Cast a Giant Shadow
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Cast a Giant Shadow | |
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theatrical poster |
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Directed by | Melville Shavelson |
Produced by | Melville Shavelson |
Written by | Ted Berkman (book) Melville Shavelson (screenplay) |
Starring | Kirk Douglas Senta Berger Yul Brynner Frank Sinatra John Wayne Angie Dickinson |
Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
Cinematography | Aldo Ponti |
Editing by | Bert Bates Gene Ruggiero |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date(s) | 30 March, 1966 |
Running time | 146 min |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
IMDb profile |
Cast a Giant Shadow is a 1966 MGM film, produced, written and directed by Melville Shavelson based on Ted Berkman's biography of Colonel Mickey Marcus. The film stars Kirk Douglas and Senta Berger, and features sizable cameos by John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and Yul Brynner.
Marcus (Kirk Douglas) served as an adviser 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.
[edit] Further reading
Shavelson, Melville. How to Make a Jewish Movie, 1971. (ISBN 0-491-00156-8).