Having already honored Omar Sharif's passing through a Hollywood lens, please welcome new contributor Murtada Elfadl with a look at Sharif's relationship to Egyptian cinema and his leading lady there - Editor.
Faten and Omar in 1955The first thought I had when I heard of Omar Sharif’s passing last week was “Oh, he’s joining Faten!”. Faten Hamama was arguably the biggest female movie star in the Arab World and enjoyed a 50+ year career. She was also Sharif’s leading lady in the 1950s and 1960s. It was through the prism of his relationship with Hamama that I came to know and love Sharif. By the time I was growing up in Sudan in the 1980s her output had shrunk to only a movie every few years but at our house we spent many a night watching her old movies on TV. And watching Faten meant watching Omar.
Sharif’s relationship with Hamama defined his early roles. He was plucked from obscurity and chosen to star with her - the biggest Arab movie star and #1 box office draw - in 1954’s Struggle in the Valley. Their chemistry was combustible on and off screen. It was quite a scandal of the time as Hamama was a married woman and it was the 1950s in a conservative Eastern society. They were of different religions, she’s Muslim, he was Christian. Their love affair had all the ingredients of a soap opera. She got divorced! He converted! They were the Taylor / Burton of Egypt or the Angelina / Brad of the 1950s Middle East. It speaks to their popularity that they were not shunned by the public and the industry a la Ingrid Bergman whose own love affair / scandal happened just a few years before theirs. [More...]
Struggle in the Valley (1954)
Valley also had resonance beyond its love story. It was released shortly after the 1952 Egyptian Revolution which toppled the monarchy. Its themes of class divide and oppression resonated with the new order in Egypt and beyond into other Arab countries that were coming out of European colonialism and into a new world of national pride.
Faten and Omar were a couple people loved. Despite the fact that he left Egyptian cinema for Hollywood for a long time and she continued her reign there as leading lady, people still thought of them together. Sharif himself fueled the legend, calling Hamama “the only woman he ever loved” as recently as a couple of years ago- almost 40 years after their divorce. That Hamama died just four months before he did links them again forever in the minds of their impassioned fans.
Ayamna el Helwa or Our Lovely Days (1955)
This is why they were popular, they sold the illusion.
Rumor of LoveThe story might seem cliche now - the poor girl with a heart disease getting a chance at love right before it all ends. But it had it all: love and happiness, rising against adversity, songs, ...then tragedy so the audience gets to shed tears too. Full melodrama meal. We ate it all up and asked for more. Sharif’s Egyptian movies were mostly romantic melodramas as was popular at that time. They certainly showcased his expressive face and those huge powerful eyes.
He did try his hand at comedy with Rumour of Love (1961), an amalgam of Bringing Up Baby and Pillow Talk in which he was both Cary Grant and Rock Hudson. He played the nerdy ugly duckling that blossoms to full fledged handsome movie star. As if giving him glasses and a moustache could hide his piercing screen beauty!
Rumour of Love (1961)
Watch the sly comedy starting at the 3:40 mark. Soad Hosny, in the Katharine Hepburn / Doris Day part, can’t help falling for Sharif’s charms. He’s irresistible to her. And to us.
In 1989 after decades away from Egyptian cinema Sharif returned with Aragouz. This allegorical comedy musical about a clown and his son was not entirely successful. The critics were mostly polite and it was only a modest hit. It’s worth a watch though to see Sharif try his hand at singing and to see that face speaking in Arabic after many years in Hollywood.
Aragouz (1989)
But lets end on a high note with Omar and Faten again. 1961’s River of Love, their 7th and last collaboration, was a modern take on Anna Karenina with Sharif playing a version of Count Vronsky. The film has the best elements of Egyptian melodrama of that time: Lush, emotional, with sweeping music and gorgeous black and white photography. It also has the trappings of that time and genre: virtuous but passionate lovers caught in an impossible love that you know will not end well. However with Omar and Faten at the height of their beauty, it is a sensual experience of the highest order.
River of Love (1961)
The best part of this clip appears at 9:30. Just watch their faces, no need to understand the words they are saying. It’s all there for us.
Egyptian Cinema is popular all over the Middle East and North Africa, and it has produced many stars over the years. To date, though, Omar Sharif is the only star that ever crossed over into international prominence. I’m glad people all over the world got to see and enjoy his gifts.
Salamat Omar... and Faten.
About the Author
Murtada finally understood what magic was when he saw Debra Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman. He’s been mesmerized by movies ever since. A Sudanese transplant he now lives in New York City and tweets and blogs as ME_Says.