IMDb RATING
6.4/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
Three friends live their lives in 1950s Israel, each looking for someone to love.Three friends live their lives in 1950s Israel, each looking for someone to love.Three friends live their lives in 1950s Israel, each looking for someone to love.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Yftach Katzur
- Benzi
- (as Yiftach Katzur)
- …
Jonathan Sagall
- Momo
- (as Jonathan Segal)
- …
Dvora Kedar
- Sonja, Benzi's mother
- (as Deborah Kaydar)
Ophelia Shtruhl
- Stella
- (as Ophelia Shtrel)
Avi Hadash
- Froggy
- (as Avi Chadash)
- …
Denise Bouzaglo
- Ricki, prostitute
- (as Dennis Bozaglo)
Savich Goldreich
- Doctor
- (as Savitch Goldreich)
Sarah Aman
- Chemist's assistant
- (uncredited)
Sarit Baruch
- Bit Part
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe director claims he based the movie on a situation which happened to him as a youth.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the movie, a young man in a red shirt appears in front of the diner eating ice cream and talking with friends; in the next scene he's happily dancing. The same for the blond boy in blue shirt.
- Alternate versionsThe Iserali DVD version while containing the original language track still uses the American print resulting in some oddities when viewing the sub-titled original version. Namely the English sub-titles are from the American dubbed version featuring the alternate songs used (or re-used) due to licensing restrictions for worldwide release, meaning often the sub-titles don't correspond to the song that is playing. A scene featuring the guys sneaking into the cinema had a movie news reel featuring President Kennedy, replacing the cinema screen footage from the original version for the US version. Selecting the original language track means you now have the original cinema audio, an Israeli sung quartet, over the top of the movie news footage with the original visuals missing. The original scene as it was filmed can be seen on the TV special on the DVD extras, featuring the audio this time matching the images playing in the cinema of the singing men in suits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Videofobia: The Apple (2012)
Featured review
A cut above
"Eskimo Limon", or "Lemon Popsicle" in English, is an Israeli-West German film which can be seen as a forerunner to all those eighties teen sex comedies like "Porky's", "Screwballs", and especially "The Last American Virgin", which is a remake of it. It was hugely successful in Israel and West Germany, spawning no less than an incredible eight sequels.
Perhaps it seemed fresh or even transgressive on release, but its material and many of its scenarios seem familiar now. The movie is mostly episodic, showing the same group of teenagers trying to get laid with predictably zany results, ie. Making out in a car and accidentally releasing the hand brake, or being ushered into the bedroom by a horny middle-aged woman, only to have her violent spouse return.
The only real through-line to the movie is the main character, Benji's love for a girl, and helping her out when she gets pregnant to his friend which leads to a surprisingly distressing abortion scene where the girl is clearly distraught and the doctor is callous toward her.
If you've seen "The Last American Virgin", you've never forgotten the ending. Both that movie and this its inspiration are surprisingly emotionally effective toward the end. The movie is never funny (very few teen sex comedies are) but at least it makes you feel something other than boredom or disgust. The hero is also relatable as someone who has emotional feelings as well as sexual ones, and does not just want to get laid.
The movie is also notable for its great soundtrack. Indeed there is barely a second of screen time without some classic of the '50s playing. So much music that it often doesn't seem related to the movie all that much, like you're listening to an oldies radio station while you watch. I don't believe for a second that they paid for the rights to use all those songs, which might be why the movie is not widely available on DVD. Allegedly the producers Golan and Globus were broke before the movie came out. The wild success of this movie in Israel and West Germany allowed them to found the legendary b-movie studio Cannon.
Perhaps it seemed fresh or even transgressive on release, but its material and many of its scenarios seem familiar now. The movie is mostly episodic, showing the same group of teenagers trying to get laid with predictably zany results, ie. Making out in a car and accidentally releasing the hand brake, or being ushered into the bedroom by a horny middle-aged woman, only to have her violent spouse return.
The only real through-line to the movie is the main character, Benji's love for a girl, and helping her out when she gets pregnant to his friend which leads to a surprisingly distressing abortion scene where the girl is clearly distraught and the doctor is callous toward her.
If you've seen "The Last American Virgin", you've never forgotten the ending. Both that movie and this its inspiration are surprisingly emotionally effective toward the end. The movie is never funny (very few teen sex comedies are) but at least it makes you feel something other than boredom or disgust. The hero is also relatable as someone who has emotional feelings as well as sexual ones, and does not just want to get laid.
The movie is also notable for its great soundtrack. Indeed there is barely a second of screen time without some classic of the '50s playing. So much music that it often doesn't seem related to the movie all that much, like you're listening to an oldies radio station while you watch. I don't believe for a second that they paid for the rights to use all those songs, which might be why the movie is not widely available on DVD. Allegedly the producers Golan and Globus were broke before the movie came out. The wild success of this movie in Israel and West Germany allowed them to found the legendary b-movie studio Cannon.
helpful•31
- Groverdox
- Jun 5, 2022
Details
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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