Farid Shawqi Mohammad Abdou Shawqi ({ { lang-arz|فريد شوقى محمد عبده شوقى ) (July 30, 1920 in El Sayyeda Zainab – July 27, 1998 in Maadi); known as Farid Shawqi () was an Egyptian actor, screenwriter and film producer. He acted in 351 films, 27 plays and 17 television series; wrote 25 film scripts and produced 30 films. He is considered to be one of the greatest actors in the middle east.
He was also known as "Malek El Terso" ("The King of the Third Class" - a reference to his popularity among the poor, who bought third-class seats in movie theatres), as "Wahsh Ash shashah Al Arabiyah" ("The Monster of the Arab Silver Screen" - in honor of his various roles of beloved hero, as "Farid Bay" ("Sir Farid", an informal title of respect), as "Abu el-Banat" ("father of all girls", a reference to his having five daughters and no sons), and another names. ُُThe closet title to Farid Shawqi's heart was "The King", was named after his movie "Night's Devils" that was released in 1966, directed by Niazi Mostafa. he was known with "The king" among his colleagues.
Career
In a career spanning almost 50 years, Shawqi starred, produced, or wrote the scenario of over 400 films - more than the films produced collectively by the whole Arab world - in addition to theatre, television and video plays. His popularity covered the whole of the [[Arab World and the Middle East, including Turkey where he acted in some films there, and directors always addressed his as ' Farid Bay' (Sir Farid) as a sign of respect. As he worked with over 90 Film directors and producers.
For the first ten years he typically cast as a villain. By the late 1940s his name alongside that of the late Mahmoud El-Meliguy guaranteed a box-office success. In 1954 he changed that image forever, playing the leading role in Ga'aloony Mujriman ("They Made Me a Criminal"), his own script in which he tackled the problem of homeless children and the first crime thus exposing the failure of government policy and the corruption of state run orphanages and young offenders institutions.
Disliked by the establishment, the film was later awarded the State Prize; Shawqi went on to collect 10 best actor awards in many festivals, and four other awards for his scripts in the next thirty years.
Critics referred to him as the "John Wayne" or "Anthony Quinn" of Egyptian cinema and of the Arabic speaking World", and to the masses he was the Beast of the Silver Screen, who championed the underdog, especially women, and the dispossessed using an effective mixture of cunning, physical strength, personal charm, and unbending principles, to overcome the wicked aggressors. With an illiteracy of over 80 per cent at the time, the "Screen Beast" personified the masses' dreams of defeating the wealthy, who were above the law thanks to an unjust class system.
Screenwriter Abd-el-Hay Adeeb once had to rewrite a scene in a film after it had been released: Shawqi's character was slapped on the back of the neck, which is a sign of contempt in southern Mediterranean countries; the cinema audience in the city of Assiut rioted in protest, destroying the building.
In 1969, Youssef Chahine's film al-Ard ("The Land") ended with the main character being dragged to his death behind the horse of a corrupt police officer. Audiences called for the "Beast" - Shawqi - to come to his rescue, despite the fact that Shawqi did not appear in that film.
A number of critics spent a great deal of time discussing the phenomenon as it was clear that Shawqi lived in the psyche of the nation as an image greater than reality and he represented hope and implementation of justice during the totalitarian military rule in the 1950s and 60's, such as the two films; Ana El-Hareb ("I'm the Fugitive") (1962) and Thalath Losoos ("Three Thieves") (1966), both produced by Salah Zulfikar Films, owned by Shawqi's friend and prominent film producer, movie star Salah Zulfikar. With the influence of Egyptian cinema on the whole of the Middle Eastern cinema, the "Beast of the Silver Screen" had a similar status in all Arabic-speaking nations, where the main entertainment was, and still to a large degree, Egyptian films.