Never on Sunday

This article is about the 1960 film. For other uses, see Never on Sunday (disambiguation).

Never on Sunday
File:Never on sunday423.jpg
Directed by	Jules Dassin
Written by	Jules Dassin
Starring	Melina Mercouri Jules Dassin Giorgos Fountas
Cinematography	Jacques Natteau
Edited by	Roger Dwyre
Music by	Manos Hatzidakis
Distributed by	Lopert Pictures Corporation (United States)
Release date	1 October 1960 (1960-10-01)
Running time	91 minutes
Countries	Greece United States
Languages	English Greek Russian
Budget	$150,000
Box office	$4 million (rentals)

Never on Sunday (Greek: Ποτέ την Κυριακή, Poté tin Kyriakí) is a 1960 Greek romantic comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jules Dassin.

The film tells the story of Ilya, a Greek prostitute (Melina Mercouri), and Homer (Dassin), an American classicist. Homer attempts to steer her toward morality while Ilya attempts to make Homer more relaxed. It constitutes a variation of the Pygmalion plus "hooker with a heart of gold" story.

The film's bouzouki theme became a hit and the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song (Manos Hadjidakis for "Never on Sunday"). It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Mercouri), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, Best Director and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay as Written Directly for the Screen (both Dassin). Mercouri won the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

Ilya, a self-employed, free-spirited prostitute who lives in the port of Piraeus in Greece, meets Homer, an American tourist and classical scholar who is enamored of all things Greek. Homer feels that Ilya's lifestyle typifies the degradation of Greek classical culture and attempts to steer her onto the path of morality while Ilya attempts to relax him.

Cast

• Melina Mercouri as Ilya
• Jules Dassin as Homer Thrace
• Giorgos Fountas as Tonio
• Titos Vandis as Jorgo
• Mitsos Ligizos as The Captain (as Mitsos Lygizos)
• Despo Diamantidou as Despo
• Dimos Starenios as Poubelle
• Dimitris Papamichael as Sailor (as Dimitri Papamichael)
• Alexis Solomos as Noface
• Thanassis Veggos
• Phaedon Georgitsis as Sailor
• Nikos Fermas as Waiter

Reception

When the film was first released in Italy in 1960, the Committee for the Theatrical Review of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities rated it as VM16, not suitable for children under 16. The committee also demanded dialogue modifications and the excision of explicit scenes.

Home media

MGM released Never on Sunday on VHS in 2000 as part of its Vintage Classic lineup.

External links

• Pote tin Kyriaki at IMDb
• Never on Sunday at Rotten Tomatoes