Ibn el-Nil is a 1951

1951 in film

The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...

 Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 directed by Youssef Chahine

Youssef Chahine

Youssef Chahine was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif...

. It starred Yehia Chahine

Yehia Chahine

Yehia Chahine was an Egyptian film producer and an actor of film and theater. He is most notable for his role in the film adaptations of the Cairo Trilogy, a trilogy written by the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz.- Life and career :Yehia Chahine was born in Imbaba, Giza. His...

, Faten Hamama

Faten Hamama

Faten Hamama is an Egyptian producer and an acclaimed actress of film, television, and theatre. She was regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from melodramas to historical films and occasional comedies, though her chief successes were romantic dramas...

, Mahmoud el-Meliguy

Mahmoud el-Meliguy

Mahmoud el-Meliguy was an Egyptian screenwriter and an actor of film, theatre, and television. He started his career playing minor roles, but achieved stardom in the late 1930s. A popular and award-winning actor, he has acted in hundreds of films and was famous for his evil, villain roles...

, and Shukry Sarhan and was chosen as one of the best 150 Egyptian film productions in 1996, during the Egyptian Cinema centennial. The film received an award from the New Delhi International Film Festival and was nominated for the Prix International award at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival

1952 Cannes Film Festival

-Jury:The jury at this festival was all French.*Maurice Genevoix *Tony Aubin*Mme. Georges Bidault*Pierre Billon*Chapelain-Midy *Louis Chauvet *A...

  and an award in the Venice International Film Festival.

Plot

Hemaidah (Yehia Chahine

Yehia Chahine

Yehia Chahine was an Egyptian film producer and an actor of film and theater. He is most notable for his role in the film adaptations of the Cairo Trilogy, a trilogy written by the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz.- Life and career :Yehia Chahine was born in Imbaba, Giza. His...

) is a farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

 who hates country life. He hates working in fields and taking care of the animals in his farm. Though unsatisfied with her, he marries Zebeidah (Faten Hamama

Faten Hamama

Faten Hamama is an Egyptian producer and an acclaimed actress of film, television, and theatre. She was regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from melodramas to historical films and occasional comedies, though her chief successes were romantic dramas...

), a woman in the same village. He is determined to leave the village, move and live in the city. He plans for his travel and asks his brother to look after his farm and family. In Cairo, Hemaidah falls in the hands of a gang

Gang

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

, headed by a ruthless gangster

Gangster

A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....

. Not wishing to risk his life, he is forced to work with the gang and help them in their crimes. He is introduced to theft and harlotry, and one day the police arrest the gang. Hemaidah spends his time in prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 and returns to his village after his release, regretting that he had left it.

Cast

• Shukry Sarhan as Hemaidah
• Faten Hamama
  Faten Hamama
  Faten Hamama is an Egyptian producer and an acclaimed actress of film, television, and theatre. She was regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from melodramas to historical films and occasional comedies, though her chief successes were romantic dramas...
  
   as Zebeidah
• Yehia Chahine
  Yehia Chahine
  Yehia Chahine was an Egyptian film producer and an actor of film and theater. He is most notable for his role in the film adaptations of the Cairo Trilogy, a trilogy written by the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz.- Life and career :Yehia Chahine was born in Imbaba, Giza. His...
  
   as Hemaidah's brother, Ibrahim
• Mahmoud El-Meliguy
  Mahmoud el-Meliguy
  Mahmoud el-Meliguy was an Egyptian screenwriter and an actor of film, theatre, and television. He started his career playing minor roles, but achieved stardom in the late 1930s. A popular and award-winning actor, he has acted in hundreds of films and was famous for his evil, villain roles...
  
   as the gang boss
• Nader Galal as Hemaidah's son