Country: Egypt
Year: 1959
Duration: 96'
The journalist Asfur is in love with Amal, a colleague and next-door-neighbor. But Amin, the girl's cousin, is in love with her also and wants to marry her. Shafiq, Asfur's younger brother, finds a magic hat which makes the wearer invisible. The journalist wants to use this hat in order to marry Amal, but Amin, with the ballerina Lola's help, manages to steal it and uses it to commit robberies. In the end, he kills Lola and, to get rid of Asfur, accuses him of the murder. But the journalist gets back the hat and …
"In 1944, with the help of the set designer Habib Khuri, I was able to make Taqiati al ikhfa (The Magic Hat), the first Egyptian film to use visual effects without having the technical equipment that is normally used in this type of film. I also expressed an important concept: Work is the most important element in the life of a man and no "magic hat" will ever be able to resolve problems. In 1959 we re-proposed this theme in the film Sirru taqiati al ikhfa" (Niazi Mustafa, in an interview by Samir Farid, published in "Funun" [The Arts], October 1982).
Biography
film director
Niazi Mustafa
Niazi Mustafa (Asiutt, Egypt, 1911 - Cairo, 1986). Director, author, screenwriter and editor, after graduating from Munich's school of cinema, in 1934 he followed specialization courses at the UFA in Berlin. He worked as editor at Studio Misr right from the studio's inauguration in 1935. In 1936 he became head of the editing department. He has directed numerous full-length films, seven documentaries and two short films.
FILMOGRAFIA
Casinò Badi'a (1936), Salama fi khair (Salama sta bene, 1937), El doctor (Il dottore, 1939), Si' Omar (Il Signor Omar, 1941), Rabha (1943), Taqiyatu al ikhfà (Il cappello magico, 1944), Antar wa Abla (Antar e Abla, 1945), Dahaya al madaniyya (Le vittime della civilizzazione, 1946), Min aina laka hadha (Come hai avuto tutto questo, 1952), Ardu al abttal (La terra degli eroi, 1953), Hamido (1953), Al fares al aswad (Il cavaliere nero, 1954), Sighara we kas (Una sigaretta e un bicchierino, 1955), Rassif nimra 5 (Il molo numero 5, 1956), Sawwaq nisf il lel (Il conducente di mezzanotte, 1958), Isma'il Yasin Tarzan (1958), Fadiha fi al Zamalek (Scandalo nel quartiere Zamalek, 1959), Sirru taqiati al ikhfà (Il segreto del cappello magico, 1959), Dima'un ala al Nil (Sangue sul Nilo, 1961), Antar Ibnu Shaddad (1961), Al giasus (La spia, 1964), Bint Antar (La figlia di Antar, 1964), Saghira ala al hubb (Piccola per amare, 1966), Faris Bani Hamdan (Il cavaliere di Bani Hamdan, 1966), Shabab majnun giddan (Gioventù molto pazza, 1967), El ataba gazaz (La soglia di vetro, 1969), Al mut'a wa al adhab (Il piacere e la sofferenza, 1971), Bint ismaha Mahmud (Una ragazza di nome Mahmud, 1975), Sana ula hubb (Primo anno d'amore, co-regia Salah Abu Seif, Atif Salem, Hilmi Rafla e Kamal Al Sheikh, 1976), El dabbah (Lo sgozzatore, 1987).
Cast
& Credits
Director and plot: Niazi Mustafa.
Screenplay: Niazi Mustafa, Abdu Al Haii Adib.
Dialogues: Al Sayyid Boder.
Director of photography: Ali Hasan.
Scenografia e costumi: Habib Fawzi.
Editor: Gialal Mustafa.
Sound: André Zandilis.
Cast and characters: Biralnti Abdu Al Hamid (Lola), Abdu Al Mun'im Ibrahim (Asfur), Zahratu Al Ula (Amal), Tawfiq Al Diqqin (Amin), Ahmad Farahat (Shafiq), Mohammad Abdu Al Quddus, Adli Kaseb, Giamalat Za'id.
Production company: Al Arabiyya Cinematografica.
Screenplay: Niazi Mustafa, Abdu Al Haii Adib.
Dialogues: Al Sayyid Boder.
Director of photography: Ali Hasan.
Scenografia e costumi: Habib Fawzi.
Editor: Gialal Mustafa.
Sound: André Zandilis.
Cast and characters: Biralnti Abdu Al Hamid (Lola), Abdu Al Mun'im Ibrahim (Asfur), Zahratu Al Ula (Amal), Tawfiq Al Diqqin (Amin), Ahmad Farahat (Shafiq), Mohammad Abdu Al Quddus, Adli Kaseb, Giamalat Za'id.
Production company: Al Arabiyya Cinematografica.