Iris Biran
On the Holocaust Eve. 5/4/16, I watched this film on Israeli TV. I love old films,but this time, it had a special meaning for me. It turns out that my mother was staying at a retreat in Kibbutz Hanita in the Upper Galilee in Israel while this film was shot there(1953). She remembers that the guests were sitting and watching the filming, and says that Kirk Douglas was very handsome. I could also recognize places in downtown Haifa, my hometown, where the policeman scene was filmed, and to see Haifa harbor as well. It was very exciting to hear it from my mother and to see familiar places in a film that was made before I was born.
loreguy
Kirk tries really hard, and has some amazing scenes of non-verbal acting greatness, but quite often he's a two-note nutcase, going from really nice to really angry and violent. There's not much more to the film than this. Seeing it again recently makes me wish they had taken a few more risks with non-formulaic elements. I enjoyed seeing a young John Banner playing a Dutch tourist who helps the police pursue Kirk. He's far more pleasant than the caricature we all remember him as: the bumbling Sgt. Shultz from "Hogan's Heroes"The kid from "Hans Christian Anderson" is here too, playing Kirk's sidekick instead of Danny Kaye's. And Paul Stewart, the guy who was Kane's valet in "Citizen Kane" is the cop. He was in a TON of television in the 60s.
myschrec
I haven't seen this movie in years, although I remember seeing it when it was first available in the 50's when I was a child and later in the 90's when it was on TV. I recall that Douglas' acting was not as convincing as it could have been, but then the character was deeply disturbed by the War and resettlement in Israel. I recall that scenes of Israel were very convincing. I have relatives in Israel and some of them visited us in the 50's, so I learned a lot about life in Israel. Finally, I recall a wonderful child actor in this movie who does more than anyone else to draw us into the drama. Fifty years later, this film now takes on even more importance as an historical document. I hope it is released on DVD soon.
gelashe
As the child of a holocaust survivor who joined the Israeli army in 1947, I grew up watching this movie with my father. It had not been on for many years but I got to see it again a few years ago. It is a good movie, I believe filmed on location in Israel. The theme is more about Hans (Kirk Douglas) and his adjustment to a new life while carrying the burden of being in the camps. At the beginning he tries to hide his identity by covering his arm to hide his tattoo. All I can say is watch it, it is worth it.
AD
