Judith (1966)

Director:

Daniel Mann

Writers:

Lawrence Durrell (story), John Michael Hayes

Stars:

Sophia Loren, Peter Finch, Jack Hawkins

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophia Loren	...	Judith Auerbach
Peter Finch	...	Aaron Stein
Jack Hawkins	...	Major Lawton
Hans Verner	...	Gustav Schiller
Frank Wolff	...	Eli
Shraga Friedman	...	Nathan
André Morell	...	Haim
Zaharira Harifai	...	Dr. Rachel
Arnoldo Foà	...	Interrogator
Joseph Gross	...	Yanek
Roger Beaumont	...	Ze'ev
Zipora Peled	...	Hannah
Peter Burton	...	Conklin
Terence Alexander	...	Carstairs
Daniel Ocko	...	Arab Guide

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

prison camp | border dispute | explosion | bomb | tank | 

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Taglines:

The adventure, the ecstasy, the supreme suspense of a woman wronged beyond words, almost beyond revenge...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Israel UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conflict

Company Credits

Production Co:

Command Productions, Cumulus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the attack on the kibbutz, the "Arab" tank has a Star of David and Hebrew letters painted on it.

User Reviews

Her Own Mission

I first saw Judith years ago on the big screen when it first came out and was blown away by both Sophia Loren's beauty and her performance as concentration camp survivor Judith Auerbach. Even among the nameless, faceless members of her faith in those camps Judith has a unique story to tell.

For she was in fact the wife of Wehrmacht General Hans Verner who was given a choice by the Nazis his career or his Jewish wife. Verner disowned her and she was thrown into Dachau her daughter taken from her and presumed dead. She lived on hate to survive with only one mission, nail her ex-husband any way she can.

But the Haganah in Palestine in the days just before the formation of Israel want Verner as well. He's rumored to be in Damascus teaching the Arabs the rudiments of tank warfare, Nazi blitzkrieg style. There aren't any good pictures of Verner and there is only one who can really identify him. Hence Loren is smuggled into Palestine from the refugee camps at Cyprus that we all know from Exodus.

She's brought to a Kibbutz on the Syrian border in the care of Haganah commander Peter Finch. He's the one with the mission of getting Verner taken alive to extract information and they need Loren, but Loren has other ideas.

Finch also takes an interest in Sophia personally, who wouldn't. Another who is taken with her is British Major Jack Hawkins in one of his last films before throat cancer claimed his larynx. He's a spit and polish army regular, but he turns out to have a streak of humanity in him that even he didn't realize.

Judith kind of got lost between those other two great films about the founding of Israel, Exodus and Cast A Giant Shadow. It's been not broadcast for several years for inexplicable reasons and that's a pity because Sophia and the whole cast is wonderful.

Judith more than either of the other two films shows a good deal more of life on the Kibbutz. Israeli actress Zaharira Harifai plays the camp doctor and more than anyone else awakens in Loren a feeling that she is among friends and that the new state of Israel will give her a home and she can make a unique contribution to its founding.

Judith is not a film to be missed if it ever sees the light of day again. Demand TCM broadcast it.