Henry Lynn (July 21, 1895 – August 25, 1984) was a

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and producer, who concentrated on

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

life and culture in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, early twentieth century, (1932–1939), the era of Yiddish film in America. Lynn was an innovator in sound technology, frequently commissioned original music, and he used popular radio and opera stars Boris Thomashefsky, Esther Field, and

Seymour Rechzeit Seymour Rexite (January 18, 1914 – October 14, 2002), originally Shayele Rechtzeit, was a Polish American singer and actor. He was a significant figure in Yiddish theatre in the United States, and with his wife Miriam Kressyn he performed on the ...

, as well as New York stage actors like

Celia Adler Celia Feinman Adler (December 6, 1889 – January 31, 1979) was an American actress, known as the "First Lady of the Yiddish Theatre". Early life She was born in New York City, as Tzirele Adler (soon after known as Celia), the daughter of ...

Biography

Lynn was born in the region of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...

, then

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Frustrated by difficulties of obtaining an education in Białystok, he emigrated to America, arriving in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1914. Initially, he taught languages in Boston and suburbs, Dorchester, Lynn, and Revere. Later he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he taught Hebrew and Russian, then became a film producer/director/writer, 1932-1939. During WWII Lynn created a business to manufacture plastic products for the war effort,''Bridge of Light (Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds), page 323'', J. Hoberman, Museum of Modern Art, Published by Shocken Books, 1991, YIVO translations and he was a news commentator on radio station, WEVD. Henry Lynn is survived by his daughter, Lila Lynn, who appeared as a child actress in his 1938 film, ''The Power of Life''. Lynn's wife, Kitty Cooperman, also appeared in ''The Power of Life''.

Career

From 1932 to 1939, Lynn was writer and/or producer/director of at least 10 films, emphasizing family life and the challenges to traditional values. He directed 9 films. The first two: ''The Intolerance of 1933'' (1933), and ''The Youth of Russia'' (1934), are documentaries and contain rare footage of historical events, e.g.,

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

marches in New York City in the early 1930s.Brandeis: National Center for Jewish Film
/ref>''Bridge of Light (Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds), page 199'', J. Hoberman, Museum of Modern Art, Published by Shocken Books, 1991, YIVO translationsGlenn Studio, EmGee Films, Reseda, California
/ref> Lynn was an innovator, implementing Joseph Seiden's new sound technology in ''The Unfortunate Bride'', his 1932 remake of silent film, ''Broken Hearts'' (1926).''Bridge of Light (Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds), page 184'', J. Hoberman, Museum of Modern Art, Published by Shocken Books, 1991, YIVO translations Lynn included Hebrew dubbing in ''Shir Hashirim'' by Tel Aviv exhibitor Ya'acov Davidon and produced some short films for theatrical shows. One example is, '' Papirossen'' by radio star

Herman Yablokoff Herman Yablokoff (August 11, 1903 – April 3, 1981, yi, הערמאַן יאַבלאָקאָף, russian: link=no, Герман Яблоков, born Chaim Yablonik, Хаим Яблоник), sometimes written Herman Yablokov, Herman Yablokow, ...

. This theatrical play was based on a current hit song, ''Papirosn''. Lynn's short 15-minute film featured

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), '' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976 ...

, as an 11-year-old cigarette vendor. The play and short film were booked into the Bronx McKinley Square Theatre in 1935. This was one of Henry Lynn's most unusual productions. Lynn and Joseph Green, a contemporary actor and film producer/director, collaborated and distributed ''Bar Mitzvah'' (1935) in Europe, notably Poland, where it was playing in 1937 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

with another film, ''Green Light'' with

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...

. Boris Thomashefsky, a popular opera singer and actor at the time, was a co-producer and starred in the film. He sang in Lynn's film, as he had in the earlier 1924 play, ''Bar Mitzvah'', a hit song, ''Erlekh Zayn'' (Be Virtuous). Despite the advent of "talkies" Lynn did not recognize the new technology and saw his film style disappear with the rise of Hollywood. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Lynn and Joseph Seiden suspended their film careers to assist the war effort. Lynn founded a small plastic products manufacturing company.

Filmography

* ''Mothers of Today'' (1939) (aka ''Hayntige Mames'') * ''A People Eternal'' (1939) * ''The Power of Life'' (1938) (aka ''Die Kraft von Leben'')''Bridge of Light (Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds), page 209'', J. Hoberman, Museum of Modern Art, Published by Shocken Books, 1991, YIVO translations * ''Where Is My Child?'' (1937) (aka ''Vu iz mayn Kind?'' (Yiddish title) or ''Wo ist mein Kind?'' (German title)) * ''The Holy Oath'' (1937) (aka ''Di Heylige Shvue'') * ''Shir Hashirim'' (1935) (aka ''Farbotene Liebe'' or ''Forbidden Love'' or ''Song of Songs'' or ''Verbotene Liebe'' (reissue title) * ''Bar-Mitzvah'' (1935) * ''The Youth of Russia'' (1934) (aka ''The Yiddish Father'' or ''Der Yiddisher Vater'' or ''Der Yidisher Foter'') * ''The Intolerance of 1933'' (1933) Semi-documentary, owned by Emgee Films, Reseda, California * ''The Unfortunate Bride'' (1932) (aka ''Die Ungluckliche Kale'')

Casting

Many of Lynn's films used popular theatre actors of the era: opera singer/actor, Boris Thomashefsky, actor and director,

Morris Strassberg Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manito ...

Dora Weissman Dora may stand for: *Dora (given name) Places United States *Dora, Alabama * Dora, Arkansas *Dora, Missouri * Dora, New Mexico * Dora, Oregon * Dora, Pennsylvania *Mount Dora, Florida Other countries * Lake Dora (Tasmania) *Lake Dora (Weste ...

, actor/singer,

Michal Michalesko Michal (; he, מיכל , gr, Μιχάλ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Judah, ...

, and the popular radio star Esther Field. The production companies were Lynn Productions, Menorah, Empire Films, S & L Films, Sov-Am Films, Judea Films and Apex Films.

Jack Stillman Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

was the musical director of most of Lynn's films, several of which had excellent original compositions by

Joseph Rumshinsky Joseph Rumshinsky (1881–1956) was a Jewish composer born near Vilna, Lithuania (then part of Russian Poland). Along with Sholom Secunda, Alexander Olshanetsky and Abraham Ellstein, he is considered one of the "big four" composers and conductors of ...

, Art Shryer, Ludwig Satz, and William Mercur. Original composition was featured in Shir Hashirim, (Songs of Songs). Lynn made effective use of music to heighten the emotional drama of his films.

Availability

The National Center for Jewish Film at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , p ...

and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

in New York City have copies of some of these films. DVD and VHS copies of ''Mothers of Today'', ''Where is my Child'' and ''Bar Mitzvah'' are available from TCM, Brandeis, Ergo, and Israel-Store. ''The Intolerance of 1933'' is available fro
Glenn Studio, EmGee Films, Reseda, California

Critical appraisal

''Mothers of Today'' was reviewed in 1939 by ''Film Daily''. '' Shir Hashirim'' was reviewed in 1935 by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.''The New York Times''
/ref>

References

* ''Bridge of Light (Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds)'', J. Hoberman, Museum of Modern Art, Published by Shocken Books, 1991, YIVO translations.

External links

TCM
*
Brandeis: National Center for Jewish Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Henry 1895 births 1984 deaths Yiddish theatre Yiddish-language film directors American people of Polish-Jewish descent American male screenwriters 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Congress Poland emigrants to the United States