One of the
things that can’t be missed about director Thorhold Dickinson’s Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer (1955) is that it
seems horribly lost amidst a wilderness of genres, none of which it fully
belongs to. It is a war film, in
essence, that plays both, at times, as a want-to-be hardnosed noir and a
romantic melodrama. Writers Peter Frye
and Zvi Kolitz (who co-produced with Dickinson) had an interesting challenge before
them. They were essentially going to
create the Israeli national cinema with their screenplay. Kolitz’ experience was in newspapers, and he
had worked for a Yiddish publication in Argentina (where he wrote the now
well-known holocaust survival story ''Yosl Rakover Talks to God'') before immigrating
to Palestine to fight for the Zionist movement in the late 1940s. He based the story heavily on his own
experiences as a freedom fighter and a
member of the Zionist underground in the days of British occupation following
WWII. The British Dickinson had made the
decision to make a narrative film in the new state of Israel while working on a
military documentary during the final days of the UK control over the region.
Perhaps
this odd pairing of writer and director accounts for the seeming hodgepodge of
the films primary characters. In an
opening scene reminiscent of All Quiet on
the Western Front (1930), the leads are introduced in a “roll call” manner,
each standing when their name is listed.
Four members of the new Israeli army are assigned to a patrol that will guard
a strategic hill overlooking Jerusalem, fending off the final push of the Arab counter-offensive
of 1948 that will solidify Israel’s status as a nation state. They are a Palestinian Jewish woman who
initially served as a nurse, a refugee who is fighting for a homeland, a New
York Jew who signed up when a visit to the Holy City went awry, and an Irish
former member of the British occupation force who was swayed to the cause by
his love of a Jewish woman.
We are
presented with three back stories (one covering the nurse and the New Yorker)
as the patrol travels toward the hill they are to hold. The first and lengthiest flashback covers the
Irishman Finnegan (Edward Mulhare) and his days as a member of the occupying British
police. He details his charge to snuff
out the growing Zionist resistance movement before the end of designated
British control, and how he fell in love with a woman who he was assigned to
investigate. Frankly this portion of the
film is weak, and the dialogue between the police characters, as well as the
two star-crossed lovers is often laughably bad.
Consider this exchange:
-
“How can you talk as you do and still keep your
job?”
-
“I’m not being Sgt. Finnegan now.”
There’s also a voice over that seems to be strait from an
installment of Guy Noir:
“She was attractive, which couldn’t be said for [my
supervisor] when I reported.”
While the
sentiment of the interracial relationship is progressive for its time, its
emphasis feels both heavy-handed and dated.
Clearly, lighting and make-up were used to accent the skin tone
difference between the two characters, and the implication of his understanding
of her struggles as a Palestinian Jew (like the aforementioned nurse) because
he is Irish, is oversimplified.
The two
additional flashbacks have similar, though less prevalent flaws. The New Yorker seems unjustified in his
actions by the script (though actor Michael Wager’s performance almost covers
for it). His decision to join the
Israeli army is abrupt, and his crisis of faith when confronted by a Rabbi
after a failed assault on the Arab occupying force is all but unwatchable, as
Dickinson uses too many emotional cues to solidify the moment.
In the
third flashback Arik Lavie plays perhaps the film’s most convincing character,
a man who has never had a homeland, but his scenes are limited. As the patrol travels toward the strategic
hill, he recounts an episode of hand to hand combat with a former Nazi mercenary
fighting with the Arabs. This scene is
well-staged, and contains perhaps the film’s only moments of real suspense. While the inclusion of a Nazi character here
seems almost like a Spielbergian attempt to reinforce that the Arabs are evil,
these scene manage still to be poignant, even if I’m not sure there’s any
historical accuracy.
Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer ultimately plays
as an uneven and almost preachy message picture about the responsibilities of Jews
everywhere to decide what their duty to Israel is. It picks from bits of a number of prominent
1950s genres, and thus never really develops a clear mood. It’s a film that is ahead of its time in
regard to the depiction and even encouragement of religious coexistence, but of
course it falls short of allowing any sympathy for the faceless Arab enemy. It may, however, be notable as the first
narrative film to criticize western interest in Middle Eastern oil. In the end, it is a movie of many good ideas
thrown together so that no one is allowed it’s due. It’s stands out as a study piece for being
the first Israeli film of note, but it doesn’t quite have the recipe down pat,
even if several great ingredients are there.
Language: English/Yiddish/Hebrew
Runtime: 101 Minutes
Grade: 2 Hats Off
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