Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
drama film directed by
Sidney M. Goldin
Sidney M. Goldin, born Samuel Goldstein (March 25, 1878 – September 19, 1937) was an American silent film director as well as a prominent writer, actor and producer for Yiddish theater and Yiddish cinema during the early 20th century. During his ...
and
Aubrey Scotto
Aubrey H. Scotto (August 21, 1895 – June 24, 1953) was an American film director, writer and film editor.
Born in Los Angeles and active in films from 1929, Scotto graduated from directing short subjects to Republic Pictures features in 1933.
...
. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Yiddish writer
Sholem Asch
Sholem Asch (, ; 1 November 1880 – 10 July 1957), also written Shalom Ash, was a Polish Jews, Polish-Jewish novelist, dramatist, and essayist in the Yiddish language who settled in the United States.
Life and work
Asch was born Szalom Asz in ...
. It was adapted by and stars
Maurice Schwartz
Maurice Schwartz, born Avram Moishe Schwartz (June 18, 1890 – May 10, 1960),New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
’s
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
, the film follows "Uncle" Moses Melnick (Maurice Schwartz), a former peddler turned wealthy garment factory owner. He employs many of his ''landsleit'' (fellow Jewish immigrants from Kuźmina) but exerts control over them in a paternalistic and domineering manner, aided by his nephew and fixer, Sam (Sam Gertler).
Uncle Moses becomes infatuated with teenaged Masha (Judith Abarbanel), the daughter of one of his employees, after she confronts him about her father’s mistreatment. To win her over, he lavishes Masha and her parents with expensive gifts. Though reluctant, Masha ultimately agrees to marry him.
As Moses focuses on Masha, Charlie (Zvee Scooler), a young Marxist and Masha’s admirer, organizes a strike at the factory. Sam suppresses the strike violently, and a settlement is eventually reached with the workers.
After their marriage, Masha gives birth to a son but grows increasingly unhappy. Moses grants her a divorce, allowing her and the child to return to Europe. With Sam now in control of the factory, a frail and lonely Moses spends his days reminiscing and singing with the workers, echoing the life of his own father.
Zvee Scooler
Zvee Scooler (December 1, 1899 – March 25, 1985) was a Russian-born American actor and radio commentator. He was born in Kamenets-Podolsky (now Ukraine) and his original surname was Shkolyar. He came to the United States in 1912. He performed in ...
The Forward
''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...
and was published as a book in 1918. It was adapted for stage by Schwartz for the Yiddish Art Theater's 1930-1931 season (one of ten Yiddish Art Theater's productions based on Asch stories), and the screenplay was largely unchanged from the stage production. Some plot changes were made from the original novel: in the film Uncle Moses agrees to let Masha return to Europe, whereas the novel has her leaving without notice, but likely still in the New York area. Moses is left to contemplate his solitude at his first wife's grave.
The dialog is mostly in Yiddish, though English is used throughout, reflecting the reality of the Jewish immigrant experience in New York City. Similarly the title is a transliteration into Yiddish from English (''Onkel Mozes'', אָנקעל מאָזעס), as opposed to the translation, which would be ''Feter Moishe'' (פעטער משה).
With the exception of the opening tracking shot down Orchard Street, the film was entirely photographed at Metropolitan Studios in Fort Lee, NJ. Rubin Goldberg, who portrays Uncle Moses's father, produced the film.
Reception & Legacy
Uncle Moses was released in three theaters in New York City in April of 1932 and was generally well received by contemporary audiences. In an original review, E. Fleishman, writing for
Der Tog
''Der Tog'' () was a Yiddish-language daily newspaper published in New York City from 1914 until 1971. The offices of ''Der Tog'' were located on the Lower East Side, at 185 and 187 East Broadway.
History
The newspaper's first issue was on Nov ...
described it as "the first good Yiddish talkie" (אַלס ערשטע גוטע אידישע טאָקי, ''ershte gute idishe toki''). Praising Schwartz's performance, he described it as "So fresh, alive and effective, as he was in the same role on the stage".
Subsequent evaluations of the film note its importance as the first Yiddish sound film to deal with
contemporaneous social themes. Schwartz's acting continued to be lauded, with
Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
, for the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
writing "Schwartz makes Uncle Moses a remarkably lifelike and immediate figure, a man whose vanity, pride and inner doubts are as believable now as they were when the film was made. The actor's authority is unmistakable, as is the humanity that keeps 'Uncle Moses' from descending into caricature."
The film was restored by the National Center for Jewish Film in 1998 and has subsequently been shown in several film festivals