Welcome

"As the Depression hit America in 1929, the motion picture industry was experiencing growth and great profit in contact to the economic disaster besetting the rest of the country. In 1930, theatre audience was better than the year before. However, motion pictures were failing to respond to the ethnic urban populations who thronged in great numbers to witness the miracle of sound on film. New Americans found themselves watching films unaware of what was happening on the screen; English was still a foreign language. Now that motion pictures were so dependent on audible language, rather than subtitles, to convey their message, the new Americans were frustrated. Unable to comprehend, they stopped going to the cinema.

Jewish immigrant filmgoers faced the same problem as their fellow immigrants. A number of Jewish filmmakers sensitive to this need sought a remedy by producing sound pictures in Yiddish, or at least creating talking pictures with Yiddish narration ..."

-- excerpt, by Eric A. Goldman, "Visions, Images and Dreams: Yiddish Film -- Past & Present, 2011.

The Yiddish film, over many decades, has given pleasure to many, many lovers of cinema, especially those who were knowledgeable or at the very least, interested in the Yiddish language and Jewish history and culture. Many of our family members, back in the day, used to frequent the Yiddish theatre house. From the silent films to the talking pictures, from the Yiddish films made in Europe to those produced in the United States, these extant films reveal to use, even today, what talented Yiddish actors and actresses there were who took part in these productions, as well as the shining beauty of Jewish culture, especially the many stories that dealt with the Jewish family unit. Many of the films that were made first appeared as a live production on the Yiddish stage and were written by prominent Jewish authors, then turned into a Yiddish film.

In this multimedia, online exhibition, you can see information on more than fifty, both silent and talking, Yiddish films, or "talkies," full-length or "shorts." Most often includes the names of the cast members of the film and the part they played; also there photographs, stills from the film itself. Also, when available, descriptions are included about a particular film, whether it be from the National Center for Jewish Film, from the Turner Movie Channel website, or occasionally from another source.

Simply click on any of the links below and let your journey begin!

-- Founder and Director, Steven Lasky