A man loses 500 pounds and finds his soul—in a hotel lobby.
The mayor sends Jaafar Effendi (with Ismail Yassin in turn) and with him 500 pounds to take him to Cairo to buy a net for his son. But he is robbed by a thief (Abbas Abbas, for his part). He is forced to work in a hotel. There, he meets a girl (Fayza Ahmed), who works in the communications department at the hotel, and they are very impressed.
Acting
Ismail Yassin's physical comedy is timeless physical poetry.
Score
Fayza Ahmed's voice weaves through the romance like honey.
Production
1959 Cairo glitters with authentic period detail.
Director
Hasan El-Saifi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This captures Nasser's Egypt—aspirational, urbanizing, and obsessed with Cairo as the land of opportunity.
Fayza Ahmed was already a singing star; this rare dramatic role made her Egypt's sweetheart overnight.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
EG
