USA, 1933, 60 minutes, B&W, newly restored 35mm print
Yiddish narration with English subtitles
Director: George Roland
Narrator: Joseph Buloff
1924 Credits: Director: Zygmund Turkow
Cast: Ester-Rokhl Kaminska, Ida Kaminska, Zygmund Turkow
A precursor to the
1937 classic, The Dybbuk, A Vilna Legend features a tale of frustrated
love and destiny with the breaking/fulfillment of vows. A yeshiva student
and an orphan girl who are deeply in love face eternal separation even
though their parents promised them to each other before birth. In 1933,
a group of New York Yiddish actors decided to give the original 1924
gem a new lease on life by adding a narration and several new scenes,
which gave dramatic justification to the narrative form.
Program
preceded by a live performance of traditional Yiddish folk melodies
by A Besere Velt, the Yiddish Community Chorus of The Workmen’s
Circle.
Discussant: Sharon Pucker Rivo, National Center for Jewish Film
Sponsor: The Workmen's Circle and The Rita J and Stanley H. Kaplan Family
Foundation