Cinema
Hill 24 Doesn't Answer
גבעה 24 אינה עונה
Thorold Dickinson · 1955
Synopsis
In 1948, four hours forty-five minutes before a ceasefire, Captain Yehuda Berger sends four volunteers to hold Hill 24, which overlooks the Jerusalem road: James Finnegan, a former Mandate policeman from Ireland, Allan Goodman, an American tourist, the sabra David and Esther Hadassi, a Yemenite Jew. On the way, their stories follow one another: Finnegan, who watched the underground, fell in love with Miriam, who belonged to it; Goodman fought in the Old City of Jerusalem, where Esther nursed him; David found in the Negev a wounded Nazi officer serving the Egyptian army.
Context
The film is drawn from stories by Zvi Kolitz, who wrote the screenplay with Peter Frye; a dispute removed Frye from the shoot in 1954 and a compromise followed. Dickinson reworked the text with his wife Joanna, who edited the film with him; the music is by Paul Ben-Haim. Shot in English for the international audience, with a largely local crew, it cost about 400,000 dollars, the biggest production in the country until then. Shown in Jerusalem in March 1955 before Moshe Sharett, it competed at Cannes and opened in New York on 2 November. In Israel it was criticised for speaking English.
Who it is for
One hundred and one minutes, mostly in English. It is worth knowing that the story advances through flashbacks, each giving the past of one of the volunteers.
Prizes and reception
In competition at Cannes in 1955, where Haya Harareet received a mention; praised by the New York Times, and admired since by Martin Scorsese.