The Flying Matchmaker is a 1966 Israeli film musical

Musical film

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

 directed by Israel Becker. The film was the first major success on screen for lead actor Mike Burstyn who has a double role as Kuni Leml and his cousin Max, and also casts his father Pesach Burstein

Pesach Burstein

Pesach "Peishachke" Burstein , born in Warsaw, was an Israeli-American comedian, singer, coupletist, and director of Yiddish vaudeville/theater. His wife Lillian Lux, and son Mike Burstyn are also actors.-Early years:...

 in a small role. The film was selected as the Israeli entry for the Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

 at the 39th Academy Awards

39th Academy Awards

The 39th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1966, were held on April 10, 1967 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

The local matchmaker (shadchan), Reb Kalman arranges a match for the daughter of a wealthy client, Reb Pinchas. The daughter is already romantically linked with her French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 teacher, Max. He arranges to show up in Kuni Lemel's place, disguised as Kuni Lemel, so he can marry Ganor. Confusion ensues as both Max and Kuni Lemel show up to court Ganor.

Cast

• Mike Burstyn as Max / Kuni Leml
• Raphael Klatchkin as Matchmaker
• Germaine Unikovsky as Matchmaker's Daughter (as Jermain Unikovsky)
• Shmuel Rodensky as Rebbe Pinchas
• Elisheva Michaeli as Rebbe Pinchas' Wife
• Rina Ganor as Rebbe Pinchas's Daughter
• Aharon Meskin as Kuni Leml's Father
• Ari Kutai as Max's Father

See also

• List of submissions to the 39th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Israeli submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film