Transcript Yiddish Cinema - University of Ottawa

Maurice Schwartz (1889-1960)
 Born in Ukraine, died in Israel.
 American Yiddish actor,
scriptwriter, director, and
producer.
 Founder of the Yiddish Art
Theatre in New York.
 Played in countless theatrical
productions in Yiddish and
English, and in over twenty films,
including Uncle Moses.
 “The best of all Yiddish actors” (in
the USA).
Uncle Moses (1932)
 Made in the USA.
 First important Yiddish
sound film in America.
 Based on a novel by a
Polish-American
Yiddish writer, starring
a Polish-American
actor.
 Polish-American
Yiddish background
and themes.
Uncle Moses
 What meanings does the name of the title character
create in the film?
 What themes does the film tackle?
 How is the conflict of the “old” and the “new” worlds is
presented?
 What role does the music play?
Yiddish Cinema in Poland
 First Yiddish (silent)
films produced in 1911.
Ex., The Cruel Father
(Der vilder Foter, dir.
Andrzej Marek).
 About 10 films made in
1911-12.
 The first sound Yiddish
film, For Sins (At Chejt,
dir. Aleksander Marten)
produced in 1936.
Yiddish Cinema in Poland
 Several production
companies.
 Polish-American
cooperation (ex., Joseph
Green, director/producer).
 Intended for international
public (Yiddish speakers
regardless of geographic
location).
Yiddish Cinema in Poland
 Ups and downs in the
1920s-early 1930s (due
to political and
technological changes).
 Input by Polish and
German filmmakers.
 Documentaries (ex.,
Sabra, dir. Aleksander
Ford, 1932).
 “The golden age” from
1936 to 1939.
Yiddish Cinema in Poland
Themes:
• Conflict of old and new values
and/or generations;
• Life in a shtetl;
• Love; religion; traditional beliefs.
Genres:
 Musical comedy
 Melodrama
 Tragedy
 Documentary
Aesthetic sources:
 Theatre
 Yiddish literature
 Yiddish folklore
 Klezmer music
 European culture
Mamele (1938)
 Musical comedy.
 Adaptation of a play by Meyer
Schwartz that was a hit on
Second Avenue in New York.
 Polish-American coproduction.
 Directed by Joseph Green and
Konrad Tom.
 Starring Molly Picon.
Molly Picon (1898-1992)
 American theatre and
film star.
 Had talent for singing,
dancing, and acrobatics.
 In the 1930-s, had a
Broadway theatre of her
name.
 Specialized in roles of
tomboys.
Joseph Green
(Yoysef Grinberg, 1900-1996)
 Polish-born American actor,
film director, script-writer,
producer.
 Studied and worked in Europe
until 1925, when he moved to
America.
 While in Hollywood, conceived
the idea of making Yiddish
talking films.
 Bought Yiddish-film rights in
America and brought them to
Poland.
 “Father of the Golden Age” of
Yiddish cinema
Joseph Green’s
principles of filmmaking
 Technical perfection and high quality of production;
 High standards of acting;
 The subject: Jewish yet universal;
 Avoidance of stereotypes;
 Purity of Yiddish language;
 Elements of folklore and ethnography;
 Authenticity of setting;
 Humour and music.
Mamele
 Made on the brink of World
War II.
 Shows the “Atlantis” of
Polish Jewry before its
disappearance.
 The setting shifted from
New York to Lodz(Poland).
Local “flavour.”
 Attempts of using modern
cinematic techniques (ex.,
overlapping images).
Mamele
 Urban setting;
 Modern way of living:
gentile clothes, young men
without beard, uncovered
married women;
 Universal subject;
 Influence of Hollywood
musical comedies.
Mamele
 Cinderella story;
 Yiddish cultural “flavour.”
 The place of women in
traditional culture.
 Satirical take on idling
men.
 Strong women.
Mamele
 Social problems: strikes,
unemployment,
gangsters.
 Tradition and modernity:
prayer replaced with
games; a religious
holiday vs nightclubs.