Never on Sunday

Director: Jules Dassin Jules Dassin

Overview

A philosophical comedy about a Greek prostitute who agrees to spend two weeks with an American intellectual improving her mind. The conservative American tries to educate the harlot, much to the dismay of family and friends. The bouzouki music of the instrumental title track was an international hit.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/13/2007
UPC:	4897007031184
Original Release:	1960
Source:	Imports
Language:	English
Sales rank:	28,136

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Melina Mercouri	Illia
Jules Dassin	Homer
Georges Foundas	Tonio
Titos Vandis	Jorgo
Mitsos Liguisos	The Captain
Despo Diamantidou	Despo
Dimos Starenios	Poubelle
Dimitris Papamichael	A Sailor
Alexis Salomos	Noface
Nikos Tsachiridis	Actor
Manos Hadjidakis	Composer

Technical Credits

Jules Dassin

Jules Dassin

Director,Screenwriter,Producer

Editorial Reviews

Forced out of Hollywood by the blacklist, noted noir director Jules Dassin (Brute Force [1949], Rififi [1954]) took a detour from his customary genre to make this entertaining comedy on a shoe-string budget. To his surprise, it became an international hit. The story, a twist on the legend of Pygmalion, concerns an academic type (Dassin) who journeys to Greece in hopes of understanding why it's lost the kind of cultural weight it had in the days of Plato and Aristotle. As his part in the battle against cultural illiteracy, he decides to tutor down-to-earth prostitute Melina Mercouri in her country's heritage. Despite the familiarity of its high-concept premise, this hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold comedy gets a great deal of mileage from the contrast between the owlishly earnest Dassin and his real-life spouse, the spirited, live-for-today courtesan. The film is Mercouri's show all the way, however, and in giving the best comic performance of her career, she demonstrates that the Greek people already know as much philosophy as they need to know.