Never on Sunday

Jules Dassin wrote, directed, and co-stars in this Greek-infused play on "Pygmalion", wherein an American scholar vacationing in Greece becomes obsessed with reforming the most popular prostitute in the village: a fiery local who picks and chooses her men--and celebrates alongside all her paramours with an 'open house' on Sunday. Melina Mercouri gives a star-making performance as the passionate Ilya, though Dassin, who also co-produced the film uncredited, may have taken on more than he could handle.

After years of only knowing about this film by reputation, Mom and I finally watched this-Never on Sunday. Written and directed by Jules Dassin, he also stars as a visiting American wanting to find out why Greece no longer seems such an artistically compelling country.

Middle-aged American scholar Jules Dassin (as Homer) goes from Connecticut to a Greek sea port, where he discovers vivacious thirty-something prostitute Melina Mercouri (as Ilya). As he soaks up local culture, Mr.

Hollywood blacklist Jules Dassin's Greek comedy, starring his future wife and muse Mercouri, which was a sensational success, acquired 5 Oscar nominations (including BEST DIRECTOR and LEADING ACTRESS, with one win for BEST SONG, the titular NEVER ON Sunday, a record- breaking first-time for a foreign movie). The story is a variation of the Pygmalion, a delectable tug- of-war between a golden-heart Greek prostitute's free spirit and an amateur American philosopher's attempt to save her from the oldest profession.

Greek film "Never on Sunday" is a perfect film for all those viewers who appreciate good cinema and have already seen films directed by Jules Dassin namely Rififi, Topkapi and Celui Qui Doit Mourir. Never on Sunday is a simple philosophical film with sufficient doses of light philosophical lessons.

Never on Sunday (1960)An odd movie—odd partly because people still watch it despite its painful artifice. Nothing is quite right, and a lot is quite wrong, including the humor, the gender assignments (sexist stuff), and the larger plot, what there is of it.

I must repeat what some of the reviewers have said about this film. It is most unfortunate that a talented director Jules Dassin, Hollywood black list runaway, director of a very influential heist flick, Rififi , should cast himself as the goofy American that wants to educate his real life wife, Melina Mercouri.

This is one of the best films ever where the characters are human (unlike Star Wars, ET, etc), don't have magic powers (Edward Scissorhands, Terminator), aren't dealing with war, divorce, murder. In fact, no one gets killed!!!!

An American writer/philosopher is in Greece to try to discover why both he and the world are going nowhere. He meets a happy, independent prostitute in Piraeus and believes that she embodies the reasons that Greece is no longer great, and using a pimp's money, tries to reform her.