''The Counterfeit Coin'' ( el, Ιστορία μιας κάλπικης λίρας, Istoria mias kalpikis liras, Story of a fake pound; also Η κάλπικη λίρα, ''I kalpiki lira'', "the fake pound") is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

comedy-drama film, produced in 1955, written and directed by Giorgos Tzavellas and starring

Dimitris Horn Dimitris Horn () (9 March 1921 – 16 January 1998) was a Greek theatrical and film performer of modern times. Biography Horn was born in Athens in 1921, the son of playwright Pantelis Horn (himself descended from an Austrian father and Greek mot ...

, Ilia Livykou and

Vassilis Logothetidis Vasilis Logothetidis (Greek: Βασίλης Λογοθετίδης; 1897 – 20 February 1960) was a Greek comedian. He is considered one of the most significant modern Greek actors. Logothetidis was born as Vasilis Tavlaridis (Βασίλης Τ ...

. At the 2006

International Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), organized by the cultural institution of the same name under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, is held every November in Thessaloniki.TIFF features international competition secti ...

, the film was announced as among the 10 all-time best Greek films by the PHUCC (Pan-Hellenic Union of Cinema Critics).

Plot

An honest, reserved goldsmith and engraver, Anargyros Loumbardopoulos (

), has routinely invested his money in gold coins, specifically

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

gold sovereign The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy oz of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the wor ...

s, bought from a friend of his, a banker. Upon having stored away 100 sovereigns, a man working for the banker suggests that Anargyros should start minting counterfeit sovereigns, but he adamantly refuses. The banker employee then introduces Anargyros to a divorced attractive lady, Fifi ( Ilya Livykou) that he knows. Anargyros' resistance is soon curbed by Fifi's sexual means, and he spends all his invested 100 sovereigns to buy minting equipment. After much toil the trio produce their first counterfeit coin, but Anargyros finds it difficult to deceive people into accepting it as currency. People easily understand it is not a genuine coin. When the sinister employee is arrested, Anargyros fears that the police has discovered their crime and panics. He gets rid of all the counterfeiting equipment, and also abandons Fifi. It is eventually revealed that it was a misunderstanding and the employee was arrested for other reasons. Safe again, Anargyros returns to his honest work and daily routine. Anargyros tries to get rid of the counterfeit coin, by giving it away as charity to an apparently blind beggar. The beggar sees through the deceit, but Anargyros flees in a hurry. The beggar (

Mimis Fotopoulos Dimitris "Mimis" Fotopoulos ( el, Δημήτρης (Μίμης) Φωτόπουλος; 8 April 1913 – 29 October 1986) was a Greek actor, writer, poet, and artist. He was born in Zatouna, Gortynia, Arcadia. He studied at the Dramatic School o ...

) is in fact a cunning liar with exceptional eyesight, who manages to earn the pity of everyone with his fake blindness. But a street prostitute, Maria (

Sperantza Vrana Sperantza Vrana ( el, Σπεράντζα Βρανά; 6 February 1928 – 29 September 2009) was a Greek actress and writer. She was born as Elpida Homatianou (''Ελπίδα Χωματιανού'') in Messolongi on 6 February, either in 1926 or ...

) starts hooking up near the beggar's corner and they find themselves arguing.

Cast

as Anargyros Loubardopoulos * Ilia Livykou as Fifi *

as the beggar *

as Maria *

Orestis Makris Orestis Makris ( el, Ορέστης Μακρής; 30 September 1898 – 29 January 1975) was a Greek actor and tenor. Biography Makris graduated from the Athens Conservatoire and first entered the scene as a tenor in the troupe of Rosalia Nika ...

as Vasilis Mavridis *Maria Kalamioti as Fanitsa *

Ellie Lambeti Ellie Loukou ( el, Έλλη Λούκου; 13 April 1926 – 3 September 1983), known professionally as Ellie Lambeti ( el, Έλλη Λαμπέτη), was a Greek actress. Family Lambeti was born in 1926 in the village of Vilia, Attiki, to Kos ...

as Aliki *

as Pavlos ;Additional cast * Lavrentis Dianellos as Anastasis * Vagelis Protopapas as Dinos *Lela Patrikiou as Mrs. Mavridou *Dimitris Myrat as the narrator *Zoras Tsapelis as Dimitris *Thanos Tzeneralis as George Phil

Reception

As part of the closing night event at the Antipodes Greek Film Festival 2005 in Melbourne, Australia, they screened what they considered a classic 50’s film, ''The Counterfeit Coin'' in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary. At the festival, it was said of the film that it was, "Considered by many to be the best Greek film ever produced..." and "There is no more complete Greek cinematic creation". And after the festival, "The standout favourites of the Film Festival have been ''Brides'' with 3 sell out screenings to date, ''The Counterfeit Coin'', ''Testosterone'' and ''Liza and The Others''.greekfilmfestival.com.au
accessed 01-14-2009

Other information

The movie saw 1000 simultaneous screenings in Russia. It was a box office success with 208,410 tickets only from the first run in Athens, more than any other movie for that season. It has also been honored with several film awards (

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) and nominations.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Counterfeit Coin 1955 films 1955 comedy-drama films Films directed by George Tzavellas Films scored by Manos Hatzidakis Greek comedy-drama films Counterfeit money in film 1950s Greek-language films Greek black-and-white films