Museum of the Yiddish Theatre |
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The following review of the Yiddish talkie, "Mamele (Little Mother)," was written by Ab. Cahan for the Yiddish Forward newspaper and was published on December 30, 1938. |
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Ad from the Forverts on December 25, 1938, the opening date for the film in the United States. Here it opens at the Continental Theatre, in New York City on Broadway and 52nd Street. |
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So as Khavtshi is a girl with every virtue, she also is unusually good-hearted. As for her sister Berta, her kindness goes so far as to play a false role in sacrificing her own happiness for Berta's happiness. Her self-sacrifice here is as follows: There is a handsome young man, a violin player by name of Schlesinger; He had previously fallen in love with Berta. But as she was indifferent to him, he turned to Khavtshi when Berta saw that Khavtshi had a chance to make a similar shidukh; she is saddened that she has alienated Schlesinger from herself. She turns to Khavtshi, tells her that she made a mistake and that she wants the shidukh back. Consequently, she demands that she let Schlesinger return to her. And the saintly Khavtshi is ready to satisfy her and to give in to her wish, to offer her own happiness for her sister's. Her sister is not worth it, but so is Khavtshi! The whole family kicks her in the foot, treats her like a slave, and she carries it all out and pays for each blow with new toil for them. Not for nothing is she a heroine of an operetta! Like a heroine, she must already be a heroine and an angel with all the clichés. But just as an operetta must still have a happy match for the heroine, the story ends with the "Mamele" marrying the hero, with his name.
The wedding is attempted, and even at the
feast, Khavtshi always remains a "Mamele." In the midst of the joy,
she engages with her little brother, washes him, comes to him, and
so on and so forth. * * * A few words about the talkie. Mechanically it is actually a great success. The photographic work is outstanding, and the voices and the words of the actors ring clear and are authentic and pleasing. The volume of work is much smaller than in the American talkies. Here the scope is large, and so are the movies from England and France. The talkie that we are considering here occupies a restricted space. But this does not matter. You quickly become accustomed to the images, to the individuals, to the voices, to everything that goes on there, and you feel like you are in a real theatre. After all, the essence of such an idea lies in the technical success of everything that has to appeal to the eye and ear, and this success has been fully realized here.
Finally, a word about the actors. Molly Picon is Molly Picon. As an operetta star she shines as always, with her pleasing movements, appeal and humoristic "touch." Edmund Zayenda in the role of the musician Schlesinger has success with the audience. That he is a handsome, young man, there can be no question. With his personality, with his demeanor, with his speech, he makes a good impression on the audience. Max Bozyk, who has the role of the father, is already an actor of another sort. One can immediately see that this is a successful and accomplished character-"role-player." He has the best role from an artistic standpoint, and he performs it well. He creates a type that turns out to be a living person, really a piece of Lodz or Warsaw. Gertrude Bulman as Berta is also very good. You know her from the American stage as an actress with temperament. She demonstrates this temperament in the play, "Mamele," in a restrained manner, which is one of the better art moments of the performance. Berta's zest for life is neither overwhelming nor overbearing. It is compelling and good in the play and incorporates a feature of an unbridled romanticism. An actress by the name of Ola Shlifko must also be mentioned, in the role of Khavtshi's oldest sister. She is well made-up and has a good demeanor, according to the role. The other participants are: Simche Fostel, Menashe Oppenheim, Max Perlman, Ruth Turkow, Lew Szryftzecer and Karol Latowicz.
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