A 1955 melodrama from the Golden Age of Egyptian cinema, directed by Niazi Mostafa, "A Glass & a Cigarette" features several of the era's brightest stars and sets an enchanting setting for the story of a performer who gives up her bright career for marriage, maneuvering infidelity on the other side.
This full-length feature, that runs for 111 minutes, stars the legendary Samia Gamal and marks the first official film appearance of Dalida, who used her real name for the role. Dalida's - secondary - role in "A Glass and a Cigarette" truly portrayed the characteristics of a femme fatale, bringing to notice the influence of Film Noir on an Arabic classic.
The American film form that branched from German expressionism in the early 1920s to the late 1950s and became a specific significant genre shaping cinema for years to come, Film Noir has a visual style of claustrophobic interiors framed or restricted by the camera frame, many night scenes, stark chiaroscuro, low-key lighting, dramatic overtones in sound scores, and heightened expressionistic scenes with grotesque elements. The iconography of noir uses the city as villain and hostile, the border town or the casino, voice recorders, newspapers, and the telephone as metaphor of desire, to overcome alienation and connect with others.
"A Glass and a Cigarette" mimicked much of these noir elements in an Arabic setting. It's even been argued that the script of "A Glass and a Cigarette", written by Abdel Aziz Salam and Hasan Tawfiq, is based on the plot of the Hollywood classic "Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman"; starring Susan Hayward in 1947.
Hoda (Samia Gamal), the protagonist character, is a famous cabaret dancer and film star with a lovable character and undeniable talent. She decides to retire to marry and start a family with the handsome surgeon Mamdouh (Nabil Al-Alfi). Hoda is not the conventional film hero, confident and certain, but rather defined by her ability to survive and restore normality. Azza (Princess Kouka) is Hoda's best friend and the comic relief of the film. She sings at the cabaret and navigates Hoda through difficult times. Iolanda (Dalida), the antagonist character, is a scheming Italian nurse who lures and seduces Mamdouh. She is glamorous with dark lips and long flowing hair. Dalida performed an iconic scene with this character that was mentioned throughout her singing career, recalling on her debut years; Iolanda dances, sings and seduces her boss doctor in his family home, in front of eyes of his wife and other guests.
Following Iolanda's interference, Hoda's emotional state drives her back to an earlier addiction of alcohol and cigarettes. We are taken alongside the character on her journey of jealousy and resentment, containing many dance numbers and ending with a fire in the marital house.
Throughout the movie, Hoda becomes more and more of a frozen symbol of self-destruction, rather than a true portrait of pain and addiction. Her drinking and smoking is condemned because it endangers her home, not because it lowers her own quality of life, and this speaks volumes on the different nature of the times.
It's suiting to remember here that it was the fifties, and the psychology used by the filmmaker was derived from the domain of patriarchal Freudian psychoanalysis, so it doesn't come as a surprise that this female-centric film - largely dominated by women and thriving on female performance (on stage and off) - also tries its best to localize women's ultimate potential in the home. But in reality, these women - including assistant director Amina Mohammad - ultimately negated that message of the film by being on set, and the cinematic quality they granted the viewer is true testimony of power.
This full-length feature, that runs for 111 minutes, stars the legendary Samia Gamal and marks the first official film appearance of Dalida, who used her real name for the role. Dalida's - secondary - role in "A Glass and a Cigarette" truly portrayed the characteristics of a femme fatale, bringing to notice the influence of Film Noir on an Arabic classic.
The American film form that branched from German expressionism in the early 1920s to the late 1950s and became a specific significant genre shaping cinema for years to come, Film Noir has a visual style of claustrophobic interiors framed or restricted by the camera frame, many night scenes, stark chiaroscuro, low-key lighting, dramatic overtones in sound scores, and heightened expressionistic scenes with grotesque elements. The iconography of noir uses the city as villain and hostile, the border town or the casino, voice recorders, newspapers, and the telephone as metaphor of desire, to overcome alienation and connect with others.
"A Glass and a Cigarette" mimicked much of these noir elements in an Arabic setting. It's even been argued that the script of "A Glass and a Cigarette", written by Abdel Aziz Salam and Hasan Tawfiq, is based on the plot of the Hollywood classic "Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman"; starring Susan Hayward in 1947.
Hoda (Samia Gamal), the protagonist character, is a famous cabaret dancer and film star with a lovable character and undeniable talent. She decides to retire to marry and start a family with the handsome surgeon Mamdouh (Nabil Al-Alfi). Hoda is not the conventional film hero, confident and certain, but rather defined by her ability to survive and restore normality. Azza (Princess Kouka) is Hoda's best friend and the comic relief of the film. She sings at the cabaret and navigates Hoda through difficult times. Iolanda (Dalida), the antagonist character, is a scheming Italian nurse who lures and seduces Mamdouh. She is glamorous with dark lips and long flowing hair. Dalida performed an iconic scene with this character that was mentioned throughout her singing career, recalling on her debut years; Iolanda dances, sings and seduces her boss doctor in his family home, in front of eyes of his wife and other guests.
Following Iolanda's interference, Hoda's emotional state drives her back to an earlier addiction of alcohol and cigarettes. We are taken alongside the character on her journey of jealousy and resentment, containing many dance numbers and ending with a fire in the marital house.
Throughout the movie, Hoda becomes more and more of a frozen symbol of self-destruction, rather than a true portrait of pain and addiction. Her drinking and smoking is condemned because it endangers her home, not because it lowers her own quality of life, and this speaks volumes on the different nature of the times.
It's suiting to remember here that it was the fifties, and the psychology used by the filmmaker was derived from the domain of patriarchal Freudian psychoanalysis, so it doesn't come as a surprise that this female-centric film - largely dominated by women and thriving on female performance (on stage and off) - also tries its best to localize women's ultimate potential in the home. But in reality, these women - including assistant director Amina Mohammad - ultimately negated that message of the film by being on set, and the cinematic quality they granted the viewer is true testimony of power.
