Life or Death

The director Kamel al-Sheikh was one of the most popular Egyptian filmmakers in the fifties and early sixties He was heavily influenced by American film director Alfred Hitchcock, and was known for his interest in detective films that largely depended on complex storylines.

Kamal el-Sheikh was born on the 5th of February 1919 in the popular district of Helwan and completed his secondary education and obtained a baccalaureate degree in 1937. In this period he began his passion for cinema and begun to search for a way to fulfil his dream of becoming a filmmaker. He sent a letter to Mohammad Karim accompanied by a photograph of him asking him where he could find him a job for one of his films.Karim did not reply to Kamal’s letter but still he was undeterred and eventually managed to work his way into the film industry by becoming an assisatnt editor to Niazi Mostafa. He continued to work as an editor throughout the 1940’s working with Youssef Wahby and Anwar Wagdi.

In 1952 Kamal al-Sheikh directed his first feature, House No. 13 starring Emad Hamdi and Faten Hamama. Kamal forged a fresh direction in new Egyptian cinema breaking from the tradition of musicals and melodrama. His films were fresh edgy film noirs concentrating on criminals running from the law featuring shady characters and fallen women. He also used flashbacks, complex lighting setups and innovative dolly shots previously unused in Egyptian cinema. After the success of House No. 13 critics hailed Kamal al-Sheikh as the “Egyptian Alfred Hitchcock” a title he would reject throughout his life.

Over the following decade Kamal became one of the most influentisl directors working in Egyptian cinema and enjoyed great success with films such as Lady of the Castle (1959), Angel and the Devil, (1960) and Chased By the Dogs (1962) The latter film was adapted from a novel by the reknowned author Naguib Mahfouz who would collaborate with him many times throughout his career.

Kamal was married to Ms. Amira Salem and she became his confidant and editor for most of films alongside his brother Saeed Shiekh. During the eighties Kamal’s work became less frequent and he made his last feature in 1987. He died on January 2, 2004. —Al Riyadh (translated)