# Mahmoud Ismail

Mahmoud Ismail (1914–1983; Arabic: محمود إسماعيل) was an Egyptian actor of stage and film, a screenplay writer, and a film director. Ismail worked on more than 40 film projects, including acting in some twenty five films and six television series.

## Biography

Ismail began his artistic career as a theater actor in the Egyptian National Theatre Troupe. He was a Sufi, and had lived in the Al-Hussein neighborhood of Cairo.
As an actor in film he frequently worked with film directors Ahmed Badrakhan, Niazi Mostafa, Hassan Hilmy [ar], and Hasan El-Saifi. He often played characters that had a criminal past or villains (such as thieves, thugs, and drug dealers). Ismail disappeared from the film scene for a few years, then returned again to appear on screen intermittently in films and television miniseries’s in the late-1970s and early-1980s. Ismail was also a prolific screenplay writer.

## Filmography
### As actor

* The Victory of Youth (1941) (Arabic: نتصار الشباب, romanized: Intisar al-Shabab)
* On the Stage of Life [ar] (1942) (Arabic: على مسرح الحياة (فيلم), romanized: Ealaa Masrah Alhaya)
* Aida (1942 film) [ar] (Arabic: عايدة, romanized: Eayida), directed by Ahmed Badrakhan
* Who's Too Old [ar] (1943) (Arabic: من فات قديمه, romanized: Men Fat Adeem)
* Who is the Criminal? [ar] (1944) (Arabic: من الجاني, romanized: Al Jani), directed by Ahmed Badrakhan
* The Magic Cap [ar] (1944) (Arabic: طاقية الإخفاء, romanized: Taqiyyat al ikhfa, lit. 'The Concealment Cap'), directed by Niazi Mostafa
* My Daughter (film) [ar] (1944) (Arabic: ابنتي, romanized: Ibnati), directed by Niazi Mostafa
* Antar and Abla [ar] (1945) (Arabic: عنتر وعبلة, romanized: Antar we Abla), directed by Niazi Mostafa
* Hassan and Hassan [ar] (1945) (Arabic: حسن وحسن, romanized: Hassan we Hassan, lit. 'good and good'), directed by Niazi Mostafa
* The White Shark [ar] (1945), directed by Ibrahim Emara [ar]
* Sons of Adam (1945 film) [ar] (1945) (Arabic: البني آدم, romanized: Al-Bunni Adam), directed by Niazi Mostafa
* The Return of the Magic Cap [ar] (1946) (Arabic: عودة طاقية الإخفاء, romanized: Awdat Taqiyyat al ikhfa, lit. 'The Return of the Invisibility Cap'), directed by Mohamed Abdel Gawad
* Hunchback (film) [ar] (1946) (Arabic: الأحدب, romanized: Al Ahdab), directed by Hassan Hilmy [ar]
* Light from Heaven [ar] (1947) (Arabic: نور من السماء, romanized: Nour Minel Samaa), directed by Hassan Hilmy
* Seduction (1948 film) [ar] (1948) (Arabic: فتنة, romanized: Fatna)
* Beware of Pickpockets (1949 film) [ar] (Arabic: أوعى المحفظة, romanized: Ouah el mahfaza, lit. 'Aware the Wallet')
* The Secret Is Safe [ar] (1952) (Arabic: السر في بير, romanized: Elserr fi Beer), directed by Hassan Hilmy
* The Rule of Time [ar] (1953) (Arabic: حكم الزمان, romanized: Hukum el zama), directed by Henry Barakat
* The Black Knight (1954 Egyptian film) [ar] (1954) (Arabic: الفارس الأسود, romanized: El Fares El Eswed), directed by Niazi Mostafa
* Allah maana (1955) (English: God Is on Our Side ), directed by Ahmed Badrakhan
* Samara (1956 film), directed by Hasan El-Saifi
* Zannuba [ar] (1956) (Arabic: زنوبة), directed by Hasan El-Saifi
* The Scornful Man [ar] (1956) (Arabic: النمرود, romanized: Nimrod), directed by Atef Salem
* Lawahez [ar] (1957) (Arabic: لواحظ), directed by Hassan al-Imam
* Tahera (film) [ar] (1957) (Arabic: طاهرة), directed by Fatin Abdel Wahab
* The Suspect (1957 film) [ar] (Arabic: المتهم, romanized: El mottahem), directed by Kamal Attia [ar]
* Love Festival (film) [ar] (1958) (Arabic: مهرجان الحب)
* Touha (1958 film) [ar] (Arabic: توحة), directed by Hasan El-Saifi
* Samara's Ghost [ar] (1959) (Arabic: عفريت سمارة), directed by Hassan Reda
* Love and Flirtation [ar] (1959) (Arabic: حب ودلع, romanized: Hub wa Dalaa)
* The Florist (film) [ar] (1959) (Arabic: بياعة الورد, romanized: Bayieat alwird)
* The Girl from the Neighborhood [ar] (1964) (Arabic: بنت الحتة, romanized: Bint el hetta), directed by Hasan El-Saifi
* Stupid Boy (1977 film) [ar] (Arabic: الولد الغبي), directed by Madkour Thabit
* Without Sin (miniseries) [بلا خطيئة] (1980) (Arabic: بلا خطيئة, romanized: Bila Khatia’)
* The Red Trail [ar] (1980) (Arabic: الدرب الأحمر, romanized: Al-Darb Al-Ahmar)
* Lucky Shore (1983) (Arabic: شاطئ الحظ)

### As director

* Seduction (1948 film) [ar] (1948) (Arabic: فتنة, romanized: Fatna)
* Beware of Pickpockets (1949 film) [ar] (Arabic: أوعى المحفظة, romanized: Ouah el mahfaza, lit. 'Aware the Wallet')
* Love and Flirtation [ar] (1959) (Arabic: حب ودلع, romanized: Hub wa Dalaa)
* The Florist (film) [ar] (1959) (Arabic: بياعة الورد, romanized: Bayieat alwird)

### As screenwriter

* The Florist (film) [ar] (1959) (Arabic: بياعة الورد, romanized: Bayieat alwird)
* The Girl from the Neighborhood [ar] (1964) (Arabic: بنت الحتة, romanized: Bint el hetta), directed by Hasan El-Saifi