''Never on Sunday'' ( el, Ποτέ την Κυριακή, ) is a 1960 Greek

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film starring, written by and directed by

Jules Dassin Julius "Jules" Dassin (December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, whe ...

. The film tells the story of Ilya, a Greek prostitute (

Melina Mercouri Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination a ...

), and Homer (Dassin), an American classicist. Homer attempts to steer her toward morality while Ilya attempts to make Homer more relaxed. It constitutes a variation of the Pygmalion plus " hooker with a heart of gold" story.Christopher Bonano, ''Gods, Heroes, And Philosophers''
p. 53
/ref> The film's

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

theme became a hit and the film won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

(

Manos Hadjidakis Manos may refer to: Films * ''The Hands'' (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film * '' Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film Music * Manos (band), German Black metal band * ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes Other use ...

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.

Plot

Ilya, a self-employed, free-spirited prostitute who lives in the port of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saro ...

in Greece, meets Homer, an American tourist and classical scholar who is enamored of all things Greek. Homer feels that Ilya's lifestyle typifies the degradation of Greek classical culture and attempts to steer her onto the path of morality while Ilya attempts to relax him.

Cast

as Ilya *

as Homer Thrace * Giorgos Fountas as Tonio * Titos Vandis as Jorgo * Mitsos Ligizos as The Captain (as Mitsos Lygizos) * Despo Diamantidou as Despo * Dimos Starenios as Poubelle * Dimitris Papamichael as Sailor (as Dimitri Papamichael) * Alexis Solomos as Noface * Thanassis Veggos * Phaedon Georgitsis as Sailor * Nikos Fermas as Waiter

Reception

When the film was first released in Italy in 1960, the Committee for the Theatrical Review of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities rated it as VM16, not suitable for children under 16. The committee also demanded dialogue modifications and the excision of explicit scenes.Italia Taglia
Database of the documents produced by the Committee for the Theatrical Review of The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, from 1944 to 2000.

Home media

MGM released ''Never on Sunday'' on VHS in 2000 as part of its Vintage Classic lineup.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Never On Sunday 1960 films 1960 romantic comedy films 1960s sex comedy films 1960s English-language films English-language Greek films 1960s Greek-language films Greek black-and-white films Films about prostitution in Greece Films set in Greece Films shot in Greece Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award Films directed by Jules Dassin Greek multilingual films Piraeus American multilingual films Films scored by Manos Hatzidakis Greek romantic comedy films 1960s multilingual films Censored films