A Girl in Black (1956)

Against the backdrop of a cloudless summer, love's unforeseen complications will entwine an Athenian writer, a morosely beautiful daughter, and a scorned local suitor. And then, calamity strikes. Can love redeem the sad girl in black?

Director:

Michael Cacoyannis (as Mihalis Kakogiannis)

Writer:

Michael Cacoyannis (as Mihalis Kakogiannis)

Stars:

Ellie Lambeti, Dimitris Horn, Eleni Zafeiriou

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Ellie Lambeti	...	Marina
Dimitris Horn	...	Pavlos
Eleni Zafeiriou	...	Froso
Stephanos Stratigos	...	Panagos
Giorgos Foundas	...	Hristos
Notis Peryalis	...	Antonis
Nikos Fermas	...	Aristeidis
Anestis Vlahos	...	Mitsos
Maria Thalassinou
Thanasis Vengos	...	Policeman
Gerasimos Miliaresis	...	Guitar player

Storyline

Under the cloudless summer sky--against the backdrop of a derelict mansion ravaged by death, hate, and shame in post-Greek-Civil-War Hydra--a silently sinister undercurrent of intense rivalry among men unfolds. Eager to spend their carefree vacation at the sun-kissed Saronic island, the well-to-do Athenian writer, Pavlos, and his equally sophisticated architect friend, Antonis, rent a small room at the house of the disdained widow, Froso, and her morosely beautiful daughter, Marina. But, little by little--as Marina's brother, Mitsos, is fighting a losing battle to salvage what's left of the family's already tattered reputation--love's unforeseen complications will pave the way for an unavoidable head-on confrontation between Pavlos, and the scorned local suitor, Christos. And then, as bottled-up emotions and suppressed prejudice blemish both lambs and wolves, calamity strikes. Can love redeem the sad girl in black?

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Plot Keywords:

athens greece | island | islander | hellas | hellenic | 

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Taglines:

Introducing a young actress of surpassing brilliance!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In Australia "A GIRL IN BLACK" (To koritsi me ta mavra) was named as one of "THE ten films of 1958" by "The Australian Women's Weekly" published on Wednesday 31st December 1958 on Page 52.

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Connections

Referenced in Mousiki vradya: Tragoudia apo ton Elliniko kinimatografo (1976)

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Soundtracks

Athina kai pali Athina
Composed by Mihalis Souyoul
Lyrics by Mimis Traiforos
Performed by the cast

User Reviews

A modern Greek tragedy

Ellie Lambetti's performance in "A Girl in Black" is one of the greatest performances by an actress in all of cinema and yet hardly anyone has seen it. Michael Cacoyannis made this film for virtually nothing on the Greek island of Hydra after achieving international success with "Stella". It's a beautiful looking film, (the great Walter Lassally was the photographer), and the simple island setting suited the simplicity of the style perfectly. Early in the film one of the character says that everything is exposed by the light, even men's sins and that is the theme of the film.

When two strangers arrive on the island their presence arouses passions among the locals that were always there but kept simmering just below the surface. Eleni Zafiriou is the widow who bestows her favours a little too freely, (the islanders are a very unforgiving lot), Lambetti is the daughter tainted by her sins, Anestis Vlachos is the son who is shamed by her, the better-known Greek actor Georges Foundas, (he was in "Never on Sunday"), is the fisherman who wants Lambetti and Dimitri Horn, the man from Athens, who gets her. It's a contemporary Greek tragedy on a small, but no less terrible, scale and it's heartbreaking. In America the film won the Golden Globe but it is seldom revived. See it at all costs.

Details

Country:

Greece

Language:

Greek

Release Date:

12 December 1956 (France)

Also Known As:

A Mulher de Negro

Filming Locations:

Hydra, Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hermes Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1