Reviews

Synopsis:

Alpha (Kleon Triantafyllou), a well known composer and theatrical music director, is secretly in love with his gifted young protégée (Zinet Lakaz) and spends his fortune to promote her. When the girl falls in love with Alpha's young assistant (Dimitris Horn), Alpha becomes furious and cancels the show. Eventually the young lady marries the young man and becomes famous in the musical theatre in her own right. Years later, while Alpha, being poor and in shabby clothes, attends a performance of the young lady, is spotted among the audience. The limelight falls on the old man and there is applause for him to appear upon the stage. On stage, the young lady says that she owes her fame to the old maestro. There is more applause by the audience. The old man is overcome by the emotion, his heart fails him and he dies in the arms of the young lady.

This is one of the couple of films that were produced in Greece during the period of the German occupation (the other one was 'I foni tis kardias', that is, the Voice of the Heart; and we could mention that the film 'I villa me ta noufara', that is, the Villa with the Water Lilies, had started to be made in that year) and, despite the material shortages of that period, it is well made. It is the only film that the famous light music composer Kleon Triantafyllou (Egypt, between 1882 and 1885 - Athens, Greece, 29 August 1944), known as Attik, appears. Attik was the son of a wealthy Greek cotton merchant of Egypt. He lived in Paris for some years. He became an accomplished pianist, composer, singer, actor, mime and one-man show. Once, he performed in front of the last Czar. He is also remembered for his famous double whistle while playing the piano. In reality, this film depicts a side of the life of Attik, whose sensitive heart used always to fall in love with his leading ladies. Many talented young ladies became celebrity singers in Attik's theatre. Among his many famous songs, there was one, 'I have seen eyes', which was dedicated to his beautiful wife Marika Filippidou. But, his wife left him to marry Spiros Merkouris, who became later mayor of Athens. Melina Merkouri was the product of that marriage. There is a story that Marika Filippidou came with her new husband to the theatre while Attik was performing on stage. The audience noticed her and started to shout to Attik to play the song 'I have seen eyes'. Attik, in great anguish, retreated behind the curtains. But, he was a great and talented artist. So, after ten minutes, he appeared again on stage, sat by the piano and played a new song he had just composed. The first lines of the song were the following: 'You have asked me to tell you of my first tune, my piques of the past, you have asked 'I have seen eyes' that have smashed me into pieces. In an old wound, still bleeding, you don't twist the knife'. The audience applauded enthusiastically. The song became a success. In August 1944, as Attik was walking in downtown Athens, he bumped, by mistake, into a German soldier. The German soldier beat him up. The sensitive Attik died after that incident of a broken heart.

The beautiful Zinet Lakaz dances gracefully with the then young Yannis Flery. The choreography is that of American style, which was fashionable in those days. Zinet Lakaz, with this French name - maybe a pseudonym - but without any trace of foreign accent, appeared as the leading lady in a very few Greek films till the beginning of the 1950's. Then, nothing was heard of her again. Dimitris Horn (1921-1998), as well as some other well known actors of that period, whose names I can't recollect now, appear in this film. There is also the first appearance of Yorgos Fountas.

Finally, I would like to mention that this film is the first one of the great Greek director George Tzavellas or Yorgos Javellas.