Comedies involving Ephraim Kishon

Ephraim Kishon was credited as writer and director in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 39 years old.
Sallah (סאלח שבתי / Sallah Shabati)
      1964 | Israel | Laughs: 7.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

I was a bit weary about watching this movie when I saw it was made in 1964 because most works that age (especially those shot in black-and-white) seem to have lost much of their comical power. It turned out to be the Israeli movie that had the most success (so far) in making me laugh.

A family of newcomers to the country is sent to a temporary camp. The accommodation is poor, so the head of the family schemes to obtain an apartment in the housing project under construction nearby. Meanwhile, one one of his sons and one of his daughters fall in love with members of the neighboring kibbutz.

Some of the themes are local—for instance, the culture gap between the Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews—but the humor is universal. A delight. (Last viewed: April 2014)

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Ephraim Kishon was credited as writer and director in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 46 years old.
The Policeman (השוטר אזולאי / Ha-Shoter Azulai)
      1971 | Israel | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This is a charming movie with a gentle and innocent humor much like French comedies of the same era. It comes from a time when Israel was still a true Middle Eastern melting pot. An incompetent but big-hearted policeman worries that his contract will not be renewed, which would leave him to survive on a small pension. While his superiors conspire to give him the boot, he keeps getting into situations that help delay the big conversation. The movie is very funny but also very humane, taking an interest in characters from all walks of life. It's well worth a watch, either just for the laughs, for cultural reasons or for both. (Last viewed: March 2014)

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Ephraim Kishon was credited as writer and director in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 42 years old.
Ervinka (a.k.a Arvinka)
      1967 | Israel | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Sometimes, watching an old movie can feel like a job, and I end up watching the clock while eagerly waiting for the film to end. Not with this one. The movie follows a happy-go-lucky fellow as he seduces everyone around him and flutters effortlessly from one small scam to the next. Apart from the delightfully light plot (or lack of plot), one treat was to encounter once again the police officer from The Big Dig (Shaike Ophir), who would become the lead character in The Policeman four years later. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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Ephraim Kishon was credited as writer and director in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 44 years old.
The Big Dig (a.k.a Blaumilch Canal) (תעלת בלאומילך / Te'alat Blaumilch)
      1969 | Israel | Laughs: 6.6 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

One bright morning, an escapee from a lunatic asylum steals a compressor and starts digging up the road in the busiest part of Tel Aviv. Everyone naturally assumes that the digging is part of the city's public works, and through a series of misunderstandings the madman is soon joined by a team of workers and bulldozers.

The movie does a great job of showing the rivalries and inefficiencies of government offices. In many ways, it reminded me of contemporary movies by Blake Edwards, such as The Party (1968). In fact one of the film's main characters looks a lot like Peter Sellers.

As with most movies whose formula is to steadily build up mayhem, The Big Dig was a bit long—but it was quite funny and I found it to be good value. I enjoyed seeing Shaike Ophir as the policeman, a role he would bring to full fruition two years later in another movie by Ephraim Kishon, The Policeman (after tuning it further in Ervinka). It was also interesting to have a glimpse at Israeli society (and streetscape) of nearly fifty years ago.

Well worth a watch. (Last viewed: April 2014)

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Ephraim Kishon was credited as writer and director in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 53 years old.
The Fox in the Chicken Coop ('השועל בלול התרנגולות / Ha-Shu'al B'Lool Hatarnagalot)
      1978 | Israel | Laughs: 3.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An ailing politician takes a vacation in a remote village whose inhabitants live a kind of primordial communistic life, unaware of the outside world and its social structures. Blind to the benefits of their simple lives, the politician decides to raise the villagers' political awareness—introducing positions of power, taxes, privileges, elections and corruption. I usually find political satires to be about twice as long as necessary—it doesn't take long to get the point—and this one is no exception. The movie is in many ways charming, and I certainly enjoyed seeing Shaike Ophir again (he also had the lead role in The Policeman, also by Ephraim Kishon). But as light as the movie starts, its message is heavy, and the unfolding of the expected mayhem is tiresome to watch. In comparison, The Policeman (which was filmed seven years earlier) has aged much better. (Last viewed: April 2014)

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