Fouad El Mohandes
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Between his birth on 6 September 1924 and his passing on 16 September 2006, Fouaad al-Mohandess made a major mark on Egyptian theatre, cinema, radio and television. Devoted since...Read more childhood to the performing arts, al-Mohandess' first introduction to the stage took the form of school plays, followed by university theatre at the Faculty of Commerce, Cairo University. Al-Mohandess modeled himself for a while on the great comedian Nagueeb al-Reehaany, rehearsals of whose troupe he regularly attended. In 1953, al-Mohandess joined the radio program “Saa'a le-albak i.e. An hour for your heart”. Two years later, he was one of the co-founders of the “Saa'a le-albak” theatre troupe. He directed their first play, “Kaan mel-awwal i.e. It was about time”, and performed in most of the productions subsequently staged by the troupe. The next turning point in his career came when he began to perform in television-sponsored play productions. Roles in plays such as “Ana we howwa we heyya i.e. Me, he and she (1962)” and “Al-sekerteir al-fanny i.e. The technical secretary (1963)” brought him to the attention of a large and appreciative audience. Then, in 1966, he co-founded the United Artists' troupe, taking leading roles in several of the plays staged by the troupe, among them “Ana we howwa we somowwo i.e. Me, he and his Highness (1966)” and “Sayyedaty al-gameela - An adaptation of My Fair Lady (1968)” which are considered by many the highpoint of his career on stage. In 1971 El-Mohandess, with his then wife Shweikar, with whom he formed a very popular duo, joined the Egyptian Comedy troupe, participating in many of the comedies it staged, including “Hello, Dolly (1971)”, “Leih, leih i.e. Why! Oh Why? (1976) and “Ennaha hakkan ‘aaela mohtarama i.e. It's quite a respectable family (1978)”. El-Mohandess' first break on the big screen was in the 1953 film “Ghaltet ‘omr i.e. The mistake of a lifetime”, which he followed up a year later with a role in “Bent al-geiraan i.e. The neighbours' daughter (1954)”. He played supporting roles in several successful films, including “Bayn al-atlaal i.e. Amid the ruins”, “Nahr al-Hobb i.e. The river of love”, Almaz wa ‘Abdo al-Haamouly i.e. Almaz and ‘Abdo al-Haamouly” and “Shafeeka al-Kebteyya i.e. Shafeeka the Copt”. His most memorable film roles, though, were opposite Shweikar. Among the films in which they appeared together are “Shanabou fel-massyada i.e. Shanabou in the trap”, “Enta elly atalt babaaya i.e. It was you who killed my father” and Motarada gharameyya i.e. Amorous chase”. Sadly, the majority of these films, produced between 1968, the year after the defeat, and 1972, a year before the victory in the 1973 War, were mediocre largely. Al-Mohandess was under no illusions about his career as a film actor and repeated on several occasions that despite the many films he had appeared in it was his contribution to theatre of which he was most proud. Indeed, as he added, he spent the bulk of what he made in cinema on financing productions for the stage. He was also in demand as a television actor, appearing in series; “ Oyoun i.e. Eyes”, “Azwaag laaken ghorabaa i.e. Married but estranged” and “Al-Zaa’er al-magh-oul i.e. The unknown visitor” as well as “Fawazeer ‘Ammo Fouaad i.e. Uncle Fouaad's Rrddles”, for many years a popular staple of the Ramadaan schedules. While his radio work, in addition to the programme Sa'a Li-Qalbak, included memorable Ramadaan radio dramas with Shwikaar as well as the program “Kelmetein we bass i.e. Just two words”. In the course of his long career, al-Mohandess won several awards. He was honored at the first Comedy Festival organized by the Egyptian Society for Theatre Amateurs in 1994, by the Cairo International Film Festival in 1999 and was presented with a prize from the Catholic Centre for Artistic Creativity. The crowning honour of his career, though, came in 2005 when he was the first comedian to receive the State Merit Award. Many factors contributed to al-Mohandess' success as a performer and comedian. He owed his excellent diction and elocution to the fact that his father, Zaky al-Mohandess, was the dean of Dar Al-‘oloum and a distinguished scholar. Al-Mohandess, who modeled himself on al-Reehaany and Charlie Chaplin early in his career, also made his debut at a time, when the earlier generation of comedians, which included figures such as Esmaeel Yasseen, was losing its footing. Then, of course, there were al-Mohandess' own formidable talents: fitness and suppleness, a musical ear that enabled him to sing in several musicals and his versatility as an actor who could play the put upon civil servant as convincingly as the millionaire. Alongside this substantial, multi-faceted artistic legacy, al-Mohandess will be remembered for his sense of decorum and for a devotion to comedy that never descended into cheap farce, while his faith in team spirit and the support he extended to younger comedians, such as ‘Aadel Emaam, served to underline his generosity as a performer.
It Is Really A Respectable Family
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The story revolves around a father who is dedicated to raising his children and devotes all his life and strength to achieve that goal, especially after the death of their mother. However, this father s life changes after he meets a dancer. The father falls in love with this beautiful dancer and gives up many of his principles that he previously restricted himself to. And he decides to marry this dancer.Me, Him and Her
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The events of the play revolve around a comedic framework, about a lawyer who falls in love with a young woman he meets during a trip to Fayoum, but due to a misunderstanding, he believes that she is the wife of the thug whose husband is searching for him and swears to kill her, so the events escalate through a series of comedic situations.Hala My Sweetheart
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Hala is an orphan child, hosted by a billionaire in his palace, to escape from the orphanage in which she and the rest of the children suffer from the oppression of the supervisor, and then Hala succeeds in filling the emptiness of the billionaire s life and imposing her will on him with her captivating innocence, and even succeeds in directing his heart to his secretary who loves him so that he reciprocates that love. .
Love Vacation
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Magdy works as an engineer at the High Dam, and he is on leave from work in order to travel to Cairo and meet his family again, and he plans to spend more time with his wife, Laila, who works as a doctor in a hospital, but she was all the time busy with her work, which is what attracts him during this period to talk. With his neighbor Elham, he visits her all the time in her apartment, taking advantage of her husband's travel, and things develop between them at an accelerated rate.Thaman Al Hob
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Alavi Bey squanders his wealth and seizes his late brother's estate and property. He did not know that his brother had married Souad after his wife's death. Souad files a case against him to recover the estate. Alawi believes that the best way to preserve wealth is for his son, Salah, to marry Souad. Souad impersonates Inayat, the lawyer's fiancée.Please Kill Me
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The film takes place in a satirical comic frame, when a young man believes that he will die within a few weeks, so he decides to get rid of his life quickly, and he agrees with a thief who came to rob his house to kill him without him in exchange for an amount of money, then the doctor assures him of his health, so he tries to escape From the thief who chases him everywhere to implement the agreement, and at the same time he falls in love with a beautiful girl and decides to marry her, and events and paradoxes follow.Zizi Family
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Zizi is a five-year-old girl. Her family consists of (Sabawi); The engineer who is trying to invent a machine that converts cotton directly into cloth, and (Sami); A university student who admires his neighbor, and (Sana),who dreams of becoming a TV star, and each of them tries to achieve what they aspire to, which leads them into a series of comic paradoxes.Bent El Geran
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Jamil (Fouad Al-Muhandis),the wealthy owner of a contracting company, has many women’s adventures despite his marriage to Souad. He flirts with his neighbor Laila (Shadia),who admires his friend, the engineer Yousry (Omar Al-Hariri),and he shares the same feelings with her. Souad discovers her husband’s infidelity and events escalate.The Fake Millionaire
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(Hamdi) takes a loan from the scrap dealer (Mussiri) to spend on his inventions. Mossiri tries to get the secret of those inventions. Hamdi suddenly disappears and his death is announced. The lawyer informs his wife (Nahed) about the will of his brother, who died in Mexico, that his wealth pass to the third brother (Saeed). A surprise happens that changes the course of eventsThe Rebellious
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Sawsan is the daughter of a wealthy man who spoiled her after her mother s death. After she clashes with one of the actors during a theatrical performance, she decides to make the actor Kamel pay for it. Kamel agrees with his sweetheart to manipulate Sawsan and make her fall for him.God Is on Our Side
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Officer Emad says goodbye to his sweetheart Nadia as he goes to fight in the Palestine war. As the army suffers from a crippling defeat and rumors of bad weapons abound, Emad asks Nadia to search her father s papers for proof, since her father is one of the men who were involved in the weapon deals.School of Teens
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The work deals with the story of the headmaster of the boarding school (Noah El-Maadawy),who is a strict and closed-in personality who does not seek to get close to anyone, until he meets (Shahira),who is liberal in her thoughts and differs with him in points of view, and falls in love with her, and hopes that she will also fall in love with him. Events follow.Mogrem Maa Martabet El Sharaf
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(Fouad) is a thief who is released after the expiration of his prison term. He gets involved in smuggling a thief in disguise, who discovers that he is a woman named (Dunya). (Dunya) robbed the safe of a jewelry store in exchange for facilitating their escape outside the country.The Return of the Most Dangerous Man in the World
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The dangerous gangster (Mr. X) returns again with the aim of seizing a valuable jewel owned by an Indian Maharaja who is a guest at a Cairo hotel. Meanwhile, Miftah, an employee of an insurance company, tries to convince the Indian Maharaja of the need to insure the jewel. Many ironies due to the great similarity between Miftah and Mr. X.
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Following her get rich quick scheme, a woman marries a wealthy man who is much older than her. As the husband spends all day gambling, the wife becomes as free as air and she more crosses paths with a young man who plots to have her husband s wealth. Will she awaken before it is too late?The Bravest Man in the World
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The simple teacher Sinqar loves Shakshouka, but her father wants her to marry Master Korra. One day a lion escapes from the zoo, and coincides with the presence of Sinqar, who loses his glasses and sees the lion as a sheep. He helps the Police catch the lion ,which changes his life.Arees Mirati
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Reputation and Lula live happily together, but soon he loses his job and his means become narrow, which prompts Lula to go out to look for work, and Ismail is forced to work as a secretary in a fashion house owned by the spinster Howaida, who lives with her brother Fawzi, and they stipulate that the employee is unmarried, so he claims that he is Single, Lola asks him to leave the job after she learns the truth, but he refuses, and Lola applies to work as a model for Huwaida. Fawzi admires her and proposes to her, even though she is married.A Love Chase
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Mounir is a wealthy young man who works in flight control, served by an eccentric man who's after his wealth, and who tries to distract him from the love of Mona, who wishes to marry him. Mounir finds himself in love with five air hostesses of different nationalities while having an obsession with women's shoes.Mr Doorman
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(Abdul Samie) migrates to Cairo with his wife and children to search for a living, so he works as a janitor in one of the buildings, and with his intelligence he is able to work as a broker in addition to the janitor’s profession until he succeeds in achieving a significant percentage of the money. On his money after her divorce from her husband.Watch Out for Your Neighbors
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In a social comic framework, the events of the film revolve around a couple on their honeymoon who live in a furnished apartment, but it is not like any other apartment, as they are shocked by the eccentric neighbors who illegally share that apartment with them, so many satirical comic paradoxes occur within this building, especially their apartment.