DEBORAH A. STARR TOGO MIZRAHI and the MAKING OF EGYPTIAN CINEMA Luminos is the Open Access monograph publishing program from UC Press. Luminos provides a framework for preserving and reinvigorating monograph publishing for the future and increases the reach and visibility of important scholarly work. Titles published in the UC Press Luminos model are published with the same high standards for selection, peer review, production, and marketing as those in our traditional program. www.luminosoa.org The publisher and the University of California Press Foundation gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Robert and Meryl Selig Endowment Fund in Film Studies, established in memory of Robert W. Selig. Publication of this open monograph was the result of Cornell University’s participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries. 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Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema UNIVERSIT Y OF CALIFORNIA SERIES IN JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURES Edited by Todd Presner, Ross Professor of Germanic Languages and Comparative Literature, UCLA David Myers, Professor and Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History, UCLA In partnership with University of California Press’s Luminos program, the University of California Series in Jewish History and Cultures publishes cutting-edge scholarship in Jewish studies, with a particular ability to highlight work that relies on digital media. The series promotes interdisciplinary work that opens new conceptual and methodological horizons and has the potential to make a broad impact on diverse fields of study. 1 . Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema, by Deborah A. Starr Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema Deborah A. Starr UNIVERSIT Y OF CALIFORNIA PRESS University of California Press Oakland, California © 2020 by Deborah A. Starr This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA license. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses. Suggested citation: Starr, D. A. Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema. Oakland: University of California Press, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.91 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Starr, Deborah A., 1968- author. Title: Togo Mizrahi and the making of Egyptian cinema / Deborah A. Starr. Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020004086 | ISBN 9780520366206 (paperback) | ISBN 9780520976122 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Mizrā h. ī , Tūjū, 1905–1986—Criticism and interpretation. | Motion picture producers and directors—Egypt Motion pictures—Egypt—20th century Classification: LCC PN1998.3.M585 S73 2020 | DDC 791.430/33092—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020004086 Manufactured in the United States of America 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Elliot, Hannah, and Dina. C ontents List of Figures and Tables xi Acknowledgments xiii Notes on Translation and Transliteration xvii 1. Togo Mizrahi, Agent of Exchange 1 Preview 1 Egyptian Jews: Between Nationality and Nationalisms 5 What Is Egyptian Cinema? 10 National Cinema without Nationality 12 Togo Mizrahi: A Case Study of National Cinema without Nationality 20 2. Togo Mizrahi, Work over Words 27 Togo Mizrahi, a Jewish Son of Egypt 28 The Making of the “Togo Cinema Family”: Alexandria, 1929–1939 30 “The Director Who Does the Egyptian Film Industry Proud”: Cairo, 1939–1946 39 From Director to Producer: Cairo, 1944–1946 43 The End of Studio Togo Mizrahi 44 Reevaluating Togo Mizrahi’s Legacy 49 3. Crimes of Mistaken Identity 50 The Subversive Potential of Levantine Farce 51 Chalom: A Jewish Ibn al-Balad 56 viii Contents Language of Belonging, Language of Disguise: The Two Delegates (1934) 58 Masquerade and the Levantine Carnivalesque: The Neighborhood Watchman (1936) 64 Coda: Levantine Masquerade and Subversive Sexuality 70 4. Queering the Levantine 73 In Bed Together 73 Queerness and the Levantine 74 Suitors in Swimsuits: Doctor Farahat (1935) 75 A Parting Kiss: Mistreated by Affluence (1937) 83 Coda: “The Story of a Woman Who Was Transformed into a Man” 88 5. Journeys of Assumed Identity: Seven O’Clock ( 1937) 91 Movement I: Cycling in Alexandria 93 Movement II: Nubian Whiteface and Borscht Belt Minstrelsy 96 Movement III: Queer Levantine Mobility 102 Coda: Journey of the Living Dead 105 6. Traveling Anxieties 107 Itinerary I, Egypt–Italy: A Rainy Night (1939) 109 Itinerary II, Egypt–Sudan: A Rainy Night (1939) 112 Itinerary III, Egypt–Palestine–Lebanon: The Straight Road (1943) 117 Coda: Layla, Bint al-Balad 122 7. Courtesan and Concubine 125 Love Matches and Marriage Plots 125 Abolition of Slavery and Legal Prostitution in Egypt 127 Courtesan/Queen: Layla (1942) 130 A Modern Qayna: Sallama (1945) 141 A Success Rumored to Be a Failure 155 8. Frames of Influence 158 Frame 1: Hasan and Marika (Egypt, 1959) 160 Frame 2: Cinema Egypt (Israel, 1998) 161 Frame 3: Passion (Syria, 2005) 163 Frame 4: YouTube 164 Writing Togo Mizrahi into the History of Egyptian Cinema 166 Contents ix Appendix: Togo Mizrahi Filmography 169 Notes 179 Works Cited 211 Index 225 xi List of Figures AND TABLES F IG U R E S 1. Screenshot from Mistreated by Affluence (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 2 2. Portrait of Togo Mizrahi by Studio Umberto Dorés. 4 3. Letterhead for the Egyptian Films Company. 21 4. Portrait of Félix and Togo Mizrahi circa 1915. 29 5. Photograph of Togo Mizrahi on the set of The Two Delegates (1934). 33 6. Photograph of Togo Mizrahi with cast and crew on the set of Layla the Country Girl (1941). 41 7. Photograph of Togo Mizrahi and Myriam Donato Mizrahi circa 1938. 45 8. Page of passport issued to Togo Giuseppe Mizrahi by the Italian consulate in Egypt in 1952. 48 9. Screenshot from The Two Delegates (Togo Mizrahi, 1934). 55 10. Screenshot from The Two Delegates (Togo Mizrahi, 1934). 59 11. Screenshot from The Two Delegates (Togo Mizrahi, 1934). 60 12. Screenshot from The Neighborhood Watchman (Togo Mizrahi, 1936). 67 13. Screenshot from The Neighborhood Watchman (Togo Mizrahi, 1936). 68 14. Screenshot from The Neighborhood Watchman (Togo Mizrahi, 1936). 69 15. Screenshot from The Neighborhood Watchman (Togo Mizrahi, 1936). 70 16. Screenshot from Wife by Proxy (Ahmad Galal, 1936). 71 17. Screenshot from Mistreated by Affluence (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 74 18. Screenshot from Doctor Farahat (Togo Mizrahi, 1935). 76 19. Screenshot from Doctor Farahat (Togo Mizrahi, 1935). 77 20. Screenshot from Doctor Farahat (Togo Mizrahi, 1935). 78 21. Screenshot from Doctor Farahat (Togo Mizrahi, 1935). 79 xii List of Figures AND TABLES 22. Screenshot from Doctor Farahat (Togo Mizrahi, 1935). 81 23. Screenshot from Doctor Farahat (Togo Mizrahi, 1935). 82 24. Page from pressbook for Mistreated by Affluence (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 85 25. Screenshot from Mistreated by Affluence (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 88 26. Screenshot from Mistreated by Affluence (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 88 27. Screenshot from The Pasha Director’s Daughter (Ahmad Galal, 1938). 89 28. Screenshot from Seven O’Clock (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 92 29. Screenshot from Seven O’Clock (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 95 30. Screenshot from Seven O’Clock (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 97 31. Caricature of ‘Ali al-Kassar in blackface in the journal Al-Ithnayn, 1934. 99 32. Screenshot from Seven O’Clock (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 101 33. Screenshot from Seven O’Clock (Togo Mizrahi, 1937). 103 34. Page from pressbook for A Rainy Night (Togo Mizrahi, 1939). 111 35. Page from pressbook for A Rainy Night (Togo Mizrahi, 1939). 113 36. Screenshot from A Rainy Night (Togo Mizrahi, 1939). 115 37. Screenshot from A Rainy Night (Togo Mizrahi, 1939). 116 38. Screenshot from The Straight Road (Togo Mizrahi, 1943). 119 39. Screenshot from The Straight Road (Togo Mizrahi, 1943). 121 40. Page from pressbook for Layla the Country Girl (Togo Mizrahi, 1941). 123 41. Queen Farida on the cover of the journal Al-Ithnayn, 1942. 135 42. Opening-week ad for Layla in the journal Al-Ithnayn, 1942. 136 43. Screenshot from Layla (Togo Mizrahi, 1942). 138 44. Screenshot from Sallama (Togo Mizrahi, 1945). 151 45. Screenshot from Sallama (Togo Mizrahi, 1945). 152 46. Page from pressbook for Sallama (Togo Mizrahi, 1945). 154 47. Screenshot from Hasan and Marika (Hasan al-Sayfi, 1958). 161 48. Screenshot from Cinema Egypt (Rami Kimchi, 1998). 162 49. Screenshot from Passion (Muhammad Malas, 2005). 164 50. Screen capture of the film ‘ Usman and ‘ Ali (Togo Mizrahi, 1938) from YouTube. 165 TA B L E S 1. Arabic films directed by Togo Mizrahi 170 2. Greek films directed by Togo Mizrahi 176 3. Films produced by Togo Mizrahi 177 xiii Acknowled gments Putting words on a page is a solo act. Writing a book is not an act but a process, and it involves not one person but many people. I am very grateful for all the sup- port and encouragement I have received from colleagues, friends, and family over the course of researching and writing this book. I am especially grateful to those who closely read and provided comments on the entire manuscript: Walter Armbrust, Orit Bashkin, Joel Gordon, Elliot Shap- iro, and an anonymous reader. Your insights have enriched this book. I would also like to thank the many people who helped me by reading drafts, discussing ideas, parsing words, and assisting my research in a variety of ways. Thank you to Rama Alhabian, Anindita Banerjee, Nancy Berg, Ahmad al-Bindari, Henriette Bornkamm, Ross Brann, Rebecca Bryant, Andrew Campagna, Yomna Chami, Julia Chang, Ziad Fahmy, Ibrahim Gemeah, Shai Ginsburg, Sabine Haenni, Hanan Hammad, Liat Kozma, Or Pitsui, Gabriel Rosenbaum, Eyal Sagui- Bizawi, Ariel Sheetrit, Yaron Shemer, Salma Shitia, Louis Wasser, Seçil Yilmaz, and Munther Younes. Any mistakes in these pages are my own. As I wrote this book, I found myself frequently engaging in imagined conversation with two mentors who, sadly, passed away before this book was completed. Sasson Somekh not only taught me about Arabic literature and the cultural expression of Jews from Arabic-speaking countries; he also served as a role model of mentorship. Ibrahim Hamid shared with me his love of Egyptian music, and taught me about composers, performers, poets, and the language of Arabic song. Jacques Mizart has been incredibly generous with his time and in sharing his family archive. His stories have helped me understand who Togo Mizrahi was as a xiv Acknowledgments person, and not only as a public figure. I am also grateful to Maureen McManamny for speaking to her mother, Nancy Angel McManamny, on my behalf, and for sharing stories, photos, and press clippings of her grandparents Leon and Esther Angel, who graced the Egyptian screen in the 1930s as Chalom and ‘Adalat. I am especially grateful to the librarians and archivists who have helped me along the way: Ali Houissa, Ola Seif, and Robin Dougherty. Thank you to the staff at Cornell’s CTI (formerly the Academic Technology Center) and DCAPS for helping me capture screenshots. Over the years, I have presented excerpts from this project as a work in prog- ress. I would like to express my appreciation to organizers of some particularly generative workshops. Thank you to Moshe Behar, Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, and Yoram Meital for inviting me to participate in the Symposium on Jewish Thought in Arab Societies, 1880–1960 at Ben Gurion University (2014); and to Hannan Hammad and Sami Everett for including me in the Workshop on Minorities in Popular Cul- ture in the Modern Middle East, hosted by SOAS and the Woolf Institute (2015). I am also grateful for the feedback I received at symposia held at the Frankel Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Michigan (2015) and at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania (2018). I appreciate the support I have received from the Department of Near Eastern Studies and the Jewish Studies program at Cornell University, as well as the other funding sources that supported my research and writing. I launched my research on early Egyptian cinema with a CASA III fellowship in Spring 2009. ‘Arab Lotfi, Muhammad al-Rubi, and Abeer Heidar taught me an enormous amount about Egyptian cinema history and criticism, and the language of cinema. I am also grateful for the support of the Cornell Diversity Fellowship Seminar in 2013–14, and for the insightful comments of my fellow participants. My research was sup- ported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend in 2015. I spent spring 2016 as a fellow of the Mandel School for Advanced Study in the Humanities at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I was a recipient of the Cornell Society for the Humanities Monograph Writing Group stipend in 2018–19. I am grateful to the Cornell College of Arts and Sciences and the Near Eastern Studies Department for providing the funding for a book workshop in April 2019. This book was published with the generous support of the Cornell University Jewish Studies Program, the Hull Memorial Publication Fund of Cornell University, the Robert and Meryl Selig Endowment Fund in Film Studies of the University of California Press Foundation, and the TOME Initiative. Thank you to David Myers and Todd Presner for selecting this book to launch the Jewish Histories and Cultures series. Thank you to Eric Schmidt, Austin Lim, and Francisco Reinking at University of California Press for their guidance through the publishing process, and to Carl Walesa for his attentive copy editing. Acknowledgments xv I am grateful every day for the love and support of my family. Thank you to my parents for always believing in me. Elliot, this book could not have happened without you. You are my best friend. You are also my audience and my interlocu- tor. You listen to my ideas and you provide invaluable comments. You have also made it possible for me to devote the long hours it has taken to research and write this book. Hannah and Dina, thank you for your love, good humor, and patience. Elliot, Hannah, and Dina, this book is for you. xvii N ot e s on Transl ation and T ransliteration I have opted for readability over full transliteration of Arabic. I have adopted a simplified version of the IJMES transliteration system. I use the ‘ayin (‘) and the hamza (’), but I have omitted other diacritical marks. I rely on spellings in the Oxford English Dictionary for words that have entered the English language, such as tarboosh and galabiya. Proper names present a particular challenge. When referring to individu- als whose names were not originally Arabic, I have favored the foreign spelling rather than transliterating from Arabic. For public figures, like Gamal Abdel Nasser, I have adopted the accepted English spellings. For individuals involved in the Egyptian cinema industry, I render Arabic names as they are pronounced in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. Film dialogue is transliterated according to Egyptian colloquial pronunciation, and published work is transliterated from Modern Stan- dard Arabic. I maintain a consistent orthography for names throughout; I do this even in citing written work published in Arabic; for example, I always use Togo Mizrahi rather than Tuju Mizrahi. All translations, including the English-language titles for Arabic-language films, are my own, except where noted. Upon first mention in a chapter, I identify films by both their Arabic title and the title translated into English. On subsequent reference, I refer to films exclu- sively by their title in English. Some of my discussion of the notion of Levantine cinema (chaps. 1 and 3) first appeared in my essay “Masquerade and the Performance of National Imaginaries: Levantine Ethics, Aesthetics, and Identities in Egyptian Cinema,” Journal of Levan- tine Studies 1, no. 2 (Winter 2011): 31–57. Part of chapter 3 was originally published