SCREENINGS
Austria Jewish Film Festival, 2007
This virtually unknown independent film is one of the very first American features to focus on the Holocaust. Director Max Nosseck (well-known German silent director of Buster Keaton in The King of the Champs-Elysees) dramatically depicts the story of a concentration camp survivor (renowned cantor Moishe Oysher) who emigrates to the United States and suffers amnesia due to the traumatic experiences he has endured. The film contains important post-war footage of the ruins of the Berlin Synagogue and of the Rivington Street Synagogue.
With some Runyonesque and Second Avenue overtones, the script centers on the clown and the cantor. As Leo, Oysher gets a job as a hotel desk clerk and runs into co-star (and executive producer) Joey Adams, portraying Joey Napoleon, comic at the hotel's night club and student of The Racing Form.
After a few drinks one night, Leo belts out a song and "fractures" the audience. Joey signs him to a contract and in no time Leo's a sensation. Joey, however, falls behind on his gambling debts and the bookmaker demands a piece of the contract. The bookmaker further insists on some skullduggery, but when it's all over, thanks to Joey, Leo has his memory back and Joey doesn't have to worry about his debts.
-New York Times
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$72.00 plus shipping
Classroom/Institutional Use Only DVDDoes not include Public Performance Rights
Institutional Use Policy (pdf)
The National Center For Jewish Film
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