Struggle in the Harbor

A hard-hitting commentary on class struggle and machismo set amid the dockyards of Alexandria in the immediate aftermath of Egypt’s 1952 revolution, this feverish social-realist melodrama stars the great Omar Sharif in one of his earliest film roles. He delivers an intense performance as Ragab, a sailor who must leave behind his beloved Hamidah (Faten Hamama, at the time Sharif’s real-life wife) for a long voyage at sea. When he returns after three years and discovers that she has taken up with the wealthy Mamdouh (the heartthrob Ahmed Ramzy), the volatile Ragab fights to win her back.