Cast a Giant Shadow is a 1966 American action film[2] based on the life of Colonel Mickey Marcus, and stars Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Angie Dickinson.

[4] The film is a fictionalized account of the experiences of a real-life Jewish-American military officer, Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus, who commanded units of the fledgling Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

He is approached by a Haganah agent, Major Safir, who requests his assistance in preparing Israeli troops to defend the newly declared State against an invasion by its Arab neighbors.

Marcus, who parachuted into occupied France during World War II and helped to organize the relief mission for one of the first Nazi concentration camps liberated by American troops, is initially viewed with suspicion by some Haganah soldiers.

Cameo roles (listed as Special Appearances Cast) include: Mel Shavelson first wrote a treatment about Mickey Marcus in 1948, but no studios were interested because of the film industry's reluctance to deal with Jewish subjects, as well as fear that theaters in Egypt might be expropriated.

Originally a young Michael Douglas was intended to play the sentry who shoots Marcus at the end of the film, but this was cut because he was the lead actor's son and the idea was deemed gimmicky.

Israeli Army soldiers were used as extras, and as a result the filming was frequently disrupted by the real-life Arab–Israeli conflict as they were called away to fight skirmishes against Jordan or Palestinian fedayeen.

[5] The New York Times criticized the film, specifically the directing, calling it a "confusing, often superficial biography that leans a good deal on comic or extremely salty dialogues and effects."