Cast a Giant Shadow

The Duke did not even have billing, yet the strength of what John Wayne stood for was the anchor of this movie. And this movie... the truth and the horror of why men fight. This movie should be required watching before anyone should be allowed to talk about either side of war, any war. It is not about religion, right, wrong, good or bad. It is about why men fight. dana

Every time the situation in Israel flares up I catch this movie. No, it is not the definitive movie on the creation of Israel from a military standpoint. What it is, is a good first try to show the overwhelming odds the fledging nation faced with no support form outside. The cast of so many good actors shows that everyone in Hollywood wanted a piece of this one. If you read the biography on Mickey Marcus, which this movie prompted me to do, you would want to be in any movie about this Giant. F.Y.I General Marcus is the ONLY U.S. ARMY OFFICER TO BE A GENERAL IN TWO COUNTRIES ARMY'S. That is worth a movie attempt even if it comes out poorly.

After service in World War II, assimilated Jewish-American lawyer Kirk Douglas (as David "Mickey" Marcus), is offered a dangerous assignment in Palestine. There, Allied victors and the United Nations are supporting the formation of Israel through partition. Arriving, Mr. Douglas finds himself on the ground floor of what will dominate the remainder of 20th century in ways they couldn't have imagined in 1966 - the Arab/Israeli conflict. Reluctantly, Douglas finds himself leading the charge "Cast a Giant Shadow" is well-named. First, it begins with giant shadow-casting footage of three larger-than-life figures - Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin (at Yalta). Second, it features "special appearances" by giant shadow-casters who normally star in features - Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner, and John Wayne (as the General). Third, you have sexy shadow-casting Senta Berger (as Magda Simon), who helps Douglas get over still smokin' wife Angie Dickinson (at home). This film is what you'd expect, considering the politics and time. Douglas is always a strength; his performance holds the film together through some tough times, and his varied selection of projects is appreciated. A couple of the big name supporting players, once you get over the initial distraction, present real characterizations. Director Melville Shavelson and cinematographer Aldo Tonti make attractive use of the locations. The real story is Douglas juggling Ms. Berger and Ms. Dickinson, not war. ***** Cast a Giant Shadow (3/30/66) Melville Shavelson ~ Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Stathis Giallelis, John Wayne

Kirk Douglas is at his best in this. The building of the road into Jerusalem had the most impact on me. If one wants to begin to understand the plight of the Jews this is the film to see. Yul Bryner is most convincing as Asher. I still am impressed by his arguing with one of Mickey's decisions but still being willing to do what is needed. This film could have just as easily been made more recently and still would have told a story that needs telling and re-telling. One of the few films of enduring impact. This story tells a side to the nation of Israel that is somehow lost today. Beyond just overcoming adversity it tells the story of the giantness of God's deliverance.

This was made in an era when just about every household had a television and Hollywood doesn't tolerate competition and needed to bring out its big guns . Those howitzers would be big name stars and epic storytelling . Unfortunately by this time this type of film would be dying out and a year later BONNIE AND CLYDE arrived on the scene which changed Hollywood film making with relatively unknown actors starring in smaller scale films that had a dubious morality to them so a film like CAST A GIANT SHADOW would have become relatively dated very quickly by the end of the decade On its own merits it isn't a bad film though it's certainly not a very good one either . The problem is that " Epic " is often a euphemism for " bloated " , therefore we get to see the main protagonists war experience and family life . Why do we have to see all this ? one can speculate that the war sequences is an excuse to shoehorn John Wayne in to the film that'll appeal to all the manly men in the audience and the family life of the protagonist will get women flocking in to the cinema . It also has the unnecessary addition of Frank Sinatra which like Wayne seems to be included to give box office appeal It's not just the lack of brevity that's the flaw but the sometimes embellishment to the story that doesn't do it any favours . Some other commentators have gone in to detail so I won't dwell to much upon it but one noticeable aspect is that the Israelis in 1948 are portrayed to being total strangers to war which isn't in any way true . The British Army had a Jewish brigade which served in Italy during the war and were engaged in some very tough fighting in 1944 . Likewise Palmach and Haganah members would have had military experience fighting against Arabs in the Special Night Squads during the Arab revolts of 1938-39 and wouldn't be the inexperienced military virgins as seen here . Sadly the film doesn't make the point that the Irgun and Stern Gang were the purveyors of modern day terrorism that EOKA , the Provisional IRA and many other terrorist organisations modelled themselves upon until Al Quada took terrorism to new depths , but if you've got a Hollywood movie and it contains Brits as an occupying power then it's easy to turn a blind eye , but to be fair it points out it's better to be occupied by the British than the French That said the Brits aren't full blown villains and the American view of Israelis is I imagine not as black and white as it would be today regardless of your politics . In 1948 the American State Department was very suspicious about Israel since many of its inhabitants were from Eastern European countries and Eastern European equalled communist in American eyes with Zionist support for the country confined to a small American Jewish lobby . The film does touch upon the fact that the fledgling Jewish state obtained its weapons from the international black market rather than being supplied by America with America realising that the Arab lands contain an awful lot of oil so best not to annoy them . It should be remembered that the first arms supply from America to Israel didn't happen till 1965 and the often overstated influence America has over the Israeli state wouldn't have existed when this film was released In summary CAST A GIANT SHADOW is a relatively entertaining yarn but it's a melodramatic Hollywood movie using big names to make money for the studio . If you're interested in finding out the proper history of the creation of Israel it's a much better idea to read a book on the subject with the only problem trying to find a totally unbiased book on the subject

I first saw this film last year and I have to say that I wasn't really that impressed with the way it was made. Melville Shavelson had a good idea but it looked like there wasn't much effort put in this film. For example, the action scenes in this movie were pretty bad. What was with Frank Sinatra dropping bottles of liquid on tanks just to make a lot of noise. John Wayne was good as The General and Yul Brynner also made an good performance as well as Kirk Douglas and Frank Sinatra. I didn't like that Wayne was so hard headed when he said "God help them, because that's all the help they'll get from us" but I suppose everybody had their own personal say on things. The only thing I found really great about this movie was Elmer Bernstein's music score. This was one of Bernstein's overlooked scores and should be out on CD. Other than the score, the rest of the film is pretty much average.

In the scene where David Ben Gurion announces the creation of the state of Israel someone is conspicuously absent - Golda Meir. I was in that room & they have a chair with her name on it (on the right side, just in front of the table). Why were the filmmakers afraid to show that strong women were very much a part of the creation of the state of Israel? Instead, they wasted time on weepy Magda and self-sacrificing Emma.

This movie was just not very interesting or impressive. Despite having some big name cameos, such as John Wayne in a completely gratuitous and non-compelling bit role, AND having Kirk Douglas as the star,it just never held my interest. I think it's because the story of Colonel Marcus just didn't seem worth putting on film. I also think that perhaps Douglas was not the best choice for the character, because it seemed more like Kirk playing Kirk than a real Israeli hero. For a similar story but with a much stronger plot and writing, try EXODUS. The book EXODUS is actually a lot better, but it's a strong film nevertheless.

Earnest, well-mounted but essentially dreary epic about the real-life involvement of an American Jew in the post-war struggle for Israel's independence – thus sharing its theme with EXODUS (1960), and clearly aiming (but failing) for a "Marcus Of Israel" feel! Kirk Douglas stars as Mickey Marcus – perhaps chosen due to the character's similarities to another historical figure forced by circumstances into leadership, Spartacus, whom Douglas had portrayed in 1960. He's supported by an eclectic cast which includes Angie Dickinson as his neglected(!) wife, Senta Berger as the Israeli girl he falls for, Topol as an ill-tempered Arab sheik, Luther Adler as a local politician, a plethora of reliable British character actors – and even guest appearances by Frank Sinatra (which doesn't amount to much), a glum Yul Brynner as a fellow freedom fighter, and John Wayne as a U.S. General whom Douglas initially falls foul of but the two eventually end up respecting one another (still, seeing Wayne at the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp is about as incongruous as his stint playing the Roman Centurion at Christ's crucifixion in THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD [1965]!). Despite a sharp script and good individual sequences, the film is compromised by its necessity to be both a spectacle and a message picture (the WWII flashbacks, for instance, are unnecessary and merely render the film overlong); unsurprisingly, it works best during the action highlights (complemented by a typically fine Elmer Bernstein score). Apparently, the events have been partially fictionalized – I wonder whether these embellishments concerned the romantic complications and the Hollywood-style ironic ending. For the record, Shavelson had started out as a scriptwriter (and later director) of Bob Hope and Danny Kaye vehicles; this was his most serious effort – a brave try, but not quite the 'giant' film he clearly intended...

Luther Adler played David Ben Gurion but isn't listed as such; Golda was in the U.S. raising arms money, but is not represented in the film. At least Adler resembles Ben Gurion. Golda Meir doesn't mention Marcus (Douglas) in her brilliant 1975 autobiography, 'My Life,' which I have read. Berger and Dickinson are merely wallpaper. Wayne will overact miserably in any role in order to make money, but he never served in any form of military, much less combat. Sinatra was drunk and the battle scenes show soldiers dropping like zombies in a bad horror flick. Golda Meir raised an incredible amount of money for the Israeli cause. She liked to visit the U.S., especially Milwaukee, where she grew up. Before she could return with the arms money preceding her, the NYC 'cabbie' was in an accident and her leg was broken. She was hospitalized but still raised money there. A movie about the Arab-Israeli war is 'duffus' without a character named Golda because no single leader did more for Israel achieving statehood than Golda Meir, who was prime minister from 1967-72 and to whom I am not related and never had the pleasure of meeting. I did, however, stay at a Holiday Inn Express in Milwaukee one night. (By the way, the Arabs didn't attack until immediately after the statehood celebration, not before as depicted. That's a small inconsistency amongst many glaring ones. Golda left to raise funds in the U.S. right after the scroll signing. She raised over $50 million which matched the sum of an earlier fund-raising trip).