Nunca en domingo

Melina Mercouri takes an often-played role - the 'Whore with a Heart of Gold who Loves Life Despite It All' - and makes it her career-defining movie role, and she is the entire reason to watch the movie. Fiercely independent, sexually progressive, not spending her life trying to find the perfect man and gorgeous, she's a force of life.

Jules Dassin has directed a great movie but he should have hired an actor to play Homer, and not played it himself. He almost ruins all the charm the movie has going for it with his ineffective acting, bad line readings and stupid motivations. A better actor might have found a way around the rough spots but Dassin magnifies them.

Mercouri probably should have won Best Actress that year, but who can beat a Liz Taylor death scare? Plus Simeone Signoret had won Best Actress the year before, and Sophia Loren would win the following year..you don't want to upset icons like Louella Parsons, Frank Sinatra and John Wayne by giving ALL the Oscars to foreigners, do you?? Maybe the fact that she does not die at the end was too much..we all know the odds of longevity for a hooker in a Hollywood movie. Taylor met that criteria, as if she needed to help her own odds after almost dying of pneumonia.

Worth watching for sure. 8/10.

SYNOPSIS: A well educated American tourists attempts to 'enlighten' a Greek prostitute in a small seaside village.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER Newer is not always better, and sometimes over analyzing a problem can only make it worse. Leave well enough alone. It is more important to be happy than to understand everything.

PROS AND CONS Every recent prostitute film from 'Irma la Duce' to 'Pretty Woman' owes a lot to this work. It was one of the first films that shed light on the idea that prostitution was a respectable and acceptable way to make a living.

If nothing else this film is a homage by Jules Dassin to his wife, Melina Mercouri. She is the focus of the film and she captivates any scene she is in with her zest for life and smoldering sexuality. The other thing you tend to fall in love with is the romantic ideal of living in Greece in 1960. It appears care free, relaxed and almost infectious with its love of the simple life.

The plot of the film is not overly complex and deals with an outsider, Homer (Dassin) arriving in town to study Greek culture. He is almost immediately captivated by Ilya (Mercouri) as one of the local prostitutes that 'freelances' and does not work for the town pimp. She negotiates a price with whomever she chooses, and sleeps with all the towns vendors in exchange for her daily goods (food, wine, drinks, etc), but she never 'works' on Sunday. Hence the title to the film.

Homer is smitten by Ilya and decides that he must 'save' her from what he perceives as a wretched life that is going no where and decides to educate her so that she can see the error of her ways. In the end, this does nothing but frustrate everyone in town. The education of Ilya does have a silver lining, which if anything, leaves the town more corrupted than when Homer found it.

The underlying theme of the film is that one should strive to be happy in what you do and more importantly, who you know. There is an interconnection between people in a small town, and disrupting those connections may lift some people up, but is not good for the whole of society. Regardless of his meddling, the towns people never turn on Homer, or blame him for anything. At their core, they know that life is to be enjoyed and blaming people for your troubles is just not part of the mix.

Jules Dassin has directed a delightful film starring Melina Mercouri as the happy whore with the heart of gold. As wonderful as Mercouri is, and she is wonderful, Dassin is a disaster, whose performance almost destroys his film. Clearly the low budget with which the film was made prevented his obtaining another English-speaking actor for the main male role.

Dassin, I'm sad to say, is the only actor in the film who has absolutely no personality. He comes across with all the dynamism of a dead log. How lucky we are that Ms Mercouri, who won best actress at the Cannes film festival for her role here, was at the top of her form. Without her, the film would have been forgotten decades ago. As it is, it remains a classic.

One of my all-time favorite movies! Coming from the 50's generation, I remember seeing this movie when I was a teenager and being absolutely fascinated by the Greek setting, music and dancing. I believe that this movie contributed to my interest in foreign movies to this day. The song "Never on Sunday" was very popular on the radio in the 60's. If you don't remember it now, you probably will, once you hear it.

The story line in this movie is clever and charming. The variety of characters pull you right into the story. It's dramatic, funny and at the same time, romantic. Tame by today's standards, this movie must have been considered very risqué for its time, but it remains entertaining to this day.....timeless!!! A must-see for old movie buffs.

To a committed hellenophile, this film represents all things that are great about Greece - the food, the music, the people.

First, there is the incomparable music of Manos Hatzidakis, who won an Oscar for the title song.

Then, there is Melina Mercouri, the star of the film, who won at Cannes for her role, as well as getting an Oscar and BAFTA nomination. The Minister of Culture after the fall of the dictatorship in Greece, she was magnificent.

She later married the writer/director of the film, Jules Dassin, who received two Oscar nominations for this film, as well as a BAFTA nomination. Dassin is also well know for the film Rififi.

Watching film is a trip back to the old Greece when the spirit was high and people lived life to the fullest. It is a trip worth taking many times.