Main Cast: Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Angie Dickinson, Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner
Release Year: 1966
Country: US
Run Time: 138 minutes
Plot
Cast a Giant Shadow is a big-budget, glossy action/adventure story set at the time that Israel became a nation. American Army officer Colonel David Marcus is recruited by the yet-to-exist Israel to help form an army. Marcus is conflicted because of his sudden appreciation for his Jewish heritage. Realizing that each of Israel's Arab nations has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country once the partition has been made, Marcus is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins. The all-star cast includes Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger and Angie Dickinson. Aldo Tonti provides the beautiful photography by Aldo Tonti, and Melville Shavelson directs. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Review
Cast a Giant Shadow wants to be another Exodus, but it falls far short. Shadow seems to be one of those projects that everyone joined onto because they felt the subject matter itself was worthy; they seemed to forget that the way in which a story is told is every bit as important (if not more so) than the story itself. And Shadow is told in the most formulaic manner possible. Taking the real life exploits of an important military leader, Shadow either runs the story through the Hollywood grinder or reduces it to such bare essentials that it comes across as hackneyed and unbelievable. Certainly, the romantic subplot that is introduced (and which comes to be far too dominant) adds nothing to the dramatic interest of the film, being told in a way that smacks of the cinema rather than true life. And the characters, especially the lead, have been drained of depth so that they too often come across as cardboard rather than flesh and blood. (The seltzer-bombing scene with Frank Sinatra, whatever its roots in reality may or may not be, is an unforgivable low point.) The cast certainly tries hard, especially Kirk Douglas as Marcus. Douglas knows that he is the glue that has to hold the picture together, and he fulfills that purpose admirably, but he can't breathe life into the shell that he has been given. John Wayne is John Wayne, Yul Brynner is fine, and Topol, if over the top, at least adds some zest. Melville Shavelson's direction is better than his screenplay, but the only truly good thing about Shadow is Aldo Tonti's gorgeous cinematography. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
John Wayne - Gen. Mike Randolph; James Donald - Major Safir; Stathis Giallelis - Ram Oren; Luther Adler - Jacob Zion; Gary Merrill - Pentagon Chief of Staff; Topol - Abou Ibn Kader; Ruth White - Mrs. Chaison; Gordon Jackson - James McAfee; Michael Hordern - British ambassador; Allan Cuthbertson - British Immigration Officer; Jeremy Kemp - British Immigration Senior Official; Sean Barrett - British Immigration Junior Official; Michaél Shillo - Andre Simon; Rina Ganor - Rona; Robert Gardett - Gen. Walsh; Ken Buckle - UN Officer; Rodd Dana - Aide to Gen. Randolph; Robert C. Ross - Aide to Chief of Staff; Arthur Hansel - Officer; Frank Latimore - U.N. officer; Dan Sturkle - Parachute Jump Sergeant
Credit
Arrigo Equini - Art Director, Margaret Furse - Costume Designer, Melville Shavelson - Director, Bert Bates - Editor, Gene Ruggiero - Editor, Elmer Bernstein - Composer (Music Score), Michael Stringer - Production Designer, Aldo Tonti - Cinematographer, Melville Shavelson - Producer, Michael Wayne - Producer, Sass Bedig - Special Effects, Melville Shavelson - Screenwriter, Ted Berkman - Book Author
Marcus (Kirk Douglas) served as an adviser and as the very first aluf in the war to establish the state of Israel in 1948. He falls in love with a female Israeli soldier, Magda Simon (Senta Berger) in Palestine. Filmed mostly in the Middle Eastern locations in which they occurred, Cast a Giant Shadow is not entirely historically accurate but is based on actual events. In addition to appearances by Wayne, Sinatra, Brynner, and Angie Dickinson, the movie also features Kirk's son Michael Douglas in his first small film role, as a jeep driver.
The film is also notable for its classic John Wayne scenes including a toast where Wayne says "L’chaim”. Footage from this film featuring Wayne as The General was used in a Coors Light commercial.
Kirk Douglas headlines the cast in a fictionalised account of the experiences of a real-life Jewish-American military officer, Col. David "Mickey" Marcus, who commanded units of the fledgling Israeli defense force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Early on in the film Marcus reveals to a superior that if he runs off to war one more time, his wife will have his belongings waiting for him at the front door upon return. This is told to the Haganah military head that requests Marcus’ assistance in readying the Israeli troops for the upcoming conflict with neighbouring Arab states. Marcus makes it clear that following his most recent military campaign, he pledged to his wife that he would remain in one place.
At some point in the Second World War, Marcus parachuted into France to free the citizens from the Nazis and planned the relief mission for the first concentration camp liberated by the troops from the United States. General Randolph (John Wayne) criticises Marcus' actions. The General concludes with: “What are you trying to prove, Marcus?” This question begins to haunt Colonel Mickey Marcus.
Whereas Randolph feels free to address the colonel, Marcus’s wife Emma (Angie Dickinson) has reconciled herself to the fact that her partner prefers soldiering to starting a family. At one moment in the film she admits in tears that she is “…tired of being proud of you”. While lying in bed, smoking a cigarette, she confesses that her wish is that one day he’ll discover what he’s searching for in the combat zone; she hopes that he will then return to her so that they can live out the rest of their lives together.
Marcus join the Israeli side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. At first, he is humiliated after the Israeli military does not place him in full control of operations. However, as soon as he triumphs over his pride and occupies himself with his work, he recognizes that the men under his command are disordered, their training is sub-par and the entire force is in need for more equipment.
Nevertheless, while fighting alongside his men Marcus recognizes that he’s not simply commanding them: he is one of them. He declares that he is now proud of being a Jew and that’s the reason he’s fighting. He becomes conscious of the fact that he has been fearful to acknowledge how in love he has forever been with his spouse. However, just when he chooses to alter the way he lives, the opportunity to do so is snatched away from him.
