The film takes place in Cairo during the Second World War, where Hassan Abu Tabq (Naguib Al-Rihani) meets the girl Laybeh (Tahiya Karioca), and feelings of love develop between them while Hassan struggles, and things change little by little when a game comes in front of you with a great opportunity to portray a movie star. .
Acting
Naguib Al-Rihani's perfect comic timing and physical comedy
Production
Wartime Cairo recreated with Hollywood-on-the-Nile excess
Director
Wali Eddine Sameh
Naguib ElRihani
حسن ابو طبق
Tahiya Cariocca
لعبه
Abdel Fattah Al-Qosari
ابراهيم نفخو
Soliman Naguib
ايزاك
Aziz Othman
محمود بلاليكا
Mary Moneib
سنيه جنح
Said Abou Bakr
Bishara Wakim
وجيه الشابوري
Hassan Fayek
مخرج
Mahmoud Lotfy
مساعد مخرج
Zaky Saleh
Eskandar Mansy
عامل فى محل بريموس
Reyaad ElQasabgy
صاحب مطعم الفول
Abdel Hameed Badawy
مدير محل ايزاك
Mohamed Nabih
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was one of the last films pairing Egypt's 'Charlie Chaplin' (Al-Rihani) with belly dance legend Tahiya Karioka, capturing peak studio-era Alexandria-Cairo star power before nationalization changed everything.
The 'fake movie star' premise subtly satirizes British colonial presence in Cairo — Hassan's fraudulent fame works because occupying forces expect Egyptians to perform exoticism for their cameras.
EG
