Poster for the film “Sword in the Desert” (1949)
Extent and Medium
Overall: Height: 41.000 inches (104.14 cm) | Width: 27.000 inches (68.58 cm)
Creator(s)
- Universal-International (Production Company)
- Universal-International (Distributor)
- Ken Sutak (Compiler)
Biographical History
The Cinema Judaica Collection consists of more than 1,200 objects relating to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical subjects, from 1923 to 2000, from the United States, Europe, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. The collection was amassed by film memorabilia collector Ken Sutak, to document Holocaust-and Jewish-themed movies of the World War II era and the postwar years. The collection includes posters, lobby and photo cards, scene stills, pressbooks, trade ads, programs, magazines, books, VHS tapes, DVDS, and 78 rpm records. Sutak organized these materials into two groups, “Cinema Judaica: The War Years, 1939–1949” and “Cinema Judaica: The Epic Cycle, 1950–1972” and, in conjunction with the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum (now the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum in New York), organized exhibitions on these two themes in 2007 and 2008. Sutak subsequently authored companion books with the same titles.
Archival History
The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur
Scope and Content
U.S. one sheet poster for the film, “Sword in the Desert,” released in the United States in August 1949. The film follows an American cargo ship captain who finds himself stranded in a Jewish settlement after smuggling a group of illegal Jewish immigrants to British-controlled Palestine. Initially self-interested and unsympathetic to the refugees, the captain has a change in heart after he is captured, imprisoned, and later escapes with them. “Sword in the Desert” was the first film made in Hollywood that depicted the Jewish struggle to establish the state of Israel in May 1948. Britain was given control of Palestine following World War I, and severely restricted the immigration of Jewish refugees who wanted to establish a new Jewish State. This led many refugees to enter the country via “illegal” or “clandestine” immigration on ships. The mass immigration of refugees also led to bitter clashes between the Arab locals and the Jewish paramilitary organization, the Haganah. The film received some criticism for portraying the British as villains, and not showing any of the conflict with the Arab population. In England, the film was perceived as anti-British and sparked outrage and several violent incidents. “Sword in the Desert” also established a new archetype of a rough-and-tumble female character that can hold her own with the Haganah fighters. This object is one of more than 1,200 objects in the Cinema Judaica Collection of materials related to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical themes.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Restrictions on use. Copyright status is unknown.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Poster printed on rectangular off-white paper depicting a large, desert scene in color, several smaller grayscale images, and a narrow, white border on all four sides. The poster depicts a shaded orange desert landscape against a yellow sky. Inset in a white, L-shaped background across the top and down the right side of the poster is a set of five small, square illustrations, each inside a narrow, black border. The illustrations are drawn in black, and each features a different character overlaid on a gray scene. The characters include: a man wearing a captain’s hat, a woman with a rifle slung over her shoulder, a man holding up a submachine gun, a younger man looking up, and a man in a hat pulling the pin out of a grenade with his teeth. In the center-left of the poster are the names of the three leading actors, printed in large, black text. In the bottom third of the poster, the film title is in large white text edged with red and black, creating shadows on the orange sand dune in the background. Perched on top of the dune are four figures: a kneeling man and woman with rifles, a standing man, and a man lying face-down with a gun in his hand. The film credits are printed in black along the bottom edge of the poster. The bottom margin contains copyright and printing information in black ink and an embossed stamp with the copyright information. The poster is creased where it was previously folded and there are small tears and holes along them. There is a small tear at the center of the bottom edge. Depicted: Dana Andrews as Captain Mike Dillon, Märta Torén as Sabra, Stephen McNally as David Vogel, Jeff Chandler as Asvan Kurta, Liam Redmond as Jerry McCarthy
People
- McNally, Stephen, 1913-1994.
- Toren, Marta, 1926-1957.
- Gilmore, Lowell, 1907-1960.
- Friend, Philip, 1915-1987.
- Chandler, Jeff, 1918-1961.
- Logan, Stanley, 1885-1953.
- Andrews, Dana, 1909-1992.
- Rorke, Hayden, 1910-1987.
- French, Hugh, 1910-1976.
- Redmond, Liam, 1913-1989.
Subjects
- Action and adventure films.
- Zionism in motion pictures.
- Palestine.
- Captivity in motion pictures.
- Refugees in motion pictures.
- Nationalism in motion pictures.
- United States.
- Holocaust survivors in motion pictures.
- Armed Forces in motion pictures.
- Emigration and immigration in motion pictures.
Genre
- Posters
- Object
- Posters.