''The Impossible Spy'' is a 1987

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

based on the true story of an Israeli civilian spy, Eli Cohen, who was recruited into Israel's secret intelligence agency (the

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

) in the 1960s to become a spy in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Prior to his capture in 1965, Cohen was about to be appointed the third-most powerful figure in Syria—the Deputy Minister of Defense. Cohen's memorization of Syria's individual gun placements along the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

enabled Israel to defeat Syria in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

in 1967. The film's executive producer was Harvey Chertok; it was directed by

Jim Goddard Jim Goddard was an England, English film and TV director who was born in Battersea, London. He directed episodes of many UK TV series such as ''Public Eye'', ''Callan'', ''Special Branch'', ''The Sweeney'', ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'', ''The ...

and starred John Shea,

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

, and Sasson Gabai. ''The Impossible Spy'' was released in 1987 and won an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

CableACE Award for Best Picture. * * *Goddard, Jim, John Shea, Eli Wallach, Sasson Gabay, Michal Bat-Adam, and Richard Hartley. ''The Impossible Spy''. Harrington Park, N.J.: Janson Media, 2005.

Cast

* John Shea as Elie Cohen *

as Yacov * Sasson Gabai as General Haleb (credited as Sason Gabay) * Michal Bat-Adam as Nadia Cohen * Rami Danon as Avram * Chaim Jeraffi as Salloum (credited as Haim Girafi) * Jacques Cohen as Assan (credited as Jack Cohen) * Anat Barzilai as Galela (credited as Anat Barzilay) * Yossi Keinan as Nassim (credited as Yossi Kenan) * Yehudit Millo as Madame Massim (credited as Judith Millo) * Victor Kamar as Major Massim (credited as Victor Kammar) * Shlomo Sadan as Syrian Colonel * Wahabi Hasson as Egyptian Police Inspector * Shmuel Shiloh as Rabbi (credited as Shmuel Shillo) * Ahuva Keren as Salloum's Girlfriend (credited as Ahouva Keren) * Hamdi El-Asmar as Hadj

References

1987 films 1987 television films 1987 documentary films Spy television films Films directed by Jim Goddard American documentary television films CableACE Award winners Films set in Israel Films set in Syria Films set in the 1960s 1980s American films Films about the Mossad {{documentary-tv-film-stub