طمبولا

Tambola El Far (Mohamed Chouman), who fell victim to a massive scam early in his life, learned a hard lesson that turned him into one of the most experienced swindlers around. He sets up a warehouse buying and selling everything under the sun, living in an apartment above it with his wife, Marzouqa (Badria Tolba), who helps him pull off his cons. Despite the endless money pouring in, Tambola remains extraordinarily stingy, even toward himself and his household. His employees are not spared either; he pays half their wages in warehouse merchandise, and whenever anyone complains, he sends the giant Wael (Hussein Abu Haggag) to teach them a lesson. He then strikes his wife on the head to draw blood, claiming she was injured so that neighbors visit bearing gifts. To swindle merchants, he relies on a corrupt police commissioner who covers up his crimes, files away complaints, and frames complainants. Master Ezzat (Abdullah Meshref) tries to scam El Far with the help of the young Saeed (Hussein Mamlouk), who delivers a large batch of defective sandpaper; however, El Far accepts it, palms off a shipment of faulty blenders in return, and takes the cash difference. When Ezzat discovers the trick, he tries to con El Far again with car tires of a size not used in Egypt, but El Far tricks him right back with tap gaskets unsuitable for Egyptian faucets. Assisted by his commission-agent neighbor Samah (Ibtissam El Makki), who wants revenge on her ex-husband Shendi, El Far sells Shendi a large batch of copper nails that turn out to be merely copper-plated iron. The scams continue until Master Metwally (Sabry Abdel Moniem) complains about defective adhesive tape he bought and insists on getting his money back. Marzouqa intervenes, falsely accusing him of harassment, and the corrupt commissioner arrests him, though El Far eventually pardons him following his children's pleas. Ezzat then teams up with Hussein (Mohamed Metwalli) to scam Tambola El Far by selling him computer printers running on 110 volts that require costly modifications to reach 220 volts; they modify three sample units, and the trick works. El Far recoups the loss by selling half a million pounds' worth of knockoff toys to Master El Sharqawi (Mathar Abu El Naga). Bent on revenge, El Sharqawi benefits when the Interior Ministry uncovers the corrupt commissioner and removes him. El Sharqawi then strikes a deal with a pharmacist to buy any quantity of syntocinon labor-inducing injections, giving him 3,000 pounds. He sends Master Zaki (Ahmed Farahat)—whom El Far had once scammed—to offer El Far real injections at a cheap price. The pharmacist buys them from El Far for 3,000 pounds, prompting El Far to buy the rest of Zaki's large stock, only to learn from the pharmacist that they contain colored water. The police station's new leadership takes the victims' complaints seriously and arrests Tambola El Far.

• CategoriesComedy