that he beat him
unconscious with whips. A doctor came to look at his wounds. Anwar
asked the doctor to tell the prosecutor, but he refused because he did
not want to cause any problems for Za'farani. Fakria nursed Anwar
while he was recovering and fell in love with him. Za'farani Pasha
knew his daughter was in love with Anwar, but he asked his daugher to
marry her fiance Mimi Bey anyway. Since Fakria knew her father was in
financial trouble she agreed to do it. The day Fakria was to marry
Mimi she learned from her uncle that her father was not bankrupt after
all; he had said this only because he did not want her to marry
Anwar. She left to take refuge at Anwar's house and took a cleric
along with her so he could marry them. The father Za'farani Pasha
went too but he could not do anything about it and they married.
Cast and crew: Farid Shawqi, Wahid Farid, Naguib Al Rihani, Nelly, Youssef Wahby, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, Hassan El-Seify, Tewfik El Dekn, Badi Khayri, Samia Rushdy, Nabil El-Hegrassy, Mohamed Shawqy, Ibrahim Saafan, Abdel Ghani Al-Nagdi, Fifi Youssef, Mahmood Lotfi, Al-Tukhy Tawfiq, Abdel Hai Adib
This is an undated rerelease promotional poster designed by Abdul
Ghani for the 1949 100-minute Anwar Wagdi black-and-white film The
Flirtation of Girls starring Naguib Al Rihani with screenplay by Anwar
Wagdi, dialogue by Naguib Al Rihani and Badi Kheiri and cinematography
by Abdelhalim Nasr. Plot summary: Hamam (Naguib Al Rihani) was an
Arabic language teacher suffering from persistent and almost laughable
bad luck and misfortune. Hamam got the opportunity to give lessons to
Laila (Laila Mourad), the daughter of a rich pasha who had failed
Arabic, and he fell in love with her. He knew she was the victim of a
playboy (Mahmoud El-Meliguy). Hamam went out with her one night, not
realizing she was going to meet the boy at a cabaret. The girl went
inside and Hamam became worred about her and asked a dashing pilot
(Anwar Wagdi) to help him get her out. The officer was dazzled by
Laila's beauty and stayed with them, although Hamam and Laila tried to
get rid of him. They hid in the home of the famous artist Youssef
Wahby (as himself). The artist spoke warmly to the girl and while
speaking with Hamam he realized he was in love with Laila while she
had no feelings for him and advised him to let her go if he loved her.
When they left the home of Youssef Wahby they found the officer
waiting for them. Love glowed between the girl and the pilot, but
there were tears of sadness and joy in the eyes of Hamam. This film
is analyzed in considerable depth in "The Golden Age before the Golden
Age: Commercial Egyptian Cinema before the 1960s" by Walter Armbrust
in Mass Mediations: New Approaches to Popular Culture in the Middle
East and Beyond ed. Walter Armbrust, University of California
Press, 2000. It is on film critic Ahmad Al-Hadari's 2007 list of the
100 most important Egyptian films.
Cast and crew: Naguib Al Rihani, Anwar Wagdi, Laila Mourad, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, Suleiman Naguib, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Waress Assar, Youssef Wahby, Stephan Rosti, Zeinat Sedki, Farid Shawqi, Said Abu Bakr, Ferdoos Mohammed, Abdelhalim Nasr, Abdel Hamid Zaki, Abdel Moneim Ismail, Mohamed Kamel, Badi Kheiri, Fouad Al-Rashidi, Abdel Magid Shukry
