El malabarista

Sometimes modern audiences get desensitized by Holocaust movies, but in the years following WWII, it was quite shocking to talk about the camps. 1953 audiences may have seen an unknown Czechoslovakian boy talk about his sorrow in The Search, but they hadn't seen an established, incredibly famous movie star roll up his sleeve and show a tattoo on his forearm. Kirk Douglas took a big chance with this movie, the first to be filmed in Israel. He exposed a hidden part of himself in front of the camera, and the rawness is appreciated by those who have since found this forgotten classic.

In the opening sequence, a group of Jewish refugees are being bussed to their new living encampments in the new state of Israel. The children on the bus are understandably frightened; they're asked questions by uniformed officers who claim they're classifying them for their safety-and this time, they're supposed to believe everything's going to be alright. Kirk calms down a little girl by drawing a face on his hand and distracting her with humor, but he's also frightened. Immediately after the audience is lulled into a sense of security, he approaches a woman with her children who he believes is his long-lost family. He cries and begs her to remember him until his friend whispers in his ear, "Your family is dead, Hans. You've seen the certificate." It's an incredible scene, not only because of Kirk's heart-wrenching performance, but because it shows the audience the post-war emotionality of survivors. How can they possibly relax and trust when they've lived through such horrors and are missing their family and friends?

My one comment on this movie is the uneven storyline. The beginning follows Kirk's introduction to his new home, but when he runs away after a violent run-in with a policeman, he takes up with a young boy, Joey Walsh. He and Joey hike the countryside, often acting as though they haven't a care in the world. Kirk even meets up with the beautiful Milly Vitale and strikes up a romance, but this lighter side is far from the true point of the story. Perhaps the filmmakers felt audiences couldn't handle another hour as heavy as the first twenty minutes, which I understand.

Chances are you've never heard of this movie. I hadn't, and I've seen dozens of Kirk Douglas movies. If you can find a copy, you'll get to see an incredible performance in a groundbreaking drama. It might not be one you'll want to watch over and over again, because it is upsetting, but you'll be very glad you found it. Start looking. You owe it to Kirk Douglas to see this movie.

KIRK DOUGLAS struggles to forget the horrors of a concentration camp in THE JUGGLER, another one of Stanley Kramer's serious socially conscious films of the '50s. Unfortunately, the end result is a film that doesn't really connect with its target audience despite a solid performance by Douglas as the troubled Jew from Israel unable to overcome his fear and bitterness.

Unfortunately, Kramer had a habit of assigning George Antheil to score his films. Antheil contributes another inappropriate score heavily accenting any melodramatic moment that points up Kirk's anguish, much the way he did in Kramer's NOT AS A STRANGER. It didn't work there and it doesn't work here, especially during the "escape" scene where the music reaches a frenzied fever pitch of discordant notes.

It's hard to fully sympathize with Douglas' tormented character and that is the film's chief handicap. As the man tracking down the fugitive, PAUL STEWART does his usual workmanlike job. Trouble is, there's an almost documentary feel to the story and its pivotal character is never fully fleshed out, remaining somewhat of an enigma despite Douglas' good performance. When romance comes into the story with the entrance of MILLY VITALE, Douglas' character softens a little under her compassionate care.

Some vivid glimpses of Israel, circa 1949, and good location photography gives the story an authentic air, but the story values are never more than ordinary and the total effect is bland.

Worthwhile mainly for Kirk Douglas fans, it fails to make the impact intended as a serious study of a man haunted by prison camp memories.

I haven't seen this movie in years, although I remember seeing it when it was first available in the 50's when I was a child and later in the 90's when it was on TV. I recall that Douglas' acting was not as convincing as it could have been, but then the character was deeply disturbed by the War and resettlement in Israel. I recall that scenes of Israel were very convincing. I have relatives in Israel and some of them visited us in the 50's, so I learned a lot about life in Israel. Finally, I recall a wonderful child actor in this movie who does more than anyone else to draw us into the drama. Fifty years later, this film now takes on even more importance as an historical document. I hope it is released on DVD soon.

Juggler, The (1953)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Kirk Douglas plays a Holocaust survivor who is still suffering mental illness after ten years in a concentration camp where he also learned that his wife and children were killed by being put in an oven. After the war Douglas goes to Israel to try and start his life over but his mental condition nearly leads to him killing a cop but he heads off and finds new friends in a closed off community but his past is still looking for him. Edward Dymtryk directed this film, which has its heart in the right place but there are a few major flaws that really kills the film. Needless to say, Douglas gives a very strong and heartbreaking performance and I've heard this is one of his favorites. There's a scene towards the start of the film where he sees a woman with two children and thinks that they are his even though he knows they're really dead. The breakdown Douglas shows in this scene is among the best of his career. There are countless dramatic moments like this one and here lies one of the problems. Douglas gives a strong enough of a performance where the director should have let the acting do the talking but instead of doing that he pumps up the music score. Every time something dramatic happens he pumps up the music score and this here killed most of the drama for me. The film also wants to make the viewer cry every few minutes and this doesn't work either.

As the child of a holocaust survivor who joined the Israeli army in 1947, I grew up watching this movie with my father. It had not been on for many years but I got to see it again a few years ago. It is a good movie, I believe filmed on location in Israel. The theme is more about Hans (Kirk Douglas) and his adjustment to a new life while carrying the burden of being in the camps. At the beginning he tries to hide his identity by covering his arm to hide his tattoo. All I can say is watch it, it is worth it.