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Panttilainaaja

Original title: The Pawnbroker
  • 19641964
  • K-16K-16
  • 1h 56m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
9.6K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
15,168
4,023
Panttilainaaja (1964)
A Jewish pawnbroker, victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.
Play trailer2:15
1 Video
99+ Photos
Drama

A Jewish pawnbroker, victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.A Jewish pawnbroker, victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.A Jewish pawnbroker, victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.

IMDb RATING
7.7/10
9.6K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
15,168
4,023
  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writers
    • Morton S. Fine(screenplay)
    • David Friedkin(screenplay)
    • Edward Lewis Wallant(novel)
  • Stars
    • Rod Steiger
    • Geraldine Fitzgerald
    • Brock Peters
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writers
    • Morton S. Fine(screenplay)
    • David Friedkin(screenplay)
    • Edward Lewis Wallant(novel)
  • Stars
    • Rod Steiger
    • Geraldine Fitzgerald
    • Brock Peters
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 93User reviews
    • 64Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 6 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos1

    Original Trailer
    Trailer 2:15
    Original Trailer

    Photos196

    Rod Steiger and Geraldine Fitzgerald in Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Rod Steiger in Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Rod Steiger and Ed Morehouse in Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Rod Steiger and Geraldine Fitzgerald in Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Rod Steiger in Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Panttilainaaja (1964)
    Panttilainaaja (1964)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Rod Steiger
    Rod Steiger
    • Sol Nazerman
    Geraldine Fitzgerald
    Geraldine Fitzgerald
    • Marilyn Birchfield
    Brock Peters
    Brock Peters
    • Rodriguez
    Jaime Sánchez
    Jaime Sánchez
    • Jesus Ortiz
    • (as Jaime Sanchez)
    Thelma Oliver
    • Ortiz' Girl
    Marketa Kimbrell
    Marketa Kimbrell
    • Tessie
    Baruch Lumet
    Baruch Lumet
    • Mendel
    Juano Hernandez
    Juano Hernandez
    • Mr. Smith
    Linda Geiser
    Linda Geiser
    • Ruth Nazerman
    Nancy R. Pollock
    Nancy R. Pollock
    • Bertha
    Raymond St. Jacques
    Raymond St. Jacques
    • Tangee
    John McCurry
    • Buck
    Charles Dierkop
    Charles Dierkop
    • Robinson
    Eusebia Cosme
    Eusebia Cosme
    • Mrs. Ortiz
    Warren Finnerty
    Warren Finnerty
    • Savarese
    Jack Ader
    • Morton
    Marianne Kanter
    Marianne Kanter
    • Joan
    Ed Morehouse
    • Oratory Award
    • Director
      • Sidney Lumet
    • Writers
      • Morton S. Fine(screenplay)
      • David Friedkin(screenplay)
      • Edward Lewis Wallant(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After the filmmakers appealed to the MPAA's appeals board to oppose censoring the film, it became the first US film to show a nude woman from the waist up and be granted a Production Code Seal. It was the first of a series of confrontations between filmmakers and the MPAA in the 1960s that would lead to the abandonment of the Code within five years, in favor of a ratings system.
    • Goofs
      As Jesus runs down the street, his shirt changes from a V-neck to a turtle neck, and then back again.
    • Quotes

      Jesus Ortiz: Say, how come you people come to business so naturally?

      Sol Nazerman: You people? Oh, let's see. Yeah. I see. I see, you... you want to learn the secret of our success, is that right? Alright I'll teach you. First of all you start off with a period of several thousand years, during which you have nothing to sustain you but a great bearded legend. Oh my friend you have no land to call your own, to grow food on or to hunt. You have nothing. You're never in one place long enough to have a geography or an army or a land myth. All you have is a little brain. A little brain and a great bearded legend to sustain you and convince you that you are special, even in poverty. But this little brain, that's the real key you see. With this little brain you go out and you buy a piece of cloth and you cut that cloth in two and you go and sell it for a penny more than you paid for it. Then you run right out and buy another piece of cloth, cut it into three pieces and sell it for three pennies profit. But, my friend, during that time you must never succumb to buying an extra piece of bread for the table or a toy for a child, no. You must immediately run out and get yourself a still larger piece cloth and so you repeat this process over and over and suddenly you discover something. You have no longer any desire, any temptation to dig into the Earth to grow food or to gaze at a limitless land and call it your own, no, no. You just go on and on and on repeating this process over the centuries over and over and suddenly you make a grand discovery. You have a mercantile heritage! You are a merchant. You are known as a usurer, a man with secret resources, a witch, a pawnbroker, a sheenie, a makie and a kike!

      Jesus Ortiz: [long pause] You really some teacher, Mr. Nazerman. You really, really 's the greatest.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Hot Spot/Mr. Destiny/Memphis Belle/Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      I Don't Wanna Be a Loser
      (uncredited)

      Written by Ben Raleigh and Mark Barkan

      Performed by Lesley Gore

    User reviews93

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Bitterness, Loneliness and Disbelief in Mankind
    In a poor neighborhood of New York, the bitter and lonely Jewish pawnbroker Sol Nazerman (Rod Steiger) is a survivor from Auschwitz that has no emotions or feelings. Sol lost his dearest family and friends in the war and the faith on God and the belief in mankind. Now he only cares for money and is haunted by daydreams, actually flashbacks from the period of the concentration camp.

    Sol's assistant is the ambitious Latin Jesus Ortiz (Jaime Sanchez), a former urchin that has regenerated and now wants to learn with Sol how to run a business of his own. When Sol realizes that the obscure laundry business he has with the powerful gangster Rodriguez (Brock Peters) comes also from brothels, Sol recalls the fate of his beloved wife in the concentration camp and has a nervous breakdown. His attitude leads Jesus Ortiz to a tragedy and Sol finds a way to cry.

    "The Pawnbroker" is a powerful and realistic story of bitterness, loneliness and disbelief in mankind of a man victim of the Holocaust. Rod Steiger has certainly the best performance of his career in the complex role of a skeptical and bitter Jewish. His assistant is an ambiguous character that contrasts with the pawnbroker with his optimistic and happy behavior. In the end, the pawnbroker feels the need to cry and impales his hand with a spike, also in a reference of Jesus Christ. My vote is eight.

    Title (Brazil): "O Homem do Prego" ("The Man of the Spike" – literally; however, it is a pun that also means "The Pawnbroker")
    helpful•14
    1
    • claudio_carvalho
    • Dec 19, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 14, 1969 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
      • German
    • Also known as
      • The Pawnbroker
    • Filming locations
      • 1642 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Landau Company
      • The Pawnbroker Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $930,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 56 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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