1961 · drama · political · thriller

A Man in Our House

Directed by Henry Barakat · 2h 33m · 1961

Rebel Ibrahim Hamdy assassinates a pro-colonial Prime Minister but is arrested and hides with a fellow university student, who initially refuses but eventually accepts him. Abdul Hamid Khatib meets Samia and her cousin, and Ibrahim uses the situation to hasten Samia’s marriage, which she rejects. Nawal, the youngest daughter, becomes the liaison between Ibrahim and his colleagues, helping him escape. Abdul Hamid tries to inform the political police of Ibrahim’s location, but Samia stops him. The head of the political police suspects them and punishes them to find Ibrahim. Ibrahim refuses to leave the country, returning to fight colonialism and participating in an operation.

Our read: A Man in Our House (1961) reads as a sombre, kinetic, grounded drama · political · thriller entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook.