Sallah (1964)

The sharp, often hilarious satire that became the most successful film in Israeli history (until that time) is about new immigrants Sallah and his family, who are left in a shack near their... See full summary »

Director:

Ephraim Kishon

Writers:

Ephraim Kishon (screenplay), Ephraim Kishon (story)

Stars:

Topol, Geula Nuni, Gila Almagor

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Topol	...	Sallah Shabati (as Haym Topol)
Geula Nuni	...	Habbubah Shabati (as Geula Noni)
Gila Almagor	...	Bathsheva Sosialit
Albert Cohen
Shraga Friedman	...	Neuman
Zaharira Harifai	...	Frieda
Shaike Levi	...	Shimon Shabati
Nathan Meisler	...	Mr. Goldstein
Esther Greenberg	...	Sallah's wife
Mordecai Arnon	...	Mordecai
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ya'ackov Banai
Ya'ackov Ben-Sira
Ya'ackov Bodo
Mike Burstyn
Arik Einstein	...	Ziggi

Storyline

The sharp, often hilarious satire that became the most successful film in Israeli history (until that time) is about new immigrants Sallah and his family, who are left in a shack near their promised apartment and are abandoned for months. A Yemenite Jewish family that was flown to Israel during "Operation Magic Carpet" - a clandestine operation that flew 49,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel the year after the state was formed - is forced to move to a government settlement camp. The patriarch of the family, portrayed by Chaim Topol, tries to make money and get better housing, in a country that can barely provide for its own and is in the midst absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | father children relationship | immigrants | reference to yemen | reference to egypt | 

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Taglines:

Sallah Can Make You Happy!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew English Arabic

Release Date:

10 March 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sallah

Filming Locations:

HaKfar HaYarok, Israel

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sallah Company,Sallah Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min (with exit music)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Winner of 1965 Golden Globe Award as Best Foreign Language film.

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Connections

Featured in A History of Israeli Cinema (2009)

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Soundtracks

Mashi'ach Ha-Zaken
Lyrics by Uriel Ofek
Music by Yohanan Zaray
Performed by Topol (as Haim Topol)

User Reviews

After the success of this film Haym Topol was offered the role which made Clint Eastwood a worldwide phenomenon.

As part of an annual film festival of films from Israel, I saw this classic film at the legendary Cinema des Cineastes located near Place de clichy metro station in Paris. This will be remembered as a landmark film in the history of Israelian Cinema. This was filmed in 1964 by Ephraim Kishon at a time when there was hardly any visible trace of film-making in Israel.Kishon,the great humorist filmmaker of Israel proved that good films can be made even when one has limited funds and equipments at one's disposal.The highlight of this film is the light hearted manner in which it shows various hilarious solutions to housing problems of Jewish people after the independence of Israel. To my mind,it is one of those rare films in which two of the greatest living stars of Israelian cinema : Haym Topol and Gila Almagor have acted. They play an impoverished couple with a lots of children. It is fun to watch all the ruses adopted by them in order to be able to get hold of their own house.After the screening, chatting with bemused audiences Haym Topol recounted how owing to a prior commitment he declined Sergio Leone's offer to star in "A fistful of dollars". So if there is anything which has made Clint Eastwood what he is now, it is this refusal in question by Haym Topol.