Togo Mizrahi

Togo Mizrahi (June 2, 1901 – June 5, 1986) was an Egyptian director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Mizrahi was a prolific filmmaker best known for making popular comedies and musicals. In addition to his filmmaking, Mizrahi also had his Ph.D. in economics and was a speaker of many languages. For the majority of his career, Mizrahi produced, directed, and wrote most of his films.

Between 1930 and 1946, he directed 30 Arabic-speaking films and four Greek-speaking films, and he produced several films directed by other filmmakers.

Early life Joseph Elie Mizrahi was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Jewish family with Italian nationality. He was born into a wealthy family who had made their fortune in the cotton and textile trades. As a child he adopted the nickname, Togo, after Admiral Togo, commemorating Japan's victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. In terms of his education, Togo studied in France and in Italy before returning to Alexandria to begin his career as a filmmaker.

Career In 1929 Mizrahi established a studio in Alexandria, Egypt, and founded a production company, The Egyptian Films Company, or the Shirkat el-Aflam el-Misriyya in Egyptian Arabic. According to scholar Deborah A. Starr, Mizrahi's move to Cairo was likely made to allow for more access to actors, staff, and resources which were more abundant in the capital.

Mizrahi was extremely popular in his time both with the public and with critics for creating culturally Egyptian stories for the Egyptian public. To achieve this, most of Mizrahi's films starred Jewish, Arab, Greek and occasionally francophone characters sharing the screen together.

Filmography

Egyptian films

1930: Cocaine or The Abyss (el kokaïn) (el Hâwya) 1932: 5001 (khamsat âlaf wa wâhid) 1933: Sons of Egypt (Awlâd Misr) 1934: The Two Delegates (el Mandoubân) 1935: Doctor Farahat (el Doktor Farhât) 1935: Shalom the Interpreter (Shalom el tourgmân) 1935: The Sailor (el bahhâr) 1936: A Hundred Thousand Pounds (Mit alf guinih) 1936: The Guard of the Barracks (Khafir el darak) 1937: Too Much Money is a Nuisance (el ‘Izz bahdalah) 1937: Shalom the Athlete (Shalom el riyâdî) 1937: Seven o'clock (el Sâ‘ah Sab‘ah) 1938: The Telegram (el Telegraf) 1938: This is my nature! (Anâ tab ī Kidah) 1939: Osman and Ali (‘Othman wa ‘Ali) 1939: Lend me Three Pounds (Sallifnî talâtah guinîh) 1939: A Rainy Night (Laylah moumtirah) 1940: The Chief Contractor (el Bâchmouqâwil) 1940: The Heart of a Woman (Qalb imira’ah) 1941: The Three Musketeers (el Foursân el thalâthah) 1941: Laila from the Countryside (Layla bint el rif) 1941: One Thousand and One Nights (Alf Lailah wa Lailah) 1941: Laila the School Girl (Layla bint el madâris) 1942: Laila (Layla) 1942: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (‘Ali Bâbâ wa-l-arba'in harâmi) 1943: The Right Path (el Tariq el moustaqîm) 1943: Long live Women! (Tahyâ el sittât) 1944: Laila in the Dark (Layla fi-l-zalâm) 1944: Lies, Lies! (Kidb fi kidb) 1944: Nour Eddine and the Three Sailors (Nour Eddine wa-l-bahhârah el thalâthah) 1945: Sallama (Sallâmah) 1945: Long live Men! (Tahyâal-riggâlah)

Greek films 1937: Δόκτωρ Επαμεινώνδας Dr. Epaminondas (Doktor Epaminondas) 1938: Προσφυγοπούλα The Refugee Girl (Prosfigopoula) 1938: Όταν ο σύζυγος ταξιδεύει When the Husband is Absent (Otan o syzygos taxidevi) 1943: Καπετάν Σκορπιός Captain Scorpion (Kapetan Skorpios)

Producer 1944: The Son of the Blacksmith (Ibn el haddâd) 1944: Mohamed Ali Street (Shâri’ Mouhammad ‘Ali) 1945: Appearances (el Mazâhir) 1945: The Great Artist (el Fannân el 'azîm) 1945: Love Story (Qissat gharâm) 1946: Divine Providence (Yadu Allah) 1946: Love Train (Express el houbb) 1946: Beauty Queen (Malikat el gamâl)