Never on Sunday

Never on Sunday (also known as Pote Tin Kyriaki (Ποτέ Την Κυριακή)) is a 1960 black-and-white film which tells the story of Ilya, a prostitute at a Piraeus port of Greece and Homer, an American tourist — a classical scholar enamored in all Greek. Homer feels Ilya's life style typifies the degradation of Greek classical culture and attempts to steer her onto the path of morality (still another kind of the Pygmalion story). The film stars Melina Mercouri and Jules Dassin.

The film gently submerges the viewer into the Greek culture: dance, music, language (with subtitles).

The signature song and the bouzouki theme of the movie have become hits of 1960s and have brought Manos Hadjidakis, the composer, the Academy Award.

The movie was written and directed by Dassin.

It won the Academy Award for Best Song (Manos Hadjidakis for Never on Sunday). It was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Melina Mercouri), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, Best Director and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen.