Credited cast: | |||
Topol | ... | Ervinka (as Haim Topol) | |
Gila Almagor | ... | Ruti | |
Avner Hizkiyahu | ... | Yossi | |
Yossi Banai | ... | Maurice (as Yosef Banai) | |
Edna Fliedel | ... | Liz | |
Shaike Ophir | ... | The Sergeant | |
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Shraga Friedman | ... | Mr. Veinrib |
Elisheva Michaeli | ... | Mrs. Veinrib | |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Mosko Alkalai | ... | Zigler | |
Gabi Amrani | ... | Rahamim | |
Gavri Banai | ... | Musa | |
Ya'ackov Ben-Sira | ... | Hershkovic | |
Ya'ackov Bodo | |||
Zisha Gold | ... | Waiter | |
Ephraim Kishon | ... | Motor Bike Commerical Director |
Following the international success of his classic Sallah Shabbati, Ephraim Kishon once again combined his witty brand of social satire with the talents of Chaim Topol to create a memorably comic Israeli anti-hero. As the title character, a good-natured but incorrigible layabout, Topol becomes embroiled in a plot to rob the Israeli lottery, all the while indulging his boundless zeal for mischief and romance. Written by National Center for Jewish Film
Some of you may have heard of Kishon. You may have even read a book or two of his... Well, this guy is like Cocteau, he wrote books, plays, articles, scripts and he directed his them. Ervinka is actually a compilation of many stories centering on the character of Ervinka, a young bum who lives in Tel-Aviv and does one heck of a scrounging job that could make James Garner character in The Great Escape wish he'd have known some more about the profession. Ervinka hangs with his friends all day and makes his living by ripping of people. He then falls in love with Ruti, the cop, and in order to win her heart he gets in constant brawls with the law. Ervinka and his friend decide to rob the lottery house, and... bla bla bla... The plot here is so redundant that it's laughable. This movie is all about the dialogue and the acting... It's a fun movie to watch, and at times is funny in a level that brings tears to your eyes. For those of you who like the Israeli version of camp movies ("Burekas films") this is a must watch. This movie transforms the genre into a real form of art, with great use of camera, direction, acting and dialogue. Pure fun!