One of the best films of old Greek cinema, “Laterna Poverty and Charity”remains to this day one of the most beloved of the Greek public, as it successfully combines the sufferings of two ordinary poor people, with the romance of a rich girl with an uncreated young man and their adventures on the way to an imaginary village on the outskirts of Athens.

The film by Alekos Sakellarios, with the brilliant and unforgettable protagonists, shot in black and white, was fortunate to have a particularly well-written script, for the time, by the director himself, the best actors and, of course, all the care of Philopoimenos Fino, who himself had undertaken the production.

For decades, the film has been shown frequently by television channels and many times it is the reason for the whole family to gather in the living room or around the table, with its unparalleled dialogues, performances and charming nostalgia for a Greece that is now lost.

Completing 70 years since its premiere, the film, with the heroes of the two itinerant lantern-jammers, had a sufficiently interesting background until it was released in the cinemas of Athens in 1955, in which it managed to cut over 126,000 tickets and to rank second in receipts that year, behind the immortal “Stella” by Michalis Kakogiannis, with the legendary Melina Merkouris. And those who are quick to think that the tickets were few, should know that, in contrast to the last decades, then only the tickets in Athens – Piraeus counted in the First Screening, and in the whole of the rest of Greece, where there was destruction with Greek films, they were in the Second Screening.

The Sakellariou-Zavella dispute

It all started from a misunderstanding between the best directors of the time, owned by Finos Film, Giorgos Tzavellas and Alekos Sakelarios. The two had a dispute over the authorship of the idea, with two laternatzis, but finally Finos will approve Sakellario’s script, while declaring that the two films had a different premise, to resolve the misunderstanding.

Rombia and the initial no to Avlonitis

In fact, the original title was “Rombia, Poverty and Dreams”, which was abandoned by the director-screenwriter Sakellarios, who from the beginning wanted Mimi Fotopoulos, Vassilis Avlonitis and Jeni Karezis as protagonists. Here, the second adventure for Sakellarios begins, as Finos, apart from Fotopoulos, the most commercial actor of the time and the first to sign a collaboration contract with Finos Film, did not agree on Avlonitis and Karezis. For the former, he was right, as Avlonitis had a bad habit of acting, where he got a good living, often in second-rate films. Despite being a gifted talent, our great comedian rarely escaped his mannerisms, while in general he suffered from the directors, who put unnecessary words in his roles and insisted that he play almost the same character all the time.

Jenny’s squint and Alexandrakis

He also disagreed with Jenny Carezi, who would be making her film debut, not because she was inexperienced, but because he thought she had a squint, which he said would show on the big screen. Obviously here he was wrong, there was another reason for his refusal, which we never found out, but fortunately Sakellarios will pass and the beautiful engineer will take the role. It is also worth mentioning that she demanded that the young zen premiere Alekos Alexandrakis play the role of her lover – which of course did not spoil Sakellarios – although Finos wanted him above the name of Avlonitis and giving him the main actor’s fee, even though he only appears for a few minutes. Apparently, Finos wanted the actor, who also played in “Stella”, that year at all costs.

Pavlaras and Petrakis

The story, little known and probably well known, is about two itinerant lantern festival friends, Pavlaras (Avlonitis) and Petrakis (Fotopoulos), who see the lantern paint fading, due to gramophones and radios, but also to the change of seasons, are forced to walk to a festival outside Athens, in Plataniotissa. On their way they will meet a young girl, Kaiti (Karezi), who has run away from her home, because her father does not listen to her love and wants to marry her off to a rich man.

Simplicity, powerful dialogues and chemistry

The film, despite its minor weaknesses, perfectly combines the lives of two simple poor people, with a big heart, with romance and comedy, it has strong dialogues, incredible lines and satisfying rhythms, it highlights the authenticity of the time and the simplicity of people, their sorrows and joys, in their humble everyday life, while the three protagonists develop extraordinary chemistry between them. After all, it is also a film about characters, which are excellently served by the protagonists, but also by the supporting roles, Nikos Fermas as a friend who suggests they go to the fair, Dimitris Voudouris as a violinist and of course Christos Tsaganeas as Kaita’s father and a tough businessman.

Unforgettable performances

If for Mimi Fotopoulos, a constant value and always reliable, measured and particularly adaptable to the character he plays, it is yet another excellent role added to his long career, for Vassilis Avlonitis it is a real triumph. Abandoning, to a large extent, his mannerisms, his exaggerations and grasping the grip of the character he plays, he will give his best leading performance in the cinema, emphatically refuting Fino. On the other hand, Karezi is an ideal actress, beautiful and with a precious freshness for Greek cinema, while Alexandrakis justifies his existence even as a photo on the lantern…

The trump cards and the songs of Hadjidaki

Among the strengths of the film are Aristides Karydis-Fuchs, with his wonderful and emotional photography, Dinos Katsouridis, the multi-tool man of Greek cinema, editing flawlessly, while Manos Hadjidakis signs the music and composes three immortal songs (“I’m a man”, “Carnation in my ear” and “Your kiss is honey”), with the first two becoming huge hits.

Humanity and Charity

The decades passed, with “Laterna, Poverty and Charity”, which also got a sequel, the first in domestic production, after two years, with the also excellent film “Laterna, Poverty and Carnation”, which remains a point of reference for Greek cinema, which, through its simplicity, managed to preserve in our memory the famous humanity and unique charity of the Greeks.