Cinema
The White Rose
الوردة البيضاء
Mohamed Karim · 1933
Synopsis
Galal, a young man gifted for music and from a fallen family, is employed by Ismail Bey, whose daughter, Ragaa, falls in love with him. When her father discovers their love, he dismisses Galal, who launches a singing career to win the girl's hand. Ragaa's stepmother, for her part, wants to marry her to her own brother, Chafik. Between them stands the whole social hierarchy of the Egypt of the time.
Context
The film was released on 4 December 1933; it was the second Egyptian musical film and Abdel Wahab's first role, he having wanted, according to the director's autobiography cited by Mada Masr, a film drawn from his own life. Ahmed Rami wrote its songs, Achille Primavera was its cinematographer. It was a box-office success, and, together with its predecessor, it is credited with establishing the musical as the dominant genre of Egyptian cinema; Walter Armbrust sees in it a “modernist” film.
Who it is for
A musical melodrama in Egyptian Arabic, of about one hundred and ten minutes, in black and white, carried by its songs.
Prizes and reception
The first screen role of a great Egyptian musician, and a success that established the singing film as a major genre.