''Schlager'' ( he, שלאגר), or ''The Hit'', is a 1979

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

. The

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

, lyrics writer and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

was

Assi Dayan Assaf "Assi" Dayan ( he, אסף "אסי" דיין; 23 November 1945 – 1 May 2014) was an Israeli film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. Life Dayan was the youngest son of Israeli general and defense minister Moshe Dayan and peace a ...

, the music was written by

Svika Pick Svika Pick (, 3 October 1949 – 14 August 2022), born Henryk Pick, was an Israeli pop singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality. Pick first gained traction on a national level after playing a lead part in an Israeli version of t ...

, and the stars were

HaGashash HaHiver HaGashash HaHiver ( he, הגשש החיוור, ''lit.'' The Pale Tracker) was an iconic Israeli comedy trio. It was also known as the ''Gashashim.'' Its three members were Yeshayahu Levi ("Shaike"), Yisrael Poliakov ("Poli") (deceased) and Gavri ...

(The Trackers) trio. Compared to other projects of Dayan, Pick or The Trackers, this film did not sell well and did not take central place in the Israeli culture. However, one of its songs, "Shir Ha'frecha" ("The

Bimbo Bimbo is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized, naive, and unintelligent woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man. As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypic ...

Song"), performed by

Ofra Haza Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza ( he, בת-שבע עפרה חזה; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000), known as Ofra Haza (), was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actress, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist commonly known in the Western world as ...

, became Haza's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

Plot

Dr. Shooky Heftzibah's dancing school is in serious debt and Heftzibah is looking for people he can convince to pay him large sums. He is reuniting with his long-forgotten friend, the lazy garage owner and widower Ziggy Fuchsman, promising to find Fuchsman a new wife if he pays Heftzibah's debts. However, Heftzibah's debts are so large that he must look for a rich new wife for his friend. Heftzibah reads

obituaries An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

and takes Fuchsman to a ''

shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

'' in order to seduce the new widow, while Heftzibah and Fuchsman pretend to be friends of the deceased. Their deception is exposed, but the widow, Gilah, starts to date Fuchsman. Meanwhile, Heftzibah finds another sucker, Ben-Gurion Shemesh, a gullible young worker of Fuchsman's who dreams of being a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

dancing and singing star, and of marrying Fuchsman's daughter Dina, who does not like him. Heftzibah trains Shemesh and turns him into a big showman. In order to keep impressing him, Heftzibah takes Shemesh behind the scenes of the opera to show him he knows important people in show business. Accidentally, Heftzibah and Shemesh find themselves dressed up as opera singers on the stage. Fuchsman, who is sitting with Gilah in the audience and has just found out that Gilah is not rich, climbs on the stage too, dressed up as an opera singer, in order to take revenge on Heftzibah. After finding out that he can sing opera, Shemesh leaves Heftzibah and climbs onstage at a night club, giving an impressive performance and gaining Dina's heart as well as a job for a pop producer. Fuchsman, who had another groom in mind for his daughter, and Heftzibah, who has lost his customer, try to sabotage Shemesh's first performance on TV like they sabotaged the opera, but the audience likes the result and all three main characters are turned into stars.

Song list

Song list:The song list
/ref> # "לצאת לצאת", performing: שייקה לוי # "שיר בהזדמנות", Performing: גברי בנאי # "גראז'", Performing: צביקה פיק # "שיר לעזבון", Performing: שייקה לוי וגברי בנאי וישראל פוליאקוב # "דיסקו-טנגו", Performing: שייקה לוי וגברי בנאי # "שיר הפרחה", Performing: עפרה חזה # "תן גז", Performing: גברי בנאי # "אכלנו אותה",Performing: שייקה לוי וישראל פוליאקוב # "בתיה לאמבטיה", Performing: שייקה לוי וישראל פוליאקוב # "שלאגר", Performing: עפרה חזה, שייקה לוי, גברי בנאי וישראל פוליאקוב

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0079297, title=Shlager 1970s musical comedy films 1979 films Films directed by Assi Dayan 1970s Hebrew-language films Israeli musical comedy films 1979 comedy films