1960, Original Orfeus Movie Theater Program, Never on Sunday, Melina Mercouri, Greece, Greek Cinema

Description

Never on Sunday (Greek: Ποτέ την Κυριακή, Poté tin Kyriakí) is a 1960 Greek romantic comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jules Dassin. The film tells the story of Ilya, a contented Greek prostitute (Melina Mercouri), and Homer (Dassin), an earning American classicist. Homer attempts to steer her toward morality while Ilya attempts to make Homer more relaxed. The original screenplay examines the impact of intellectual imperialism upon indigenous Joie de vivre. It constitutes a variation of the Pygmalion plus “hooker with a heart of gold” story. The film’s bouzouki theme became a hit and the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song (Manos Hadjidakis for “Never on Sunday”). It  was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Mercouri), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, Best Director and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay as Written Directly for the Screen (both Dassin). Mercouri won the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.