Double Feature Night at MGO

One of the highlights of growing up in a Greek immigrant family in the late fifties and early sixties in New York City, was going to the Greek movies. My parents didn't believe in eating out much. They're idea of entertainment was spending time with other Greek friends and relatives.  Occasionally, Mom and Dad would really let their hair down and take us to the movie theater in the Greek neighborhoods of  midtown Manhattan on the West side or the theater on Ditmars Boulevard in the Astoria section of Queens.  There, we were instantly transported to a black and white Greek World that was both oddly distant but familiar.  The offerings always consisted of a double feature. A movie that was guaranteed to have you bawling your eyes out and one that would invariably have the audience literally rolling in the aisles from unbearable laughter. Mama was an inveterate moviegoer who took great joy in the theater experience. She was the one who took Baba to his first movie and loved to relate  his wonderment at seeing the silver screen for the first time in his life.  Some of the thrill had apparently worn off however, since Baba would sometimes doze off into a peaceful slumber as soon as the lights were turned down. As for me, I was always on the edge of my seat, watching intently, telling my pesky kid sister, Katina, to quiet down and leave my popcorn alone.

The 1950s was a golden age for Greek Cinema, producing tremendously talented Greek actors and actresses, like Melina Mercouri,  Aliki Vougiouklaki, Thanasis Veggos, Tzeni Karezi, Dimitris Papamichael, Vassilis Logothetis, Ellie Lambeti, Rena Vlahopoulou and others. The technical qualities of many of these movies were questionable as evidenced by the ever present hanging microphone caught inadvertently by the camera. Despite the technical issues, Greek Cinema was dynamic, full of talented actors, writers and directors. More importantly, the reemergence of Greek Cinema came at a time of economic and societal renewal.  It also signaled a  rebirth of the Greek spirit and a desire to get beyond the tragedies of World War II and the Greek Civil War. Greeks wanted to get on with the task of living their lives again.  They wanted to laugh  and to revel in the stories of love and triumph. For Greek immigrants, the Greek Cinema provide a whiff of nostalgia, the ability to transport themselves back to their families and villages in the Patrida.

In the spirit of those days, I am posting a double feature today and on Friday. Thanks to Greek-Movies.com and Google, today's movies include a movie by director Michael Cacoyiannis and starring the Greek Diva, the late, Melina Mercouri.  "Stella" was produced in 1955, a classic of the early Greek cinema. Make sure you have a good supply of tissues nearby. The other movie, " E Mami (The Midwife)" stars Orestes Makris who plays a doctor who moves to a small country village after practicing in Athens.  There he comes up against a different kind of medicine, one designed to ward off the "evil eye" and practiced by the local midwife, Georgia Vassiliadou. The situations engendered by this collision of the past and the future make for a hilarious set of circumstances that will have you smiling if not occasionally doubling over laughing. Enjoy!

BTW, both films are sub-titled in English

Comments

[Theophilos]

Stavros,

Congrats on this splendid idea to feature old Greek movies. I am a fan, big time. These old comedies -- no tech miracles, certainly -- are still ALIVE and full of good laughs. I know many younger people who, when they discover them, come back for more and, even, advertise the movies to their peers. I recently sent Ta Kitrina Yantia (The Yellow Gloves) on DVD to a young relative who's in college in the US and, suddenly, young students from as far away as Paraguay and Hawaii were watching Stavridis and Photopoulos go their paces and laughing their heads off!! A great success -- and now they're asking for more. Again, bravo for your idea and, to all viewers, enjoy!

[Stavros]

T,

I too love the Greek cinema, especially the oldies. So far this experiment has not proven to be wildly successful. Oh well. Have you seen the Elia Kazan movie I highlighted? I would be interested in your opinion.

[Theophilos]

Stavros,
The experiment may not be wildly successful, but the idea to highlight old Greek movies is still important -- this is a cultural element that is often omitted in many discussions of "modern" Greece. These old movies provide an indispensable glimpse into the routines and ethos of a time bygone but one that produced a generation of largely decent souls, hard workers, and family people. It is a habit nowadays to speak ironically of Greek society of the 50s and 60s when the ones who level the criticism are largely bankrupt, corrupt, and illiterate morons posing as "cultural icons" and "intellectuals." By highlighting these movies, you have reminded your readers that Greece was not always this crumbling something that it is today; you remind them that Greece may have been a poor, underdeveloped country, but one that at least was not sending all to freezing hell in the name of "modernity." Again, bravo.

[Theophilos]

... and as for America, America, I have seen the movie before in... fractions, one piece during the late, late show, one piece back here in Greece and so on. I should sit down and watch the whole thing through and through. I must say the story is all too familiar and Kazan's work is at his usually high standards. I don't know about Yalelis though, who was yanked literally off the street by Kazan to fill the leading role -- his acting, at least to me, leaves a bit more to be desired. By the way, did you know that Yalelis is teaching high school in NYC, or at least he was when Kazan died in 2003? A Greek reporter tracked him down and there was an interview in one of the newspapers which I have unfortunately not noted down.

[Stavros]

T,

I thought Yalelis was actually quite good, though I wondered what happened after his big break. Teaching HS in NYC? How could anyone sink that low?

You and I share a somewhat nostalgic view of the past in some respects. Still there was something lost when Greeks started becoming more affluent. Thanks for the encouragement.

[Theophilos]

yep, I thought so too about Yalelis... he did have some parts after America, America, but apparently he refused advice from Kazan to work more on his acting and to try to lose the heavy accent so that he could be cast in roles other than the ethnic boy. Teaching HS in NYC was Fate's appropriate punishment, I guess!