Popsicle (film series)

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Popsicle is a series of films made up of eight movie comedies. The films are a mixture of humor and eroticism and a particular characteristic of the first five parts is the intensive use of music from the 1950s. The content is the experiences of three young friends who grew up in Tel Aviv in the 1950s and enjoyed their lives. Their common interests are free time on the beach, parties, girls and the pursuit of sexual experiences. The films were shot in Israel between 1977 and 1988 , partly in cooperation with Germany. The international title of the series is Lemon Popsicle .

The series was invented by Boaz Davidson , on whose youthful experiences the first part is based. He directed and co-wrote the script for the first four films. In Part 5 he was only involved as a co-writer on the script, but no longer directed it. Parts 6 to 8 were created without his involvement. All films were produced by cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus .

According to film journalist Martin Hentschel , Boaz Davidson watched several scenes and ideas from the US films Summer '42 (1970) and College Love (1973).

Characters

Leading roles

v. l. To the right: Johnny (Zachi Noy), Benny (Yftach Katzur), Momo / Bobby (Jonathan Sagall), here in part 4.
  • Benny , played by Yftach Katzur : Benny is more reserved and sensitive compared to Johnny and Momo. He shares an interest in sexual adventures with his friends, but often falls in love unhappily. Benny reflects the character and youthful experiences of director Boaz Davidson . He plays along in all parts.
  • Johnny , played by Zachi Noy : Johnny is very overweight and has little success with girls. However, that doesn't stop him from trying his luck again and again. He has a keen business acumen and offers his friends all kinds of goods. Johnny regularly lends money to his friends and makes a note of it in a booklet that he always carries with him. Often his friends play him off - mostly for their own interests. He embodies the unlucky person who is often caught half-naked on adventures together. In the German dubbing, Johnny is called Momo in parts 3 and 4. He is represented in all parts.
  • Momo (Bobby) , played by Jonathan Sagall : Momo is a beautiful guy who has great success with girls. He quickly drops his conquests, even though they often want more from him. Above all, Johnny admires him for it. Momo is very self-confident and often selfish. Of all three, he is the strong one and often prevents his friends from escalating. From part 3 he bears the name Bobby, which he keeps until part 8. Momo does not appear in Part 6 because Jonathan Sagall had an argument with producer Menahem Golan. Otherwise the Bobby / Momo role is embodied in all parts by Sagall.

Frequent supporting roles

  • Victor , played by Avi Hadash: Victor is a classmate of the three main characters and with 20 cm the winner of a length comparison of the “best pieces” among the classmates. He is a frequent fool and is little respected. Johnny and various women regularly slap him in the face. Victor plays in parts 1, 3, 5 and 6. At the end of Part 5, he finds the courage to strike back Johnny.
  • Martha , played by Rachel Steiner: Martha is a less attractive acquaintance and in parts 2 and 3 Johnny's girlfriend. But she secretly likes Benny. In part 2, she tried to take advantage of Benny's drunk state to seduce him. This almost spelled the end of the friendship between Johnny and Benny. However, Johnny forgave both of them and continued to meet with Martha. Martha plays in parts 1, 2 and 3.
  • Sonia , played by Dvora Halter Kedar : Sonia is Benny's caring mother. She often bothers him when he is in his room with his new friends. Sonia is very proud of Benny and likes to introduce him to her guests, with whom she often plays cards in the living room. Sonia plays in parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
  • Romek , played by Menashe Warshavsky: Romek is Benny's father and Sonia's husband. He tries to avoid arguments with his spirited wife. Romek plays in parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8. In part 8 he is embodied by another actor.

Film parts

  • 1978: Eis am Stiel (Israel | Original title: אסקימו לימון Eskimo Limon | Director: Boaz Davidson | Script : Boaz Davidson, Eli Tavor)
Benny falls in love with Nili, but she is into Momo. After Momo got her pregnant, her best friends quarreled. Benny then takes care of Nili and it seems like he has captured her heart. However, Nili finally turns back to Momo.
  • 1979: Eis am Stiel 2 - Fixed girlfriend (Israel / Germany | Original title: יוצאים קבוע Yotz'im Kavua | Director: Boaz Davidson | Script: Boaz Davidson, Eli Tavor)
Benny falls in love with the pretty Tammy, but she still needs some time before she becomes intimate with Benny. At a party where Benny and Tammy fall out, Johnny's friend Martha, who is secretly in love with Benny, senses her big chance and tries to seduce the drunk Benny. Although Benny does not respond, Benny and Johnny argue when Johnny learns about it. However, everything is cleared up and they get along again. In the end, Benny also recaptured his Tammy.
Benny, Bobby and Johnny are spending their free time on the beach again enjoying life. Benny is with Sally, but not entirely happy because she always fends off his sexual advances. On the beach he meets an old friend, the revealing Nikki. He starts an affair with her and breaks up with Sally. When Benny realizes that he is just one of many for Nikki, he is drawn back to Sally. Meanwhile, Benny's parents have problems with a visiting relative who is turning everyone's heads.
Scene from Popsicle IV
  • 1982: Eis am Stiel 4 - Hasenjagd (Israel / Germany | Original title: ספיחס Sapiches | Director: Boaz Davidson | Script: Boaz Davidson, Eli Tavor)
Benny, Bobby and Johnny have to do their military service. Not only do they have to get used to life in the barracks, they also have to endure the harassment of Sergeant Ramirez. Meanwhile Benny falls in love with Rina from the neighboring camp and he pretends to be an officer, which soon leads to complications for everyone involved.
Scene from Popsicle V
  • 1984: Eis am Stiel 5 - The great love (Israel / Germany | Original title: רומן זעיר Roman Za'ir | Director: Dan Wolman | Script: Boaz Davidson, Eli Tavor, Dan Wolman)
Benny falls in love with Ginny, his buddy Bobby's sister. Since Bobby thinks his sister is too young, the two meet secretly. When Bobby finds out, he beats Benny and forbids the two of them to meet again. When Ginny sees Benny kissing another girl, she takes an overdose of pills, but is saved at the hospital. Benny wants to throw himself down the rock, but is saved by Bobby and finally the two friends make up again.
  • 1985: Eis am Stiel 6 - Ferienliebe (Israel / Germany | Original title: הרימו עוגן Harimu Ogen | Director: Dan Wolman | Script: Eli Tavor, Sam Waynberg, Dan Wolman)
After Johnny has been chased by his girlfriend's angry father, he and Benny hire on a cruise ship, where they have even more trouble with the female passengers. In this part, Jonathan Sagall does not play due to a discrepancy. His role is only inserted in a flashback from one of the older parts. The explanation in the film is that Bobby is in the US right now.
The three boys wreck Johnny's parents' Cadillac . To raise money for repairs, they start working in a hotel. They devote themselves especially to the female guests and Benny discovers his old love Sandy among the visitors, Bobby approaches Patty and Johnny gets into precarious situations.
Benny, Johnny and Bobby want to open a bar. Since they have no money for the lease, Bobby should approach Polly, the clumsy daughter of the landlord.

Spin-off

  • 1983: Hasenjagd 2 (Israel / Germany | Original title: סבבה Sababa | Director: Tzvi Shissel | Script: Boaz Davidson)
Offshoot of the fourth part of the original series, which also takes up the military theme again. Of the original roles, only Johnny is represented, while Benny and Bobby do not take part. This part is not available on DVD, only on VHS and Video 2000 .

Remake

  • 2001: Lemon Popsicle 9 - The Party Goes On (Israel | Original title: החגיגה נמשכת Hahagiga Nimshehet | Director: Tzvi Shissel | Script: Eli Tavor)
The story tells a mixed plot from parts 1 to 3 with some new features and many new faces. Zachi Noy is the only one of the old crew to survive, but in a different role than in the original series. The title is misleading as the series is not continuing but has just been revitalized. The film has only been shown on Israeli television so far and has not been dubbed.

US remake

  • 1982: The Last American Virgin (USA | Original title: The Last American Virgin | Director: Boaz Davidson | Writer: Boaz Davidson)
Boaz Davidson was the director and writer responsible for a US remake of the series in 1982, which was cast with US actors, but was based primarily on scenes from the first three parts of the original series. Compared to the original series, this remake was much less revealing in dealing with nudity.

Common locations

  • The “Montana”: The Montana is a bar where the actors meet, eat ice cream, listen to music and flirt.
  • The beach: The protagonists spend their free time on the beach in Tel Aviv and play tricks on others and on each other. Often they are busy watching naked women in the locker room and shower.
  • Benny's apartment: Benny lives in an apartment with his mother Sonia and father Romek. Numerous scenes take place in the living room and in the bedrooms of the apartment. Benny's parents usually have visitors and play cards.
  • The school: The friends often use the school to get closer to the girls' world and to exchange ideas about “new products”. Appointments are made here.

In addition, many scenes take place again and again in the streets of Tel Aviv, in apartments where parties take place, in cinemas, swimming pools, etc.

Trivia

Although Jonathan Sagall plays the self-confident heartthrob Bobby in the film series, who constantly has brief affairs with various women, he is openly gay in real life .

Publications

All eight parts of the original series were released unabridged on DVD. However, there are also censored versions on DVD. The films are also often shown in abbreviated form on television broadcasts.

documentation

  • 2018: Eskimo Limon: Eis am Stiel - Von Siegern und Losern (90-minute documentary by Eric Friedler for Norddeutscher Rundfunk , which deals with the production conditions and many of those involved have their say. The main actor Jonathan Sagall (role: Bobby) did not participate because he generally no longer wants to comment on the film series.)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eric Friedler: Eskimo Limon: Eis am Stiel - Of winners and losers , NDR documentary.
  2. ↑ Martin Hentschel: Lemon Ice Cream, Sex & Rock'n Roll: The German-Israeli film series "Eis am Stiel" (1978–1988). Verlag für Video + Filmschrift, Düsseldorf 2016, ISBN 978-1539578727 , pp. 6-7.