Underplayed Gems

I Like Mike (1961)

I Like Mike poster
Original title
איי לייק מייק
Directed by
Peter Frye
Genre
romantic comedy
Country
Israel
Runtime
1h 27m
Rating
6.4 of 10 from 5 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

An ambitious mother wants her daughter to marry a young American millionaire. But both the daughter and the millionaire are in love with other people.

satiricallightheartedromanticdatedsocial commentarywhimsicalmildly critical

What happens

I Like Mike (Hebrew: איי לייק מייק) is a 1961 Israeli drama film directed by Canadian-born Peter Frye and co-written by him and Israeli playwright Aharon Megged. It was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. The film was based on Megged's 1956 play of the same name, which was performed at the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv in 1957. The plot is a romantic satire on the American dream pursued by many Israelis and the phenomenon of adoration for wealth and social status, which sometimes comes at the expense of true love. An ambitious mother tries to match her daughter with a young American millionaire, but both young people are in love with others. This was Chaim Topol's first appearance in film. Avner Hizkiyahu plays 12 bearded characters. For the role of Mike, Sai Gitin was chosen. He happened to be an American student in Israel and successfully passed the screen test. This is his only film. Salman al-Hozeil and members of his tribe also participate in the film. It was shot partly in Kibbutz Shoval. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1961 and is currently available for viewing on the Israel Film Archive website. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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