ALEKOS SAKELLARIOS
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB.
Original title: To Doloma
Alternate title: Ace Of Spades
Greece, 1964. Finos Film. Screenplay by Alekos Sakellarios. Cinematography by Nikos Kavoukidis. Music by Kostas Kapnisis. Production Design by Markos Zervas. Film Editing by Petros Lykas.
Aliki Vougiouklaki is hilarious in this modern, slightly sexier version of Pygmalion. Alekos Alexandrakis plays a card sharp who needs a pretty girl to rope in the rich dupes he plays cards with in order to clean out their bank accounts. He slums it at a cabaret where he picks the prettiest of the dance hall girls (Vougiouklaki) and hires her away from her day job. A comedic regimen of culture and fashion lessons are deployed to turn her into a smooth-talking sex-bomb of a lady that no wealthy man can resist, and then they’re all off to a seaside resort where they set the lass onto her prey. She starts out clumsy, gets to be a pro, and then falls in love and ruins everything. Nothing unpredictable, but terribly fun to experience, and Vougiouklaki’s delivery of rapid-fire, witty dialogue is always delightful.
