From Iran, a wildly ambitious fantasy hailing from 1956. It was reportedly quite controversial due to its immersion in Western culture, which here encompasses rock ‘n’ roll, Christian iconography and A CHRISTMAS CAROL (a text that clearly exerted a not-inconsiderable influence on the narrative). A PARTY IN HELL (SHAB-NESHINI DAR JAHANNAM) was helmed, initially, by Mushegh Sarvari, who was replaced by Samuel Khachikian, a director known (and reviled) for his Christian leanings.
Not that this film doesn’t reveal its Muslim orientation right away: following an opening credits sequence with Africans doing very stereotypical native dancing (proving we westerners aren’t the only ones with a race problem), it begins with the words “Allah Akbar,” spoken in an off-screen prayer. As these words are intoned we see the impossibly greedy, misogynistic and plan evil Haji Jabbar (Ezzatollah Vosoogh) counting his money, being too immersed to pay attention to the Morning Prayer.
Broken up with ridiculous slapstick (which comes complete with cartoony sound effects) and Bollywood-esque music numbers, the next hour or so fleshes out Haji’s unpleasant nature. He berates his employees, forces his daughter into an arranged marriage, inspires his assistant Ahmad (the popular Iranian comedy actor Reza Arham Sadr) to disguise himself as a nightclub performer in order to get away from his domineering boss, and inadvertently instigates a robbery on his own house after Haji’s son tells a miscreant pal that his father keeps his fortune locked in his basement.
Following the robbery Haji falls ill and meets the angel of death, visualized as a heavyset guy with clawed fingers and a scythe who cackles incessantly. This angel deposits Haji, and also Ahmad, in limbo, where they meet Adam and Eve. They attempt to cross a vast chasm via a rope bridge that will take them to Heaven, but the overworld’s guardian, a winged woman with a lightning bolt-shooting sword, sends them tumbling into the chasm.
They wind up in Hell, essentially a Middle Eastern-flavored funhouse run by an electronic devil’s head with flashing eyes. There’s also a dance led by a nearly naked woman in which Nero, Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan and Adolph Hitler all make appearances. Eventually Haji meets God, who, disgusted by Haji’s outrages, transforms him into a dog and tosses him into a fiery chute…at which point Haji wakes up in his bed and pledges to turn over a new leaf.
This is by no means a “good” film, being dated in every conceivable respect. That includes the inferno-set scenes, which were considered unprecedented in their scope back in ‘56 but have long since been bettered (including the Hitler cameo, one of which is also contained in 1991’s HIGHWAY TO HELL), as has the quasi-psychedelia of Haji’s entrance into the underworld.
What’s ultimately most striking about the film are its political leanings, which in addition to the western influences were the likely source for the controversy with which it was initially greeted. Class is a major theme, with the film making a big deal over the haves (represented by the miserly Haji) and have-nots (his many victims). There are even some feminist sentiments, as when Haji’s daughter proclaims “Men cannot violate women’s rights anymore,” which brings up a most curious fact: that late twentieth century Iranian cinema, even in genre form, was more progressive than our own.
Vital Statistics
A PARTY IN HELL (SHAB-NESHINI DAR JAHANNAM)
Badi’ Studio
Directors: Samuel Khachikian, Mushegh Sarvari
Producer: Mehdi Missaghieh
Screenplay: Hossein Madani, Mehdi Missaghieh
Cinematography: Enayatallah Famin
Editing: Jamshid Sabuki
Cast: Reza Arham Sadr, Rufia, Ezzatollah Vosoogh, Ebrahim Bagheri, Parkhide, Mehdi Reisfirooz, Ali Zandi