The Juggler

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.

Grew up in Queens, New York and had a wonderful Jewish family as my next door neighbors and one day I noticed the lady of the house had a number stamped on her arm and heard the story of what she experienced and it left a great impression on me all my life. This film directed by a very famous man Edward Dmytryke gave a great portrayal of the mental effects it had on a man named, Hans Muller, (Kirk Doublas) who was a German refugee from Germany relocating to Israel after WW II. Hans Muller was a Juggler who entertained many people and young children and was a wonderful tender hearted man, but he had serious psychological effects from his being confined in the Nazi Concentration camps and witnessed the horrors of what Hitler created for human beings being burned in ovens. Milly Vitale (YaEl) gave a great supporting role and this is truly a great great film that will show many generations what really went on during the Horrors of Nazi Germany.

Following World War II, the life of the Jewish nation is uncertain. The United Nations is contemplating taking a vote on creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine . Until then , many Jews are exiled from much of Europe - especially Germany - in hopes of beginning and making a new fruitful life ; however , many of them are sent to detention camps . Set in 1949 , previous years 1946 ,1947 and early 1948 were a years in which Zionist terrorist was at its height and Independent Israel still seemed heartbreaks away . Finally , the state of Israel is created in 1948 , resulting in war with its Arab neighbors . Meanwhile , some immigrants have no where to go , there arrives a former concentration camp inmate and Berlin native named Hans Muller (Kirk Douglas) . After fighting a policeman , Hans turns a fugitive , traveling through Israel with an orphan teenage boy , whom he teaches to juggle while searching for peace of mind ; meantime , being relentless pursued by a police inspector (Paul Stewart) . Regarding his risked odyssey post-war, as he is back to Israel and escapes across the countryside . Subsequently , Hans stays at a kibutz where meets Ya'El (Milly Vitale) , she is initially naive about his sedution and hostile toward Muller's means of achieving his goals . However, she ultimately falls in love with him and with his dream despite their cultural differences and the mental breakdown suffering from his experiences in the Nazi death camps. The drama and the passion of one of the epic events of the twentieth century !

This historic film concerning a deranged Jewish vaudevillian-juggler who immigrates to Israel where and he can't adjust to peacetime life . It is a worthy exercice but results to be slow-moving and boring , at times . Being well produced by the great Stanley Kramer , appropriately photographed in black and white by Roy Hunt , containing a sensitive and moving musical score by George Antheil and professionally directed by Edward Dmytryck , though it has some flaws and gaps . It is a nice and thought-provoking film, but not excellent , about a unsettling man who is a neurotic about authority and confinement , that's why he can not overcome the psychological effects of the war , concerning a thunderous traveling , as well as his slow rediscovery of hope and life . It has the usual trappings of a grand historical fresco about building of Israel state , but it results to be more an introspective drama than an epic movie . To be sure the movie is enjoyable and strong , regarding the plight of the survivors from Auschwitz and other concentration camps . A sensitive and brooding picture dealing with doubts facing the liberated prisoners and psychological dilemmas . Good performances from Kirk Douglas as an obstinate and quick to anger Jew , who due to psychological problems has not to enjoy an easy life . Here a compelling Kirk gives a very fine acting , delivering one of the best interpretations of his long career, as the ex-prisoner attempting to reclaim his humanity later experiencing unimaginable terror and distress . Douglas is assisted by a good cast , such as : the gorgeous Milly Vitale , Paul Stewart , Joey Walsh , Alf Kjellin , Beverly Washburn , Richard Benedict , jay Adler , Charles Lane, among others .

The picture well written by Michael Blankfort was efficiently directed by Edward Dmytriyck providing an introspective look about Nazism consequences with harrowing scenes , though including some brief failures . A veteran filmmaker, Dmytryck is one of Hollywood's most prolific directors who started his career in the early 40s . He was a craftsman whose career was interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . A lifelong political leftist who had been a Communist Party member briefly during World War II, Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , but he also realized another mutiny film titled : ¨Mutiny¨ with Angela Lansbury . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ , among others . Rating : 7 , better than average .

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.

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.