Sword in the Desert : Universal International Pictures (UI) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Use this link above to see the full movie for free Sword in the Desert by George Sherman Sword in the Desert was the first Hollywood film to depict the struggles against the British in the creation of the State of Israel. Filmed entirely in California and released in 1949, the movie begins with a group of Holocaust survivors being brought illegally to Palestine on a freighter captained by an American, Mike Dillon. The captain reluctantly comes ashore to collect his $8,000 fee and is pursued by the British, along with the refugees. Eventually, he begins to sympathize with the Zionists as they work to free the country from British control. Even during filming, there was an expectation that the film would be controversial because it showed Jewish settlers fighting the British and not Arabs. Universal Studios barred reporters from the set during the last week of filming because several London papers had carried adverse articles on the project. London's Daily Telegraph reported that that British audiences would be surprised to see the harshness with which the British troops in the film treated Jewish civilians. Early in the film, a Jewish refugee is asked "How long did it take you to get here?" The refugee responded "Two thousand years." The wait ended 75 years ago, on May 14, 1948.
Publication date 1949 Topics Action, Drama, History, WarPublisher Universal International Pictures (UI)Title: Sword in the Desert Summary: In 1947, with only months remaining until the partition of British-administered Palestine, an American freighter captain smuggles European Jewish refugees ashore under the nose of the British authorities. Directed by: George Sherman Actors: Dana Andrews, Märta Torén, Stephen McNally Production Company: Universal International Pictures (UI) Release Date: 31 October 1949 (Sweden) Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1 Cynical freighter captain Mike Dillon hopes to take the money and run after helping to smuggle Jewish refugees ashore in pre-Israel Palestine. But against his will, he's drawn into the escalating fight between British occupation forces and the founders of Israel. In a battle doubly terrible because the audience sympathizes with both sides, how long can Mike remain a bystander? |