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''Border Street'' (Polish:''Ulica Graniczna'') is a 1948 Polish
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Aleksander Ford Aleksander Ford (born Mosze Lifszyc; 24 November 1908 in Kiev, Russian Empire – 4 April 1980 in Naples, Florida, U.S.) was a Polish film director; and head of the Polish People's Army Film Crew in the Soviet Union during World War II. Followi ...
and starring Mieczysława Ćwiklińska, Jerzy Leszczyński,
Jerzy Złotnicki Jerzy is the Polish version of the masculine given name George. The most common nickname for Jerzy is Jurek (), which may also be used as an official first name. Occasionally the nickname Jerzyk may be used, which means "swift" in Polish. People ...
and Władysław Godik. The film depicts the Nazis' purge of Warsaw Jews by following the fates of five families, representative of the various social, political, and ethnic strata in Warsaw, through the war, and culminates in the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany' ...
. Ford did not provide viewers a happy ending because he wanted "the viewer who watches it to realize that the issue of fascism and racial oppression is not over." It won the Gran Prix at the 1948 Venice Film Festival. The film's sets were designed by the art director Stepán Kopecký.


Plot

In Poland in the summer of 1939 there was the deepest peace. The place of action is initially an ordinary Warsaw apartment building. The tenants are of different nature and social background. There is, for example, the enterprising Bronek, then young Władek, son of a Polish officer with great reservations and prejudices against Jews, then Fredek, the devious son of the pub owner Kusmirek, the small Jewish boy David Libermann with grandfather, and young Hedwig, whose Father the wealthy doctor Dr. Bialek is. There are the normal quarrels, little pranks and the usual house gossip. The peace comes to an abrupt end when the German Wehrmacht invades the Polish capital. Suddenly everything changes overnight, the Polish residents are harassed, their Jewish fellow citizens are persecuted and arrested. Some of them want to somehow come to terms with the new rulers and circumstances, others clench their fists in their pockets and others have to go into hiding as soon as they are wanted. The old Jew Libermann, himself highly endangered, hides the Jew-hater and officer Kazimierz Wojtan, Wladek's father, who has hitherto been bold and haughty. When this is discovered, the soldier is shot. The Libermanns are forced to leave their home and move to the Warsaw ghetto, which was specially set up for the Jewish population. Bronek tries to help them there as best he can. Kusmirek tries to make friends with the "new gentlemen" and curry favor with them at every opportunity. He even puts his own son in the garb of a Hitler Youth. When the characterless bartender at Dr. Białek discovered Jewish roots, he immediately denounced him to the Gestapo. He promises to be able to take over his apartment. In fact, the doctor is picked up and deported to the ghetto, where he eventually perishes. Finally, in 1943, there was an uprising against the German occupiers. David and Hedwig take the opportunity to flee from the Germans through the sewers. Bronek and Władek help them in a crucial way. But David wants to go back to the ghetto, to fight the Nazis side by side with his brothers, gun in hand. For this fight, Władek presented him with the gun of his anti-Semitic father, who had been shot.


Cast

* Mieczysława Ćwiklińska as Mrs. Klara * Jerzy Leszczyński as Dr. Józef Bialek * Władysław Godik as Grandfather Libermann * Władysław Walter as Cieplikowski * Jerzy Pichelski as Kazimierz Wojtan *
Tadeusz Fijewski Tadeusz Fijewski (14 July 1911 – 12 November 1978) was a Polish stage and film actor.Tadeusz Fijewski
at ...
as Bronek Cieplikowski / Kusmirak's hair stylist * Józef Munclinger as Kusmirak * Robert Vrchota as Hans, Gestapo Officer *
Stefan Sródka Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...
as Natan Sziuliu * Eugeniusz Kruk as Fredek Kusmirak * Jerzy Zlotnicki as David Libermann * Dionizy Ilczenko as Wladek Wojtan * Maria Broniewska as Jadzia Bialkówna * Justyna Kreczmar as Wanda Kusmirakówna * Maria Zabczynska as Wojtanowa * Irena Renardówna as Jewish Woman * Janina Lukowska as Estera Libermann * Halina Raciecka as Jewish Woman *
Gustav Nezval Gustav Nezval (18 November 1907 – 17 September 1998) by civil name Augustin Nezval, was a Czech stage and film actor. Biography Nezval was born to a locksmith family of Frantisek Nezval and his wife Aloisia. The parents wanted him to bec ...
*
Antonín Holzinger Antonin, Antonín, and Antoñín are masculine given names. Antonín, a Czech name in use in the Czech Republic, and Antonin, a French name in use in France, and French-speaking countries, are both considered alternate forms of Antonino. Antoñí ...
* Karel Hradilák * Jaroslav Orlický * P. Marek * N. Zarina * Bronisław Darski as Janitor Walenty * Edward Dziewoński as Feldfebel * S. Borowski * Karol Koszela * Stanissław Bielinski as Geandarm * Ida Kamińska as Helena * Maria Kedzierska as Woman * Wincenty Loskot as Man * Wojciech Pilarski as Fire guard * Helena Puchniewska as Piszczykowa


References


Bibliography

* Ewa Mazierska & Michael Goddard. ''Polish Cinema in a Transnational Context''. Boydell & Brewer, 2014.


External links

* 1948 films 1948 drama films 1940s Polish-language films Polish drama films Films directed by Aleksander Ford Polish black-and-white films Films about Polish resistance during World War II Films about Jewish resistance during the Holocaust {{Poland-film-stub