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''Lemon Popsicle'' () is a 1978
teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film co-written and directed by
Boaz Davidson Boaz Davidson (, ; born 8 November 1943) is an Israeli film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and studied film in London at London Film School. Biography Davidson was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to ...
. It is the most commercially successful Israeli film of all time, which has led to the production of a series of sequels. The
cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...
follows a group of three teenage boys in early-1960s
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
.


Plot

The story begins in the summer of 1958. Benji (Bentzi in the Hebrew release, played by Yeftah Katzur), Bobby (Momoo in the Hebrew release, played by
Jonathan Sagall Jonathan Sagall (; born 23 April 1959) is a Canadian-born Israeli actor, director, producer and screenwriter.Zachi Noy) are three teenage boys in the city of
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
in the late 1950s who study at the Shalva Gymnasium high school and pass the time, among other things, at the Montana Ice Cream Shop . The three's class is joined by a beautiful new girl named Niki (Nili in the Hebrew release, played by Anat Atzmon), who caught Benji's eye. At the Friday party at Huey's, Benji sees Niki dancing with Bobby and Huey tells him that if she is in Bobby's hands, he has no chance with her. Learning that Nili is a virgin, Bobby brags to his friends that he will seduce, then dump her, much to Benji's dismay. However, Benji is too dependent on his friends and too reluctant to ruin their friendship to warn Niki of Bobby's intentions, and must watch as Bobby and Niki begin dating.The frustrated Benji drinks an entire bottle of wine and gets drunk, and Huey has to take him home. The next day Benji goes to work selling ice, until a female customer calls out to the owner of the business from the window to send Benji to her with the ice. It turns out that the woman (Ophelia Shtruhl) is an older olah named Stella ("the ultimate Stella") and she tries to
seduce In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and sexual scripts, paralingual features, non-verbal communication, and short-term behavioural ...
Benji, but he tells her that he has to go back to work and that he will come visit her. Benji calls Bobby and Huey to come with him to the woman's house. There, after drinking
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
and dancing, they enter her room one by one and have sex with her. When it's Benji's, a friend of Stella's, Johnny the Sailor, enters the apartment. Bobby and Bentji manage to leave, but Huey, who tried to take his clothes, is beaten and finally flees the house in his underwear. A few days later, Bobby asks Benji for the keys to his grandmother's apartment, so he can bring Niki there and Benji says he will get it for him. That evening, when the three meet at the ice cream shop, Benzi says that his mother hid the keys. Bobby gives up spending time with Niki and goes with the three to Ricki the
whore Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...
(Denise Bozaglou). The next day, all three feel itching in the groin area and it turns out that they got
pubic lice In vertebrates, the pubis or pubic bone () forms the lower and anterior part of each side of the hip bone. The pubis is the most forward-facing (ventral and anterior) of the three bones that make up the hip bone. The left and right pubic bones ar ...
from Ricky. They go to the
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
and ask him for an
ointment A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...
for this issue. A day later, Benji meets with Huey and a boy from their class named Froi'ka, who tells him that Bobby went with Niki to sail on the Yarakon river and they are about to have sex. Later in the evening, Bobby appears at the ice cream parlor and tells Benji about his time with Niki. At the end of year school ceremony, Benji sees Niki arguing with Bobby and then sees her leaving the auditorium crying. Outside she tells him that she is
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
. Benji comforts Niki and then bursts into the sports hall in a rage, and starts fighting with Bobby. Benji takes Niki to have an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
and pays for it with his own money. He sells his bike, steals money from his mom, and takes out a loan from his boss, and ends up bringing her to live with him for a few days at his grandma's apartment, since they are supposed to be at summer camp with the whole class. Benji confesses his love to Niki and they kiss. She invites him to her birthday party next Monday and he confirms his arrival. Benji buys her a precious gold heart pendant with the words "To Niki with Love" engraved on it. When Benji arrives at the party, he looks for Niki and finds her in the kitchen - cuddling with Bobby. Niki and Bobby notice the shocked Benji, and he leaves the party heartbroken to the tune of the song "Mr. Lonely". The actress who portrayed Riki, the prostitute in the film, was Denise (Deniz) Bouzaglo, who was involved in prostitution in real life. She was cast for the role after a spontaneous encounter with Davidson on Hayarkon Street, following the withdrawal of the originally cast actress due to pressure from her husband. In 1988, ''Hadashot'' newspaper reported that she had been arrested on suspicion of heroin trafficking.


Production

''"Eskimo Limon"'' was produced by "Sarei Nahum" Studios, owned by
Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...
and
Yoram Globus Yoram Globus (; born 7 September 1943) is an Israeli–American film producer, cinema owner, and distributor. He has been involved in over 300 full-length motion pictures and he is most known for his association with The Cannon Group, Inc., an ...
, who were also responsible for its distribution and screening. Zeev Rav-Nof expressed the opinion that the company's dominance in the Israeli film market significantly contributed to its success. According to
Boaz Davidson Boaz Davidson (, ; born 8 November 1943) is an Israeli film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and studied film in London at London Film School. Biography Davidson was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to ...
, the screenplay was inspired by his own youth as well as the American film ''
American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat ...
''. The production budget amounted to three million ILs, of which one million was paid as royalties to the copyright holders of the songs in the soundtrack. The film’s music was adapted to the era and includes hits from the late 1950s and early 1960s, featuring songs such as ''
Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...
'' by
Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...
, '' Tutti Frutti'' and ''
Long Tall Sally "Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard and released on Richard's album '' Here's Little Richard''. Richard recorded it fo ...
'' (
Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
), ''
Put Your Head on My Shoulder Put or PUT may refer to: Finance * Put option, a financial contract between a buyer and a seller * CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index (ticker symbol) Science and technology * Programmable unijunction transistor Computing * Parameterized unit testing ...
'', '' You Are My Destiny'', ''
Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...
'' (
Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...
), '' Greenfields'' (
The Brothers Four The Brothers Four is an American folk singing group formed in 1957 in Seattle, Washington, and best known for their 1960 hit song " Greenfields". History Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at the University of Washingt ...
), '' To Know Him Is to Love Him'' (
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
and
The Teddy Bears The Teddy Bears were an American pop music group. They were record producer Phil Spector's first vocal group. History Following graduation from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California, Phil Spector became obsessed with " To Know Him Is ...
), and the hit ''Piove'' (
Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song " Nel blu dipinto di blu", for which he received the fir ...
, better known as ''Ciao, Ciao Bambina'').


Reviews and awards

''"Eskimo Limon"'' became a massive box-office success. By late December
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
, it had sold 1,268,000 tickets in Israel, generating 12.5 million ILs in revenue. It was also distributed in 700 copies across Europe, earning an additional $650,000. The Israeli Film and Play Review Council restricted the film to audiences aged 16 and older due to its explicit sexual content. However, the press reported widespread instances of younger teenagers sneaking into screenings. In total, ''Eskimo Limon'' sold 1,350,000 tickets in Israel, making it the highest-grossing Israeli film of all time. ''
Kazablan ''Kazablan'' (''Casablan'' or ''Kasablan'' in its first production; Hebrew: קזבלן) is an early Israeli Hebrew language play, staged first as a 1954 drama followed by a 1964 screen adaptation, later as a 1966 musical comedy, and still later pr ...
'' ranks second with 1,222,500 tickets sold, followed by ''
Sallah Shabati ''Sallah Shabati'' () is a 1964 Israeli comedy film about the chaos of Israeli immigration and resettlement, as well as the issues Mizrahi Jews faced in the developing Israeli society. This social satire placed the director Ephraim Kishon and p ...
'' with 1,184,900. The film also achieved significant success in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, ranking 11th at the box office with 2,700,000 tickets sold. On April 19, 1978, ''Eskimo Limon'' won first prize in the annual Israeli feature film competition, accompanied by a grant of 120,000 ILs.
Boaz Davidson Boaz Davidson (, ; born 8 November 1943) is an Israeli film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and studied film in London at London Film School. Biography Davidson was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to ...
received the Best Director award, Adam Greenberg won Best
Cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...
, and Yiftach Katzur was awarded Best Actor. The awards were presented by Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Yigal Horowitz. The film represented Israel at the 1978
Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
and was a finalist for the
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for Best Foreign Language Film.


Cast

* as Benzi * Zachi Noy as Yudale *
Jonathan Sagall Jonathan Sagall (; born 23 April 1959) is a Canadian-born Israeli actor, director, producer and screenwriter.Anat Atzmon as Nili * as Stella * Ariella Rabinovich as Doris * Rachel Steiner as Martha * Dvora Kedar as Sonja (Benzi's Mother) * Menashe Warshavsky as Romek (Benzi's Father) * Christiane Schmidtmer as Fritzi * Sibylle Rauch as Frieda Denise * Denise Bouzaglo as Ricki


Release and reception


Budget

The picture was produced at a budget of IL3 million, of which a million was paid in royalties to the musicians (mostly American) whose songs were used in the soundtrack (such as
Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...
,
Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...
,
Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
,
Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...
,
the Chordettes The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit singles " Mr. Sandman" and " Lollipop", both of which sold over a million copies. Career The group organized i ...
and
Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One ...
). Producer
Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...
claimed that the music rights cost more than the production of the film itself.


Box office

''Lemon Popsicle'' became an immediate commercial success; by December 1978, the film had sold 1,268,000 tickets in its native country and grossed IL12.5 million. It was circulated in 700 prints in Europe, where it earned $650,000 during the same period. In total, it sold 1,350,000 tickets in the state, becoming the highest-grossing Israeli picture in history.Almog, O'z. ''Peridah mi-Śeruliḳ: shinui ʻarakhim ba-eliṭah ha-Yiśreʼelit''. Zemorah-Bitan (2004). . p. 1156 In West Germany, it reached the 11th place at the 1978 box office, with 2.7 million tickets sold. ''Lemon Popsicle'' also gained considerable popularity in the rest of Europe and in Japan. It was nominated for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a Golden Globe Award presented by Dick Clark Productions to reward theatrically-released feature film not in the English language. It was first introduced at the 7th Golden Globe Awards f ...
in the
36th Golden Globe Awards The 36th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1978, were held on January 27, 1979. Winners and nominees Film The following films received multiple nominations: The following films received multiple wins: Televi ...
, losing to
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
's ''
Autumn Sonata ''Autumn Sonata'' () is a 1978 tragedy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and starring Ingrid Bergman (in her final film role), Liv Ullmann and Lena Nyman. Its plot follows a celebrated classical pianist and her neglected daughter who ...
''. The film was also selected as the Israeli entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the
51st Academy Awards The 51st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1978 and took place on April 9, 1979, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, beginning at 7:00 p.m ...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.


Sequels

The series became a success in Germany under the name ''Eis am Stiel''. Most of the films were also dubbed into English and were released in both the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Since the release of ''Lemon Popsicle'', seven official sequels have been made. These were '' Going Steady'' (Yotzim Kavua) (1979), '' Hot Bubblegum'' (Shifshuf Naim) (1981), ''Private Popsicle'' (Sapiches) (1982), ''Baby Love'' (Roman Za'ir) (1984), ''Up Your Anchor'' (Harimu Ogen) (1985), ''Young Love'' (Ahava Tzeira) (1987) and ''Summertime Blues'' (Blues La-Kayitz) (1988). A spin-off film, ''Private Manoeuvres'' (Sababa), starring Zachi Noy as Yudale, appeared in 1983, and a reboot film, ''The Party Goes On'' (Hahagiga Nimshehet), which featured Noy as a restaurant owner, was released in 2001.


Hot Bubblegum

''Hot Bubblegum'' (Hebrew: ''Shifshuf Naim'') is the third film in the ''Lemon Popsicle'' series, set in Tel Aviv and released in 1981.


Synopsis

Benzi now has a girlfriend named Doris, but his feelings are put to the test when an old flame, Nikki comes back into his life. Unknown to Doris and despite the advice of his friends concerning Nikki's flirtiness, Benzi and Nikki begin dating, but eventually Doris catches them together. Meanwhile, Benzi's sexy cousin Frieda visits from Germany, and Yudale and Momo, as well as Benzi's father, end up lusting over her.


Remake

In 1982, Davidson wrote and directed an American remake, ''
The Last American Virgin ''The Last American Virgin'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age sex comedy film written and directed by Boaz Davidson, and starring Lawrence Monoson, Diane Franklin, Steve Antin, Joe Rubbo, and Louisa Moritz. A remake of Davidson's 1978 Israel ...
'', starring Lawrence Monoson and
Diane Franklin Diane Franklin (born February 11, 1962) is an American actress, producer, and model. Early life Franklin was born in Plainview, New York. Her parents were both German immigrants. Franklin is Hearing loss, deaf in her left ear. Education Fran ...
.New York Times
/ref>


See also

* Israeli cinema *
List of submissions to the 51st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 51st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honour non-English language, Engli ...
* List of Israeli submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film


References


External links


Lemon Popsicle Forever

Lemon Popsicle Fanzine
* * * * * * * * * * {{Israeli submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film 1978 films 1978 comedy-drama films 1978 romantic comedy films 1978 romantic drama films 1970s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1970s German films 1970s romantic comedy-drama films 1970s sex comedy-drama films 1970s teen comedy-drama films 1970s teen romance films Coming-of-age romance films Films about abortion Films about virginity Films directed by Boaz Davidson Films produced by Menahem Golan Films produced by Yoram Globus Films set in the 1950s Films set in Tel Aviv Films with screenplays by Boaz Davidson German coming-of-age comedy-drama films German romantic comedy-drama films German sex comedy films German teen comedy-drama films Golan-Globus films Israeli comedy-drama films Israeli coming-of-age drama films Israeli teen drama films Teen sex comedy films West German comedy films