''The Counterfeit Coin'' (; also Η κάλπικη λίρα, ''I kalpiki lira'', "the fake pound") is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film, produced in 1955, written and directed by

Giorgos Tzavellas George Tzavellas, also rendered Giorgos Tzavellas, Yiorgos Tzavellas, or Yorgos Javellas (, 1916, Athens – October 18, 1976), was a Greek film director, screenwriter, and playwright. His filmmaking was particularly influential, with critic Georg ...

and starring

Dimitris Horn Dimitris Horn () (9 March 1921 – 16 January 1998) was a Greek theatrical and film actor. Biography Horn was born in Athens in 1921, the son of playwright Pantelis Horn (himself descended from an Austrian father and Greek mother), and Euterpi, ...

, Ilia Livykou and Vassilis Logothetidis. At the 2006 International Thessaloniki Film Festival, the film was announced as among the 10 all-time best Greek films by the PHUCC (Pan-Hellenic Union of Cinema Critics).

Plot

An honest, reserved goldsmith and engraver, Anargyros Loumbardopoulos ( Vassilis Logothetidis), has routinely invested his money in gold coins, specifically

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

gold sovereign The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world; it is now a ...

s, bought from a friend of his, a banker. Upon having stored away 100 sovereigns, a man working for the banker suggests that Anargyros should start minting counterfeit sovereigns, but he adamantly refuses. The banker employee then introduces Anargyros to a divorced attractive lady, Fifi ( Ilya Livykou) that he knows. Anargyros' resistance is soon curbed by Fifi's sexual means, and he spends all his invested 100 sovereigns to buy minting equipment. After much toil the trio produce their first counterfeit coin, but Anargyros finds it difficult to deceive people into accepting it as currency. People easily understand it is not a genuine coin. When the sinister employee is arrested, Anargyros fears that the police has discovered their crime and panics. He gets rid of all the counterfeiting equipment, and also abandons Fifi. It is eventually revealed that it was a misunderstanding and the employee was arrested for other reasons. Safe again, Anargyros returns to his honest work and daily routine. Anargyros tries to get rid of the counterfeit coin, by giving it away as charity to an apparently blind beggar. The beggar sees through the deceit, but Anargyros flees in a hurry. The beggar ( Mimis Fotopoulos) is in fact a cunning liar with exceptional eyesight, who manages to earn the pity of everyone with his fake blindness. But a street prostitute, Maria (

Sperantza Vrana Sperantza Vrana (; 6 February 1928 – 29 September 2009) was a Greece, Greek actress and writer. She was born as Elpida Homatianou (''Ελπίδα Χωματιανού'') in Messolongi on 6 February, either in 1926 or 1932. She wrote several bo ...

) starts hooking up near the beggar's corner and they find themselves arguing.

Cast

* Vassilis Logothetidis as Anargyros Loubardopoulos * Ilia Livykou as Fifi * Mimis Fotopoulos as the beggar *

as Maria * Orestis Makris as Vasilis Mavridis *Maria Kalamioti as Fanitsa *

Ellie Lambeti Ellie Loukou (; 13 April 1926 – 3 September 1983), known professionally as Ellie Lambeti (), was a Greek actress. Family Lambeti was born in 1926 in the village of Vilia, Attiki, to Kostas Loukos and Anastasia Stamati. She had six sibli ...

as Aliki *

as Pavlos ;Additional cast *

Lavrentis Dianellos Lavrentis Dianellos (Greek: Λαυρέντης Διανέλλος; 1911 – 16 September 1978) was a Greeks, Greek actor. From 1948 to 1975, he appeared in 200 films, leading one reviewer to call him "ubiquitous." Indicative filmography * ''The ...

as Anastasis * Vagelis Protopapas as Dinos *Lela Patrikiou as Mrs. Mavridou *Dimitris Myrat as the narrator *Zoras Tsapelis as Dimitris *Thanos Tzeneralis as George Phil

Reception

As part of the closing night event at the Antipodes Greek Film Festival 2005 in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

, they screened what they considered a classic 50’s film, ''The Counterfeit Coin'' in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary. At the festival, it was said of the film that it was, "Considered by many to be the best Greek film ever produced..." and "There is no more complete Greek cinematic creation". And after the festival, "The standout favourites of the Film Festival have been ''Brides'' with 3 sell out screenings to date, ''The Counterfeit Coin'', ''Testosterone'' and ''Liza and The Others''.greekfilmfestival.com.au
accessed 01-14-2009

Other information

The movie saw 1000 simultaneous screenings in Russia. It was a box office success with 208,410 tickets only from the first run in Athens, more than any other movie for that season. It has also been honored with several film awards (

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) and nominations.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Counterfeit Coin 1955 films 1955 comedy-drama films Films directed by George Tzavellas Films scored by Manos Hatzidakis Greek comedy-drama films Films about counterfeit money 1950s Greek-language films Greek black-and-white films 1950s Greek films Greek-language comedy-drama films