''Streets of Fire'' (, transliterated as ''Shawera men nar'') is an Egyptian film released on 12 March 1984. The film is directed by Samir Seif and features a screenplay adapted from the film ''

Irma La Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Al ...

,'' directed by

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

. It stars

Nour El-Sherif Nour El-Sherif (; 28 April 1946 – 11 August 2015), born Mohamad Geber Mohamad Abd Allah () was a prominent Egyptian actor. He has 6 films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list. El-Sherif was born in the working-class neighbourhood of Sayeda Zain ...

and

Madiha Kamel Madiha Kamel (; 3 August 1948 – 13 January 1997) was an Egyptians, Egyptian Actor, actress. Early life Madiha Kamel was born in Alexandria. In 1963, as a teenager, her family moved to Cairo. Accompanied by her mother, she presented herself ...

Cast

(Imam al-Sayyid al-Masry) *

(Nafisa Imran/Nousa) *

Laila Elwi Laila Ahmed Elwi (born January 4, 1962, in Cairo), sometimes credited as Laila Eloui, Laila Olwy, Laila Eloui, and Laila Elwy (), is an Egyptian actress. She has starred in more than 70 movies and has been honored at Egyptian and international fes ...

(Ensaf Imran) *

Sayed Zayan Sayed Zayan (; 17 August 1943 – 13 April 2016) was an Egyptian actor. Selected filmography * 1974: ''Dunya'' * 1974: ''Sons of Silence'' * 1974: '' Where Is My Mind?'' * 1975: ''I Want a Solution'' * 1983: '' The Beggar'' * 1986: '' Easabat Al ...

(Jalal) * Mohamed Reda (Sayyid al-Masry) * Nagah el-Mogui (Qarni) * Naima al-Saghir (Pedroon) * Karima Sharif (Basima) * Omaima Selim (Gamalat) * Zakariya Mowafi (Al-Usul) * Ahmed Abu Obeya (Al-Tamraji/Al-Barman) * Hanem Muhammad (Mother of Imam al-Sayyid al-Masry) * Qassem el-Daly (Awaden) * Sharifa Zeitoun (Aziza)

Plot

In the 1940s, a policeman named Imam al-Sayyid al-Masry moves from

Ismailia Ismailia ( ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Cen ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

to work in the

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...

. He falls in love with a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

named Nousa, who works for a

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

named Jalal, without knowing her profession. Imam defends her from a British soldier who blocks her path in the street and assaults her, thereby losing his place on the police force after a trial. Thus out of work, Imam returns to the neighborhood to search for work, ultimately becoming a pimp himself and winning a turf war with Jalal. Imam becomes a neighborhood

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, abolishes prostitution in the district, turns his brothel into a nightclub, and joins the guerrillas resisting

British occupation The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establishe ...

Production

The film is based on the 1963 film ''

Irma la Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Al ...

'', starring

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

and

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress and author. With a career spanning over 70 years, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Shirley MacLaine, numerous accolades, including a ...

and directed by

. The plot is very similar to that of Hossam El Din Mostafa's 1983 film ''Route of Passion'', starring

Yousra Yousra ( ; , ; born Sivin Nesim (. ) is an Egyptians, Egyptian actress and singer. She is considered as a glamorous icon for the Middle East and is an influential voice in the region. Career Yousra participated as a main Role actress in almos ...

Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Mahmoud Abdel Aziz (‎; 4 June 1946 – 12 November 2016) was an Egyptian film and television actor. He became famous for several famous roles in Cinema of Egypt, Egyptian cinema, before becoming famous in his native Egypt and the whole regi ...

, Ahmed Zaki, and

Farouk al-Fishawy Farouk El-Fishawy (; 5 February 1952 – 25 July 2019) was an Egyptian film and television actor. He was known for '' Al-Mashbouh'' (1981). Early life He was born as Mohamed Farouk El-Fishawy in Sirs El-Layan, Monufia Governorate on 5 Februar ...

. A lawsuit dogged the producer of that film, which wound up delayed in the courts for a year. Producer Wassef Fayez took advantage of the opportunity and made a toned-down version of the same story. When ''Streets of Fire'' was a success, producer ''Mohamed Mokhtar'' shot a 1984 version entitled ''Five Door Joint'', which was directed by

Nader Galal Nader Galal (; 29 January 1941 – December 2014) was an Egyptian television and film director. He was best known for directing ''El-Irhaby'' ('' The Terrorist'', 1994), ''Salam Ya Sahby'' (''Goodbye my friend''), and the ''Bekhit wa Adila'' ser ...

and starred

Nadia Al-Gindi Nadia Elgendi (Also written as Nadia El Gendi; ) (born 1946 in Khta Alexandria) is an Egyptian actress and Film producer, producer. She is often known in Egypt as ''"Negmet El gamaheer"'' (the star of masses) because of the high commercial succe ...

and

Adel Emam Adel Mohammed Emam (; born on 17 May 1940), is an Egyptians, Egyptian Cinema of Egypt, film, Television in Egypt, television, and Egyptian Theatre, stage actor, known for his extensive career with over 150 artistic works, including films, plays, a ...

External links

El Cinema page

References

{{reflist Egyptian drama films 1984 films 1980s Egyptian films