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This second post offers some details for fellow obsessive completists and filmographers!

Agrama's 1960s filmography has evidently long been a source of confusion and puzzlement. Indeed, he's a member of that select group of directors who currently have three separate IMDb entries (!) - one as Frank Agrama, one as Farouk Ajrama, and one as Seyfettin Tiryaki:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0015011/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0013261/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0864281/

There are numerous reasons for such confusion:
i) few of the films have been seen in the West;
ii) most of these films were shot under the director's birth name, Faruq Agrama, which has been transliterated into English in any number of ways - Farouq/Farouk Agrama, Faroug/Farouk Ajrama, Farugh Ajrameh, Faruk Acrama, etc. At least one of his movies was also released under a pseudonym in Turkey;
iii) being international co-productions for the most part, these films appear under different titles in Arabic, Turkish and Iranian sources; this problem is compounded by the fact that ---
iv) there were usually multiple edits of each movie, to give them maximum appeal in each different territory. Arabic versions foregrounded Arab stars, Turkish versions foregrounded Turkish stars, Iranian versions foregrounded Iranian stars, with different actors top-billed in each version, and the running times of different versions varying by up to half an hour;
v) Agrama himself has never been an entirely reliable source on his own career and movies, and has seldom referred to these early works in interviews.

Below is my working version of Agrama's filmography for the years 1964 to 1969. If anyone can add ANYTHING to it whatsoever - particularly with regard to any releases outside the Middle East - then PLEASE let me know!!

WORKING FILMOGRAPHY OF FRANK AGRAMA, 1964-1969.

[1]
AL-INAB UL-MURR (1965 Egypt) aka
EL AINAB EL MURR (alternate transliteration of Arabic title) aka
LA RAISON D'AIMER (international sales title) aka
SOUR GRAPES (literal English translation of Arabic title)

Noir-styled tragic romance about two on-the-run criminals who hide out in a small village.



Cast (in order of opening credits): Lubna Abd il-Aziz, Ahmad Mazhar, Ahmad Ramzy, Mahmud Mursy, Sana Mazhar, Adil Adham, Abd un-Naby Muhammad, Muhsin Hanin, Abd ul-Munim Busayraty, Abd ul-Hamid Badawy, Bahit us-Sayyid, Husayn Ismail, Himly Halim, Sayfullah Mukhtar.

Produced by Cairo Cinema Company, distributed by Dollar Film (Cairo).
Shot in 1964.
Egyptian general release: March 3, 1965.
Re-released during late 1960s by GECO (General Egyptian Cinema Organization).
Black and white, prints processed at Misr Studio (Cairo).
Running time(s) at 24fps: 102 mins. (surviving version), 95 mins. (original theatrical release, following eliminations by Egyptian censor).

[2]
AL-QAHIRUN (1967 Lebanon/[Iran?]) aka
AL KAHIRUN (alternate transliteration of Arabic title) aka
THE CONQUERORS (international sales title)

Violent historical swashbuckler about invading Mongols, stylistically influenced by American westerns.



Cast (in order of opening credits): Samira Tawfiq, Fahd Bilan, Riyad Ghulmiya, Ibrahim Khan, Kawakib, Nasir Qartanawy, Tammam Ibrahim, Salih Mishlawy, Mahmud Zaghra, Amal Murad, Sabah ul-Umry, Hind Tahir, Widad Jubur, Joseph Abu ut-Tul, and introducting child actress Watfa, with a special appearance by Sayyid ul-Maghriby.
Note: Sayyid ul-Maghriby was billed third (after Samira Tawfiq and Fahd Bilan) in Egyptian advertising materials.

Produced by Edmond Nahas Film (Beirut), distributed in Lebanon by Fawaz Brothers (Beirut) and in Egypt by Cairo Cinema Distribution Co.
Shot in 1966.
Lebanese and Egyptian general release: 1967.
Eastmancolor, prints processed by L.T.C. Laboratories (Paris, France).
Running time(s) at 24fps: 105 mins. (Egyptian theatrical release), 97 mins. (surviving version).
Note: Turkish sources claim the film was partly Iranian-financed.

[3]
WADI UL-MAWT (1967 Lebanon/Iran/Jordan) aka
WADI AL MOT (alternate transliteration of Arabic title) aka
MARDY IZ TEHRAN (Iranian title) aka
THAT MAN FROM TEHERAN (international sales title) aka
VALLEY OF DEATH (literal English translation of Arabic title)

Swinging Sixties spy caper, 'a cocktail of sex and adventure' with an all-star international cast.



Cast (in order of Iranian opening credits): Fardin (=Mohammad Ali Fardin), Fourouzan, Sabah, Kawakib, Samir Lama, Sayyid ul-Maghriby, Tammam Ibrahim.
Note: the Arabic release version contained additional scenes featuring local star Sabah, who was top-billed in advertising materials.

Distributed in Arabic-speaking territories by Petra Film (Amman, Jordan) and in Iran by Hasamian Film and Partner (Tehran).
Shot in 1966.
Lebanese and Iranian general release: 1967.
Egyptian general release: 1968.
Eastmancolor, widescreen.
Running time(s) at 24fps: 100 mins. (Egyptian theatrical release), 90 mins. (Iranian theatrical release), 48 mins. (surviving Iranian 16mm fullscreen version).

[4]
WADAAN YA FAQR (1968 Lebanon/Iran/Jordan/[Turkey?]) aka
BAZI-E-ESHGH (Iranian title) aka
BAZY ISHQ (alternate transliteration of Iranian title) aka
AŞK OYUNU (Turkish title) aka
LOVE GAME (international sales title) aka
GAME OF LOVE (University of Washington translation of Iranian title) aka
FAREWELL, POVERTY! (literal English translation of Arabic title)

Sexy Swinging Sixties rags-to-riches romantic comedy.



Cast (in order of Lebanese promotional materials): Fourouzan, Abd us-Salim in-Nabulsy, Nadia Gamal, Taroub, Ibrahim Khan, Amr Zulfiqar, Shafiq Hasan, Malvina Amin, Filiz Akın, Samir Husayn.
Note: the Turkish release version contained additional scenes featuring local star Filiz Akın, who was top-billed in Turkish advertising materials. Filiz Akın and Samir Husayn were billed third and fourth in Iranian advertising materials.

Produced by Aflam ul-Fann (Beirut) and Filmic (Tehran), distributed in Arabic-speaking territories by Petra Film (Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan).
Shot in 1966/67.
Lebanese and Iranian general release: 1968.
Black and white.
Running time(s) at 24fps: 90 mins. (Iranian theatrical release).

[5]
ASIFA ALA AL-BATRA (1968 Lebanon/Iran/Jordan/Italy) aka
ISABAT UL-MUHARRIBIN (Egyptian release title) aka
TOUFAN BAR FARASE PETRA (Iranian title) aka
TOUFAN BAR FARAZ PETRA (alternate transliteration of Iranian title) aka
STORM OVER PETRA (international sales title) aka
STORM ABOVE PETRA (University of Washington translation of Iranian title) aka
GANG OF SMUGGLERS (literal English translation of Egyptian release title)

Swinging Sixties crime adventure with a desert setting an an international (Euro/Arab/Persian) cast.



Cast (in order of Iranian promotional materials): Fardin (=Mohammad Ali Fardin), Peter Groß, Randa, Pooran, Rada Rassimov, Samir Lama, Cristina Iosani, Kawakib, Ibrahim Khan, Abdullah Shammas, Alan Shamin, Philippe Aqiqy, Khalil Nuwairy, Hasan Bint.
Note: Peter Groß is erroneously billed as 'Peter Cross' in English-language promotional materials.

Distributed in Arabic-speaking territories by Nasr Cinema (Amman, Jordan) and in Iran by Hasamian Film and Partner (Tehran).
Shot in 1967.
Lebanese and Iranian general release: 1968.
Technicolor.
Running time(s) at 24fps: 105 mins. (Iranian theatrical release), 92 mins. (Lebanese theatrical release), 80 mins. (Egyptian theatrical release, following eliminations by censor).

[6]
NAR UL-HUBB (1968 Lebanon/[Jordan?]/[Egypt?]) aka
FIRE OF LOVE (literal English translation of Arabic title)

Stylised horror thriller inspired by LES DIABOLIQUES (1955).



Cast (in order of opening credits): Saad Husny, Hasan Yusif, Julia Duww, Philippe Aqiqy, Muhammad ud-Daksh, Mahmud Zariq, Samir Maluf, Salih Mishlawy, Zayn us-Sidany, Samir ul-Ghusayni, Khalil Saliby, Ursula Franke, Layla ush-Shanawy, Muhammad us-Sayyid, Marie Delours.

Produced by Aflam ul-Fann (Beirut), distributed in Arabic-speaking territories by Petra Film (Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan).
Shot in 1967/68.
Lebanese and Egyptian general release: 1968.
Black and white.
Running time(s) at 24fps: 84 mins. (surviving version).
Note A: the film was declared to have partial Egyptian financing when released in Egypt, thus circumventing local quota regulations.
Note B: the Egyptian censor record for the film was filled out incorrectly with technical details pertaining to an unrelated feature.

[7]
ISABAT UN-NISA (1968 Lebanon/Turkey/Egypt) aka
ESSABET EL NISSAE (alternate transliteration of Arabic title) aka
ESSABET EL NISSA (alternate transliteration of Arabic title for French release) aka
BEŞ ATEŞLİ KADIN (Turkish title) aka
5 ATEŞLİ KADIN (alternate rendering of Turkish title) aka
ATEŞLİ DELİKANLI (Turkish vhs retitling) aka
LE GANG DES FEMMES (French subtitled release title) aka
FLOGEROS NEAROS (Greek subtitled vhs title) aka
WOMEN GANG (international sales title) aka
FIVE HOT WOMEN (literal English translation of Turkish title)

Swinging Sixties crime thriller with a haunted house setting, an all-star international cast, and a genuinely supernatural pay-off.



Cast (in order of Lebanese opening credits): Sabah, Cüneyt Arkın, Taroub, Sayyid ul-Maghriby, Ismail Yassin, Mayada, Madiha Kamil, Layla Karam, Barlinty Fuad, Amalia Abu Salih, Samir us-Samra, Hülya Darcan, Zayn us-Sidany, Shafiq Hasan, Samir Fawzy, Marcel Hashim, Najla Hashim, Adnan Biyari, Fawzy ul-Kiyaly, Samir ul-Ghusayni, with special guest stars Farid Shawqy, Yusif Wahby, Iyhab Nafi, and Joseph Nanu.
Note A: the Turkish release version removed numerous scenes with Sabah in order to present the film as a Cüneyt Arkın vehicle. The top four credits in the Turkish theatrical edit and in Turkish advertising materials were: Cüneyt Arkın, Hülya Darcan, Taroub, Sabah.
Note B: Egyptian advertising materials favored local stars, altering the top billing order to: Madiha Kamil, Sabah, Mayada, Farid Shawqy, Yusif Wahby, Iyhab Nafi (with no mention whatsoever of Cüneyt Arkın!).

Produced by Sharif Wahid Films (Beirut) and Saner Film (Istanbul), distributed in Lebanon by Sharif Wahid Films, in Turkey by Saner Film, and in Egypt by Muhsin Farhan (Cairo).
Shot in 1968.
Lebanese and Turkish general release: 1968.
Egyptian general release: July 3, 1969.
French limited release (subtitled version): November 8, 1973.
French limited re-release (subtitled version): July 30, 1975.
Eastmancolor, prints processed by Misr Studio (Cairo).
Running time(s) at 24fps: 106 mins. (Lebanese and French theatrical releases), 100 mins. (Egyptian theatrical release, following eliminations by censor), 80 mins. (Turkish theatrical version), 73 mins. (Turkish and Greek vhs versions), 106 mins. (surviving French 16mm version), 97 mins. (surviving Lebanese 35mm version), 106 mins. (Rotana restoration, composite of surviving French and Lebanese prints).
Note: when originally released in Turkey, the film was declared as a Turkish production, with direction credited to Seyfettin Tiryaki, thus circumventing local quota/import regulations. Agrama's directing credit was restored in the opening titles of the Turkish vhs and television edits.

[8]
TARIQ UL-KHATAYA (1969 Lebanon/Iran/Jordan) aka
KHATA KARAN (Iranian title) aka
THE SINFUL PATH (literal English translation of Arabic title)

(S)exploitation melodrama.

Cast (in order of Iranian promotional materials): Aylush, Fariba Khatami, Ismail Yassin, Randa, Kahraman, Ziyyad Malak, Shafiq Hasan, Nayyif Mithlawy, Amal Shawkit, Joseph Nanu, Nasir Qartanawy.

Produced by Aflam ul-Fann (Beirut), distributed in Arabic-speaking territories by Nasr Cinema (Amman, Jordan) and in Iran by Hasamian Film and Partner (Tehran).
Shot in 1968.
Lebanese and Iranian general release: 1969.
Black and white.
Running time(s) at 24fps: 90 mins. (Lebanese and Iranian theatrical releases).
Note: information on this title remains scant, and no prints are known to be available.

[9]
LABAT UL-HUZZ (1969 Lebanon/Iran/Jordan) aka
LEBAT EL HAZ (alternate transliteration of Arabic title) aka
BAZY-E-SHANCE (Iranian title) aka
BAZY SHANS (alternate transliteration of Iranian title) aka
ROULETTE (international sales title) aka
GAME OF CHANCE (University of Washington translation of Iranian title)

Swinging Sixties spy caper with an international cast.



Cast (in order of Lebanese promotional materials): Fariba Khatami, Ibrahim Khan, Sayyid ul-Maghriby, Butimar (=Abdollah Butimar), Nadia Gamal, Samir Lama, Ali Diyyab, Joseph Nanu, Marcel Marinna.
Note: the Iranian release version, despite its shorter running time, contained additional scenes featuring local stars Abdollah Butimar and Randa. The top-billing order in Iranian promotional sources is: Abdollah Butimar, Fariba Khatami, Randa, Nadia Gamal, Sayyid ul-Maghriby.

Produced by Aflam ul-Fann (Beirut), distributed in Arabic-speaking territories by Nasr Cinema (Amman, Jordan) and in Iran by Hasamian Film and Partner (Tehran).
Shot in 1968.
Lebanese and Iranian general release: 1969.
Black and white.
Running time(s) at 24fps: 100 mins. (Lebanese theatrical release), 90 mins. (Iranian theatrical release).

todmichel wrote:

---

Seeing these extracts, it's hard to imagine what happened to Frank Agrama after 1969... Are we sure that he personnally directed "Queen Kong" and "Dawn of the Mummy"?

He certainly directed QUEEN KONG. As for DAWN OF THE MUMMY, pornmeister Armand Weston was named as director in advance publicity during 1980, but is said to have been 'removed' from the project, with Agrama named as sole director on all materials from 1981 onwards. Whether this means that Weston was 'removed' from the project before or after shooting had commenced is an interesting question; but certainly he doesn't appear to have made the trip to Egypt for location shooting, which was definitely helmed by Agrama (who got into all kinds of difficulties regarding shooting permits with the Egyptian authorities). Just about the only 'recognizable name' (albeit not to U.S. or European audiences) in DAWN OF THE MUMMY is Ibrahim Khan (playing Karib), with whom Agrama had also worked on four of the nine films mentioned in this thread.

I've pondered the question of 'what happened' to Frank Agrama as well. Possibly the shift from producing in the Middle East to producing in Europe and the U.S. is a key factor. For one thing, budgets just wouldn't stretch as far --- $100,000 would buy an awful lot more in Lebanon or Iran at the time than it would in Italy, Britain, or the States. Also, Agrama had been active as a reasonably successful actor in Egyptian movies during the 1950s (he typically got major supporting roles rather than leads), and was consequently 'well connected' within the industry, with many of the cast and crew of his Middle Eastern pictures being people who also appeared in the credits of his earlier movies as an actor. Possibly he just didn't have those kinds of connections to draw on for his later films. Furthermore, he was able to get hold of actors who were absolutely household names to star in his Middle Eastern movies (Cüneyt Arkın in Turkey, Sabah in Lebanon, Mohammad Ali Fardin in Iran); whereas, whether for budgetary reasons or lacking connections, his 'big names' for QUEEN KONG, Robin Askwith and Rula Lenska, were much lower-rung performers, while DAWN OF THE MUMMY really has no 'name performers' among its main cast. One might also argue there's a cross-cultural element here; it's one thing to have a keen sense of what will play well in one's native culture, but something else to try and 'second guess' what will go down well in Britain or America.

oldmanster wrote:

---

I notice that some of the stills reveal quite a strong sexuality level, even a perverse nature at times. What is the general position of Middle Eastern film creators in regard to their areas brand of censorship? Does each country have a different level of acceptance of this sort of thing, or are films from Lebanon treated the same way by Egyptian or other film censors? I ask this mainly due to the number of different edits these films seem to need.

The 1960s and 1970s were a period when Middle Eastern film makers could push things a lot further, sexuality-wise, than has been possible since then. Just as a "PG" certificate in the States used to be a lot more accommodating to nudity during the 1970s in particular, so a lot of these films originally went out on a 'general audiences' certificate, but have subsequently been upgraded to 'adults only' status for television screenings. Egypt has always had more rigorous censorship, which is why so many of these movies appeared in a shorter, cut form there; Agrama's first movie as director, SOUR GRAPES (1965), appears to have lost around seven minutes of sexually-charged scenes to the censor, and it's interesting that he never again tried to make a purely Egyptian production. The Lebanese censor was more accommodating, but generally less so than the Iranian and Turkish censors of the period. Whenever I come across a splicey Arabic-language copy of a Lebanese movie, I can be more or less certain that everything will be in tact in the Turkish release version; it's somewhat comparable to hunting out the 'hot European version' of some British or American productions.

Having said that, Egypt remained by far the region's most significant marketplace for movies throughout the period, and many genre directors working in Lebanon (and elsewhere) 'toned down' their movies to ensure wider commercial potential --- after all, Lebanon is a relatively small nation, and targeting movies exclusively suited to local consumption would seriously damage profits. Agrama, though, seems to have always had his eye on making the most of each movie in each local marketplace, pushing sexuality to the limit of what each marketplace would permit, but also ensuring that local stars received greater screentime in each different edit. As such, I can't help feeling he was (and is to this day) a shrewd businessman above all else, even if he also put much greater artistic and technical effort into his 1960s movies.

I think the main square in Cairo sounds like a considerably more pleasant location on paper than it is in reality... but maybe that's quite appropriate! Truly, I'm flattered by a compliment from such an eminent source. I forget how well-connected you are, J.-C.!

todmichel wrote:

---

...so many unknown movies are still awaiting for discovery...

Including, believe it or not, one more 1960s horror-fantasy movie directed by Frank Agrama!! When I put this thread together just three days ago, I was convinced that I'd covered absolutely all his films from the period. However, it turns out there was one that never got released, due to being banned outright by the Lebanese censor, titled THE ADVENTURES OF FILFILA (1967/68), which was shot between his other two horror-type features, FIRE OF LOVE and WOMEN GANG. In view of the fact that all three movies share numerous cast and crew, I guess that means there's a 1960s Frank Agrama horror trilogy!

The film is, of course, quite instructive in showing what was considered 'too much' by the Lebanese censor at the time, with its unlikely combination of horror-fantasy, sex comedy, and chimpanzee movie!

The movie presented the tale of Filfil and Filfila, a young couple who are in love and wish to get married --- but Filfila's parents intend to marry their daughter to a wealthy man rather than let her become hitched to down-on-his-luck Filfil. At this point, Filfil enlists the services of a witch, Umm ul-Hiba, who transforms Filfila into a chimpanzee, while supplying Filfil with an antidote to her magic, which will return Filfila to her normal self. Although this initially proves successful, the witch is soon afterwards found dead --- and with her death, Filfila turns back into a chimp! The rest of the movie consists of Filfil and Filfila's quest to restore her human form, comprising visits to conjurers, soothsayers, alchemists, and others.

For those who love confusing credits... the character of Filfil is played by 1960s Agrama regular Sayyid ul-Maghriby, while Filfila in chimp form is played by... a male chimp named Filfil. Go figure.

Although the film was never released, I managed (much to my surprise) to turn up a copy from a source in Abu Dhabi, and in terms of psychotronic craziness, it surely outdoes all of Agrama's other works by a sizeable margin!

Here's a 6-minute video compilation from this banned film. The image quality, needless to say, 'is what it is':



[6B]
MUGHAMARAT FILFILA (1967/68 Lebanon)
THE ADVENTURES OF FILFILA (literal English translation of Arabic title)

Cast (in order of opening credits): Filfil (the chimpanzee), Sayyid ul-Maghriby, Ursula Franke, Ibrahim Khan, Tammam Ibrahim, Anwar ul-Baba, Shafiq Hasan, Malvina Amin, Fawzy Kiyali, with a guest appearance by Huda al-Jazairiya

Produced by Amil Turkiya Films (Beirut), and seemingly the company's only production.
Shot in 1967/68.
Rejected outright by the Lebanese censor, and seemingly unreleased officially anywhere. It may have circulated in a very limited way on an 'underground' basis.
Black and white.
Running time(s) at 24fps: 69 mins. (surviving version).

MBarnum wrote:

---

If these are available on DVD I would certainly love to know. Each one of these films look fascinating!

The only one currently available (unsubtitled) on DVD that I know of is the haunted house crime caper WOMEN GANG, available from Babylon DVD as ESABAT NESA [link, it's on the third row, with pretty misleading box-art not taken from the movie]. This is the domestic Egyptian DVD release on the Al-Gazira label, and I haven't seen it to vouch for quality or completeness. My suspicion is that it may be the 97-minute version which used to circulate widely; the only substantial element lacking in that version (as compared with Rotana's restored 106-minute version used for television broadcasts on its movie channels) is Yusif Wahby's cameo, parodying his sinister persona from features such as THE AMBASSADOR OF HELL (Safir Guhannam, 1945) and MAN WITHOUT SLEEP (Ragul la yanam, 1948). Although the cameo offers a nice homage to 1940s Egyptian sinister cinema, it certainly isn't integral to the movie as a whole.

There apparently used to be a Lebanese VCD release of THE CONQUERORS as ALKAHEROON, but I don't see anywhere online that this is available; once again, I've relied on the satellite tv version for my copy of the film.

Jack J wrote:

---

...so many different edits of this film. Is there even a "correct" version I wonder.

I think that in the case of almost all the Turkish-Lebanese co-productions during the 1960s and early 1970s (and there were FAR more of these than has generally been realized), specific footage was shot to be used in creating distinct versions with 'tailored' local appeal and an emphasis of local stars. So, in each case, there may well be a 'definitive' Turkish version and a 'definitive' Lebanese version, but trying to meld footage from both edits would surely be a mistake, creating a monstrous hybrid that was never intended (of course, monstrous hybrids can be interesting too!). In the case of co-productions that also had Iranian involvement, there may well be three 'definitive' versions, each with distinct credits and unique scenes!

One notable example of just how different the Turkish and Lebanese versions of these co-productions can be is the sword-and-sorcery sexploitation flick ANTER/ANTAR FI BILAD IR-RUMAN ('Antar in the Land of Romans', 1974). Although nominally 'the same movie', just as the one-sheet posters below would lead one to believe, the Turkish version contains a modernday wraparound with the events in the Roman era being presented essentially as a flashback, while the Lebanese version is set entirely in the Roman past. Even though the Turkish version contains all the extra modernday footage, it runs a full 20 minutes shorter than the Lebanese one! The director's credit on many of these co-productions is often a matter of contention as well, with the Turkish version attributed solely to Orhon M. Arıburnu and the Lebanese version attributed to Samir ul-Ghusayni 'with Orhon M. Arıburnu'...

In regards to the actress Taroub (aka Taroop aka Tarup). She's actually of Turkish ancestry and her real name is Emel Cerkes.

Taroub/Tarup's credits at sinematurk [link] are quite intriguing, in that the first four of her movies there are all Turkish-Lebanese co-productions. FIVE HOT/FIERY WOMEN, obviously, but also her most widely seen flick among 'world weird cinema' fans, GOLDEN BOY IN BEIRUT, filmed partly on location in Lebanon on a two-movie shooting deal with the Arabic-language INTERPOL IN BEIRUT; both movies featured Taroub and Lebanese actors Samir Lama, Sami Mahsud and Hasan Mattar, even if the latter three's credits look a bit 'Turkishized' in existing copies of GOLDEN BOY IN BEIRUT!

Beyond that, Taroub's VAHŞİ BİR ERKEK SEVDİM ('I Love a Strange Woman') was a Lebanese-Egyptian-Turkish co-production helmed by prolific Egyptian director Niazi Mustafa, and known in its Arabic version (containing additional scenes with local star Farid Shawqi) as SHAITAN UL-BUSFUR ('The Devil of the Bosphorus'):



As for BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR ('Looking for a Bridegroom'), the confused-and-confusing tale of this one is worth going into in a bit more detail below!

Arabic-language sources indicate that Taroub/Tarup became a Lebanese national through her marriage to composer Muhammad Jamal, and she was apparently a long-time resident of Beirut. Her credits are rather more substantial at elcinema [link], where she has 17 films to her name (although there's at least one double-entry among these, so it's really 16 at most), which include the psychotronic Lebanese spy caper THE BLACK JAGUAR (1965). So her movie career evidently was always more focused on the Lebanese side of the equation, in spite of her Turkish heritage.

Anyway... as promised, the saga of the soccer-and-sci-fi sexploitation comedy (!) BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR featuring Taroub/Tarup. This was a Turkish-Lebanese co-production shot in 1966/67, as half of a two-picture deal alongside LOVE IN ISTANBUL. Both movies starred the then-popular Syrian comedy duo of Duraid Lahham and Nihad Qali. LOVE IN ISTANBUL ended up being released only in Arabic, even though it featured Turkish stars Aliye Rona and Beklan Algan [link to Lebanese and Egyptian posters], while BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR was issued solely in Turkey.

HOWEVER (and now the madness begins!), in 1971, Hulki Saner directed a scene-for-scene (and often shot-for-shot) remake of BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR, replacing Syrian comedian Dureid Lahham with Turkish comedy star Sadri Alışık. This new movie was titled KAVANOZ DİPLİ DÜNYA ('Bad Luck World'), and was again released only in Turkey, even though audiences there had essentially been served up the identical film by the identical director just three years earlier!

Then, in 1973, Lebanese cinemas suddenly released a 'new' Duraid Lahham comedy titled GHAWAR LAIB KURA ('Ghawar the Football Player') --- a different edit of BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR containing around 10 minutes of shot-in-1966/67 footage (and several original soundtrack elements) absent from the original 1968 Turkish release.

BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR (1968) credited direction to Hulki Saner and assistant direction to Menasi Filmeridis.
KAVANOZ DİPLİ DÜNYA (1971) credited direction to Hulki Saner (with a photo of him) and assistant direction to Oksal Pekmezoğlu.
GHAWAR LAIB KURA (1973) credited direction to Hulki Saner (with the same photo) and assistant direction to Oksal Pekmezoğlu (also with a photo of him), even though 90% of it was a film for which Menasi Filmeridis had received credit previously!

(all three movies were originally in color)



The science fictional 'Sexatron' device as demonstrated and blown up, once by a Syrian comedian (1968 and 1973, on the left) and once by a Turkish one (1971, on the right):





Saner Film movie posters on a wall in one scene: Lebanese one-sheets in BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR and Turkish one-sheets in KAVANOZ DİPLİ DÜNYA:


(And just to serve as a reminder of how 'unstable' the credits of these flicks often are, the main poster seen in that BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR scene is for the 1966 Lebanese release ARUSAT UL-BUSFUR ('Bride of the Bosphorus'), directed by Hulki Saner... which is (on paper, at least) one and the same movie as HAYATIMIN KADINI ('My Woman'), directed NOT by Hulki Saner, but by Ülkü Erakalın!):


Erol Büyükburç providing the tunes during the identical scene in both BİR DAMAT ARANIYOR and KAVANOZ DİPLİ DÜNYA:


Three movies (1968/1971/1973) that shouldn't be identical, but somehow ARE:


(End of lengthy and obsessive typing).