Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Culture

More Than 50 Years Later, Still a Classic

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state, ErgoMedia has released on DVD what could be called the first classic of Israeli cinema: “Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer.” At the time of the film’s original release, in 1955, The New York Times called it “an uncommonly forthright and absorbing tribute to largely unsung valor.” Six decades later, it remains this — and perhaps even more.

MEN OF VALOR: ?Hill 24 Doesn?t Answer,? the first Israeli motion picture filmed in English, is being released on DVD.

The film, by British director Thorold Dickinson, was Israel’s first motion picture filmed in the English language, and triumphed as a groundbreaking exposé of the 1948 War of Independence. It follows three men and one woman, all of them Zionists, who are assigned to protect a strategic location hours before the cease-fire that ended the 1948 war. The majority of the movie is spent exploring the personal stories of the four Zionists. The film conveys the different ethnic and religious backgrounds from which they came, and what exactly brought them to this unlikely time and place in their very different lives.

In many respects, “Hill 24” portended Israel’s future as a contributor to Western cinema. At the time, the majority of Israeli films centered on themes of traditional Zionist ideals, most notably owning and working land and connecting with the ancient roots of Judaism in the Holy Land. “Hill 24” instead focuses on why it is that Jews and gentiles forming an unlikely fellowship would choose to risk their lives to defend a new Jewish homeland from the threat of annihilation.

In a recent interview with the Forward, Michael Wager, the actor who played the role of New Yorker Allan Goodman, said that looking back on making the film “brings back a time when idealism and hope were much higher.” But if the film feels anachronistic in some ways, it also serves as a reminder — especially salient in times likes ours — that idealism and hope are sometimes found in the unlikeliest places.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.