''Mamele'' ( yi, מאמאלע pl, Mateczka) is a
Yiddish Language
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 ver ...
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
musical film made in
1938.
Synopsis
Set in
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...
, the film revolves around Khavtshi Samet (
Picon), a
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
figure, who has taken on maternal responsibility for her family after the death of her mother — hence the title, ''Mamele'', or 'little mother.' Khavtshi is required to shop, cook and clean up after her unappreciative family. Furthermore, she must keep her siblings out of trouble: her younger brother gets mixed up with crooks and her sister Berta (Bullman) has eyes for the gangster Maks Katz (
Menashe Oppenheim). Eventually Khavtshi's morale breaks, and she moves in with the handsome musician Schlesinger (Zayenda) across the courtyard. In this period of distress Khavtshi imagines the life of her grandmother in a dream-like song and dance sequence. The Samet family begs for Khavtshi to return, which she does with Schlesinger. The film closes with Khavtshi busy preparing the feast during her wedding.
Cast
*
Molly Picon
Molly Picon ( yi, מאָלי פּיקאָן; born Malka Opiekun; February 28, 1898 – April 5, 1992) was an American actress of stage, screen, radio and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller.
She began her career in Yidd ...
as Khavtshi Samet
*Edmund Zayenda as Schlesinger
*
Max Bozyk
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) (1 ...
as Berl Samet
*
Gertrude Bullman as Berta Samet
*
Simche Fostel as Nadirman
*
Ola Shlifko
Ola may refer to:
Places Panama
*Olá, a subdistrict in Coclé Province
* Olá District
Russia
* Ola, Russia, an urban settlement in Magadan Oblast
* Ola District, an administrative division in Magadan Oblast
* Ola (river), a river in Magadan ...
as Jentka Samet
*
Menashe Oppenheim as Maks Katz
*
Karol Latowicz as Zeisher
*
Max Perelman
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
as Dawid Samet
*
Ruth Turkow as Bailchi
*
Lew Szrftzecer as Konchicker
Production
Mamele marks the second collaboration between Green and Picon after their success with
Yiddle with His Fiddle. Green, by then an American citizen, was in Europe preparing for filming of ''A Letter to Mother,'' when Picon's husband (and manager) proposed that the two should make another film.
Picon suggested to adapt the play of ''Mamele'' which she had performed years before onstage and although Green was reluctant to make a film based on a play, he eventually agreed.
Green convinced the cast and crew of ''A Letter to Mother'' to hold off production for some time and ''Mamele'' was filmed in six weeks in the fall of 1938, mostly 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 official ...
with some exteriors shot in
Ciechocinek
Ciechocinek (Polish pronunciation: ; German (1941-1945): ''Hermannsbad'') is a spa town in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland, located on the Vistula River about east of Aleksandrów Kujawski and south-east of the city of Toru ...
.
Green took great care to show many aspects of typical
shtetl
A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...
life, depicting holidays, nightclubs, unemployment and gangsterism.
References
External links
Mamele at the National Center for Jewish Film*{{IMDb title, id=0030407, title=Mamele
1938 musical comedy films
1938 films
Polish black-and-white films
Films about Jews and Judaism
Yiddish-language films
Yiddish-language mass media in Poland
Polish musical comedy films