Mitsos Lygizos
Biography
Mitsos Lygizos (September 1, 1912 – September 18, 1993) was a Greek writer of literary and theatrical works, poet, director, actor and director of Drama Schools. He initially studied at the Drama School of the National Theatre where he became an assistant to Dimitris Rontiris, and continued his studies at the Central School of Dramatic Arts in London. He made his acting debut in 1940, participating in Sophocles' Antigone, which was presented by the National Theatre, starring Eleni Papadaki. In 1948 he left Greece to study directing in Paris, London and New York. In 1954, when he returned to Greece, he created the "Circular Theatre" on Parnassos, directing many performances with well-known protagonists such as Kyveli, Katerina, Anna Synodinou, etc. In 1956, he innovated with the "Theatre in the Green" by staging Romeo and Juliet in the Royal Garden, where instead of sets, the natural landscape dominated. In the following years, he collaborated with the troupes of Katrakis, Elsa Vergi, Vougiouklaki, Tzenis Karezi, Dimitris Papamichael, Despo Diamantidou, Nikos Hadziskos, etc., staging works from classical repertoire to reviews. He wrote the screenplay for the film The Crossroads of Destiny, directed by Gianni Vernoutsio. For a number of years he served as General Director of the Drama Schools of the National Theatre and the Athens Conservatory, where he also taught. Many well-known contemporary theatre and television stars were his students.
Known For & Full Filmography17 Titles
Movie - 1962, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
This film is a social comment of the times, exploring issues that centre around relationships and what was allowed and what was not allowed at the time (early 60s) in Greece. There are sub-plots also, mainly relating to the life of the poor city dwellers, social injustice and seeming double standards. Aliki Vougiouklaki is a poor young girl dreaming of a better life and the "handsome prince on a white stallion" who will deliver her from her miserable existence. She meets and falls in love with a young man (Nikos Kourkoulos) who also falls in love with her, but things are not as simple as they first seem. His past comes to haunt them with tragic consequences. Vassilis Diamantopoulos is excellent as the half-crazed old captain whose life strangely echoes that of young Aliki.
Movie - 1963, 2h 15m • as Abbot
Andreas, nephew of the abbot of the Monastery of Dionysios, who died eight years previously, arrives at Agion Oros (Mount Athos) with a team of smugglers of antiquities, with the intention of stealing a gold cross set with precious gems, known as the Cross of Alexander the Great. He earns the trust of the meek and hospitable monks. However, a Jewish girl, Anna - whom, while still a baby during the war, her father had entrusted to the care of the hermit Vasileios - continues to pretend she is a young monk. She manages gradually to discover the entire scheme and acts to foil their plot.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1971, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1960, 2h 15m • as Captain
An American scholar in Greece sets about improving the local prostitute with whom he is infatuated.
Movie - 1967, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Lena Konstantinidi, a wealthy young woman who is paralyzed, falls in love with a poor student, Alexis, who sells newspapers to earn money for his studies. The evil stepmother Elsa, who envies her husband's daughter, is opposed to this marriage and does everything she can to thwart it, even going so far as to accuse Alexis of stealing a valuable statuette. However, her plans are completely ruined, thanks to Alex's kindness and the help of a young street vendor whom Alex had taken into his home after the death of his mother.
Movie - 1962, 2h 15m • as Giorgos Karalis
The small loustrakos Vasilis Maras alongside the school of fine on the streets of Athens to make money. The mother finds injustice in prison for the murder of Demetrias. With the persistence of the king, however, and the help of a lawyer, the Karelia, the mother of leaving prison.
Movie - 1969, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Vasilis Karatzoglou is a successful singer who lives with his mother and sister having lost his father in the destruction of Smyrni. From an old man learns that his father did not die but was arrested by the Turks. He decides to follow the scientific mission of Professor John Anderson in Turkey, to find traces of his father.
Movie - 1963, 2h 15m • as (uncredited)
Con artist Steve Blair persuades Tony Dallas, a Manhattan gangster, to finance a movie about Adam and Eve by offering the female lead to Tony's stripper girl friend, Cha Cha Miller. The film is such a disaster, however, that Steve and his writer, Paul Ferris, decide to escape on a freighter to Greece. En route, Steve learns that the island of Paradeisos has lost its tourist trade because it has no apparent historical or mythological heritage. Intrigued, he hits upon the scheme of turning Paradeisos into a legendary island of love and taking a cut from all commercial enterprises. After planting Greek antiquities in the waters surrounding the island, Steve induces Paul to "recover" them, thus causing the tourist trade to increase.
Movie - 1968, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1969, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
After the end of World War II, a Greek woman who was imprisoned in a German concentration camp returns to Greece. She is a woman broken by the hardships, but at the same time determined to find the man who caused her all this misery, namely the one who reported her to the Gestapo as a Jew.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A young woman loses her mother and decides to take over the family business, coming into conflict with her stepfather. She marries her lover, but a fight between them leads her to run away. Their separation is temporary.
Movie - 1968, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Christina and her mother have as neighbors a man who dreams of singing and the son of a wealthy family, who is not interested in money but wants to become a painter. Both young men love Christina. She chooses the aspiring painter, against her mother's advice. The couple will have a child, but the man will end up working in construction when he discovers that he suffers from color blindness and therefore cannot paint. With the help of the second man, he reconciles with his father and mother and rebuilds his life from scratch.
Movie - 1969, 2h 15m • as President of Court-Martial
A prisoner of war who escaped from Albania claims to be a major in the Greek army named Alexandros Vergis, causing great confusion within the army, since Vergis had escaped a year ago and now works for Greek counterintelligence. The shock for Vergis' wife and the niece of the head of counterintelligence, General Gerakaris, is immense. The two men look like two peas in a pod, and the grueling interrogations that follow aim to unravel the mystery and expose the traitor.
Movie - 1968, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A young man who dresses up as a soldier so that female tourists can take photos of him at the Acropolis tries to get lucky and marry the girl he loves.
Movie - 1964, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1968, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.