Ervinka is a 1967 Israeli film written and directed by Ephraim Kishon

Ephraim Kishon

' was an Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and film director. He is one of the most widely-read contemporary satirists in the world.- Early life and World War II :...

. The film, starring Chaim Topol

Chaim Topol

Chaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is an Israeli theatrical and film performer, actor, writer and producer. He has been nominated for an Oscar and Tony Award, and has won two Golden Globes.-Early life:...

 (best known for his role as Tevye

Tevye

Tevye the Dairyman is the protagonist of several of Sholem Aleichem's stories, originally written in Yiddish and first published in 1894. The character became best known from the fictional memoir Tevye and his Daughters , about a pious Jewish milkman in Tsarist Russia, and the troubles he has with...

 from Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof (film)

Fiddler on the Roof is the 1971 film adaptation of the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name, with music composed by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905, about Tevye and his Daughters. It was directed by Norman Jewison. The film won three...

) is a comical tale of a con man

Confidence trick

A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...

 who falls in love with a police officer.

Plot

Ervinka is a young man living in Tel Aviv of the 1960’s. He does not believe in work, morality, law and order, and settling down. He ekes out a living as a petty con man by charging parking fees to a lot that doesn’t belong to him, stealing electricity from his neighbors, eating for free in family events he is not invited to, and extorting money from movie directors by revving up his moped engine near their film sets. He also finds ways to con the authorities, taking advantage of the stupidity, laziness, and inefficiency of bureaucrats (a favorite subject of Kishon's work). Ervinka even ingratiates himself with the local underworld by getting them out of trouble with the law over a robbery. His only dream is to win the lottery so he would not have to get by on his wits anymore.

Ervinka’s carefree life becomes complicated when he falls in love with Ruti, a police officer. While she loves him, she is equally appalled by his way of life and is concerned that he is on a slippery slope to a life of crime.

Tired of never winning the lottery, Ervinka devises a devilish con to rob the lottery offices in Tel Aviv. Under the guise of making a movie, he has his underworld friends try to crack the lottery safe open while all around him are spectators and even police officers, all under the impression that they are watching a film director at work. When the underworld has problems getting the safe to open, the police volunteers its own expert to help them so that filming could proceed as planned. Thanking them for their help, Ervinka and his friends leave with the money seconds before the authorities realize what is actually going on.

With next week’s jackpot safely tucked in a bag behind his moped seat, Ervinka believes he has realized his dream, but his police officer girlfriend berates him and makes it clear she will not associate with a criminal. Ervinka returns the money to the General Manager of the lottery in an official ceremony just like the one he had always imagined himself receiving this money in.

Cast

• Chaim Topol
  Chaim Topol
  Chaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is an Israeli theatrical and film performer, actor, writer and producer. He has been nominated for an Oscar and Tony Award, and has won two Golden Globes.-Early life:...
  
   as Ervinka
• Gila Almagor
  Gila Almagor
  Gila Almagor is an Israeli actress, film star, and author.-Biography:Gila Almagor was born four months after the death of her father, Max Alexandrowitz, a Jewish immigrant from Germany who was killed by an Arab sniper while working as a policeman in Haifa...
  
   as Ruti
• Shraga Friedman as Mr. Veinrib
• Shaike Ophir as the Police Sergeant
• Avner Hizkiyahu as Ervinka’s partner Yossi
• Edna Fliedel as Liz, the neighbor
• Yossi Banai
  Yossi Banai
  Yossi Banai was an Israeli performer, singer, actor, and dramatist.-Biography:Banai was born in Jerusalem, and grew up in the neighborhood of the Mahane Yehuda market...
  
   as Maurice, the neighbor
• Shaike Levi
  Shaike Levi
  Yeshayahu "Shaike" Levi is an Israeli comedian, singer and actor. He is best known for his role in the Gashash HaHiver comedy trio, which won the Israel Prize in 2000..-Biography:...
  
   as Friedrich (underworld)
• Yisrael Poliakov
  Yisrael Poliakov
  Yisrael "Poli" Poliakov was an Israeli comedian and actor. Poliakov was born in Jerusalem, and grew up in Tel Aviv. He became one of the three members of the Israeli comedy group, HaGashash HaHiver .-Career:Poliakov originally chose a career as a farmer and studied at the Kfar HaYarok...
  
   as Leon (underworld)
• Gavriel Banai as Musa (underworld)
• Mosko Alkalai
  Mosko Alkalai
  Mosko Alkalai was an Israeli stage and film actor. He was best known a for a string of hits including Blaumilch Canal, The Fox in the Chicken Coop and Yana's Friends.-Career:...
  
   as Zigler

Production notes

• Ervinka is a hypocorism of the name Ervin. In the movie, it is actually pronounced "Arbinka."