Initially, Kitty Fremont is no Zionist. She rarely thought about the Jewish people and when she did, it was not particularly edifying. To be fair, she still grieves her war correspondent husband—or rather she has rather avoided moving on with life. The nurse just finished a tour of duty at an American military hospital in Greece, so she stops in Cypress as a tourist before returning home. There, she visits her late husband’s friend, Gen. Sutherland, who administers the Jewish refugee camp. Sensing she needs purpose, he recommends she volunteer in the short-staffed camp clinic. First she declines, but when she recognizes her prejudice reflected in Sutherland’s subordinate, Maj. Caldwell, she agrees out of shame.
In the camp, she meets blond haired, blue-eyed fifteen-year-old Dutch refugee Karen Hansen Clement, who defies her preconceived image of Jewishness. Fremont is determined to bring Clement to America. However, the teen still hopes to find her missing father, the only other member of her family not confirmed dead in the concentration camps, in what the British call the Mandate of Palestine.
As it happens, Haganah commander Ari Ben Canaan has a plan to ferry hundreds of Jewish refugees like her to their homeland—and hopefully send a message to the United Nations in the process. The British steadfastly oppose any further Jewish immigration, out of deference to the neighboring Arab nations. Consequently, Sutherland will approve no such transfers, despite his reputation. Frankly, officers like Caldwell consider the Colonel so sympathetic to the Jewish refugees, they assume he must be secretly part-Jewish.
Of course, all the Jews Ben Canaan successfully shuttles into Israel will face violent reprisals after the historic 1948 UN vote. Fremont will see it all for herself, when she joins Clement and Ben Canaan in the future Israel.
Exodus was filmed on location in Israel and Cypress, where the ancient backdrops give it a sense of historical authenticity and visual splendor. Encompassing the events of the Exodus Blockade (which was admittedly given a much happier ending), the Acre Prison escape, UN Resolution 181, and the subsequent Arab pogroms targeting Jews (while the Brits sat on their hands), Exodus is a true epic, sent against a sprawling canvas.
Newman is also terrific as Ben Canaan, even though many critics argued he was miscast, because he was too handsome to be Israeli (again, he was half-Jewish). Frankly, this is one of his toughest, steeliest performances of his Hollywood heartthrob years. His closing eulogy serves as an acting master-class that both perfectly expresses his character’s grief and the aspirations of the Israeli people, to finally live in peace and security.
He also has potent chemistry with Eva Marie Saint, his co-star in the 1954 Our Town, which was a breakout vehicle for them both. Arguably, Fremont has the greatest character arc and shows the most growth amongst all the characters, which Saint quite bravely depicts.
