Sidney M. Goldin

Sidney M. Goldin ( born March 25, 1878 as Samuel Goldstein in Odessa, † September 19, 1937 in New York ) was an American author, actor and director of the Yiddish theater as well as a director, screenwriter and producer of one of the most important representatives of Yiddish film. He began his career in Europe and continued it in the USA. He often worked with the actors Molly Picon, Maurice Schwartz and Ludwig kit together.

The Early Years

Goldin, son of a merchant, came with his parents, probably in July 1880 in the United States and remained the next 39 years continuously in New York (first residence) resident.

Goldin attended a public school, worked as a newspaper vendor and was interested in the theater. From 1895, when he first appeared, according to the Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre in a play in Baltimore, he gained his first professional experience as a stage performer at East Coast Temporary and small theaters and two years at the Essanay film studios in Chicago. On 25 March or April 1900, he was naturalized.

1912 Goldin began making films in New York. His contacts with Jewish stage actors made ​​it easy for him to find the ideal candidate for his Yiddish-language productions. He directed " several successful crime films before 1913 he produced the same five films with specifically Jewish themes - and thus made ​​almost overnight for the first specializing in Jewish content film director. The films make for one of pogrom - dramas of the Yiddish theater in (The Sorrows of Israel), tell of life on the Lower East Side (The Heart of a Jewess ), ask the question of identity of the Jewish immigrants to the center ( Nihilist Vengeance ) or draw historical comparisons between the medieval Poland and the New York of the present as ports of safety from persecution. The films received mostly positive reviews. Thus, for example, the Moving Picture World was enthusiastic about the authenticity of gambling in the Lower East Side story, The Heart of the Jewess [ ... ] The Yiddish newspaper Teater un Moving Pikshurs (, theater and film ') declared Goldin in 1914 to, first and leading producers of Jewish films '. "

On June 28, 1919, he left the first time in the U.S. and embarked for England, with the intention to work as a "movie director & director ", as he half- German, half English wrote in an application form. Goldin was in London between July 6, 1919 and May 24 1920 and staged there a few films. Then he moved to Prague, where he is to prove since June 23, 1920. Apparently he came in between back to the U.S. back in October 1920 but Goldin traveled back to Europe one.

On the career highlight

Since he settled in December 1920 or the end of March 1921 in Vienna, Goldin realized in the coming years, several films in their own production ( Goldin film): a melodrama with Magda Sonja ( " your past " ), a drama with the very young Anny Ondra ( " Lead us not into temptation "), a rogue story Ondra - discoverer Karel Lamac ( " Take heed to your daughters " ), as well as two partly dramatic, partly comedic fates of the Eastern Jewish milieu (East and West and Yizkor ).

In Vienna, Goldin was solemnly received, his approach came under Viennese colleagues with great interest. The actor Franz Höbling reported in 1921 in the magazine " The film world " to be working with Goldin: "With a kindness, a loving father's patience, a rest, he plays his artists before, he who speaks a few words of German, transmits with a incredible artistic sensitivity feeling and will be on his actors and technical staff and we all, including many zusehender director were, like his students. "

Some of these films had Molly Picon from New York's Yiddish Art Theatre in the title role and usually evolved as a co-production of Goldin's production company with Austrian companies such as the Marischka film, which Listo film, the Astoria- film and the Jewish art film. The comedy East and West talked about the handling of tradition and assimilation in Jewish families. At its creation, the New York Film Society Picon film the actress was involved. During this time, Goldin also collaborated with other members of New York's Yiddish Art Theatre around Maurice Schwartz and the Picon husband Jacob Kalich - with the couple Goldin had been filmed in New York - but also with the Hungarian Jewish actor Oskar Beregi, the had already made a name for itself in Budapest as a film actor. In between ( effective December 21, 1923) Goldin stopped briefly again in New York. His diverse applications for an American passport (1919-1922) suggest that he intended to visit for professional reasons as France, the Netherlands, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Italy and Switzerland.

In November 1924 he married ( born 1904) in Vienna, the young actress of the Free Jewish Volksbühne, Betty gardener. Since the end of January 1925, he took from Vienna several flying visits to Warsaw and Germany. On October 14, 1925 Goldin returned home permanently to New York. He moved to Hollywood, where he was taken by the AB studios under contract. With his next film, On the Mountains, he led his employer almost into bankruptcy, since the film was both artistically and commercially a failure. He began working as independent producers. The films produced from 1929 already had sound.

The late years

After the film East Side Sadie (1929 ), with his wife in the leading role, Goldin moved to New York, where he became produced Yiddish talkies. This work can be regarded as important documents a now defunct ( ost) Jewish culture. His last film was The Cantor 's Son ( 1937). During a stay in Easton was Goldin's heart condition, to which he ( the latest) suffered since 1923, acute. He died during the filming in the French Hospital in New York. This work, a story from the Chanter milieu, was completed by Ilya Motyleff.

Some of his films are obtained film were from the National Center for Jewish restored at Brandeis University and released with English subtitles on DVD, including East and West, Yizkor and The Cantor 's Son

Filmography

Movies that Sidney Goldin has directed, unless otherwise indicated. In brackets if known, the Yiddish title (if this is not the original title is ), given the country of production and the running time. In most cases, Goldin has also written the screenplays for his films himself. Some films Goldin has also produced, in some it is also occurred, but this is not specifically stated here.

Short films:

Feature films: