{"id":17,"date":"2014-11-07T02:53:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T02:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wyvern.ctl.columbia.edu\/?p=17"},"modified":"2021-07-28T13:55:16","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T13:55:16","slug":"dybbuk-1938","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishstudiescolumbia.com\/myny\/arts\/dybbuk-1938\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Film Adaptation of The Dybbuk in New York (1938)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Eliana Straus<\/em><\/p>\n

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Figure 1. The Continental Theater 1938.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Dybbuk<\/em>, directed by Michal Waszynski and photographed by Albert Wywerka was filmed in 1937 in Warsaw, Poland and eventually premiered at the Continental Theater<\/a> in New York in 1938. First known as the Warner\u2019s Theater (because of the Warner brothers takeover), the Continental Theater was eventually demolished in 1952 and a hotel stands in its place today.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Waszynski\u2019s film was the first film adaptation of S. An-sky\u2019s 1914 play, The Dybbuk, Or Between Two Worlds<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Waszynski was Ukranian born and thirty-three years old when he directed the film in 1937. He was known as \u201cPolish cinema\u2019s reigning wunderkind.\u201d<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> \u201cMichal Waszynski, the director of The Dybbuk<\/em>, was a talented man who knew Yiddish but didn\u2019t know Yiddish,\u201d said Leon Liebgold who played Channon in the film. What Liebgold meant was that Waszynski did not let it be known that he knew Yiddish.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Often when converting a play to a film, there are aspects that must be compromised. Waszynski simplified the play\u2019s dialogue for cinematic purposes, but the \u201csalvage ethnography\u201d of An-sky\u2019s original play is still embodied in the film.<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Waszynski utilized An-sky\u2019s rich ethnographic research, and was able to add to this research by exploring Jewish custom and belief, in a Jewish village. \u201cThe Dybbuk <\/em>creates an evocative image of shtetl life.\u201d<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 2. A still from Waszynski’s movie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pervasive Jewish customs depicted in the film are indicative of a clinging to Jewish culture in prewar Poland. Contextually, The Dybbuk<\/em> was filmed right before World War II preceding the \u201cfinal solution\u201d. At that time, there were over 3 million Jews in Poland and the Jewish population was pervasive both economically and culturally. In some cases, the anti-Semitism and push for assimilation had the opposite affect on many Jews causing them to further connect with and increase their dedication to Yiddish language and culture.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> This strong connection is a crucial aspect to the success of the film at this time.<\/p>\n

In addition to being a story that reflects Jewish religion and Yiddish culture, The Dybbuk <\/em>is also a love story featuring Leah and Channon, played by Lili Liliana and Leon Liebgold respectively. Perhaps what renders their love so tangible in the film is that Liliana and Liebgold were married in real life. The film, as opposed to the play, \u201caccentuates actions that the audience only hears about in the play,\u201d<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> and it could do so even more so because the love between the protagonists was real. Liebgold remarks that \u201cthe picture was made on a grand scale with the best actors in Poland.\u201d<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 3. The Dybbuk<\/em>\u00a0movie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cast of the film:<\/p>\n

Rabbi of Miropol . . . . . A. Morewski<\/p>\n

The “Messenger” . . . . . R. Samberg<\/p>\n

Sender . . . . . M. Libman<\/p>\n

Leah, his daughter . . . . . Lili Liliana<\/p>\n

Frade, Leah’s aunt . . . . . Dina Halpern<\/p>\n

Nisson . . . . . G. Lamberger<\/p>\n

Channon . . . . . L. Libgold<\/p>\n

Nuta . . . . . M. Bozyk<\/p>\n

Zalman . . . . . S. Landau<\/p>\n

Nachman . . . . . S. Bronecki<\/p>\n

Menashe, his son . . . . . M. Messinger<\/p>\n

Mendel . . . . . Z. Katz<\/p>\n

Michoel . . . . . A. Kurc<\/p>\n

Meyer . . . . . D. Lederman<\/p>\n

While the film takes place in Poland it was \u201cprimarily fashioned for the American market.\u201d<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The<\/em> New York Times<\/em>, in its review of the film after it premiered at the Continental Theater, was not as thrilled with the film as one might have hoped. In the review, the critics write, \u201cThe Dybbuk<\/em>, made in Poland, is almost oppressively tedious, stricken by inadequate technical knowledge and hamstrung (excuse the sacrilege) by a frequently infantile groping after the mystic.\u201d The critics recognized that one of the disadvantages of photography regarding film is that it \u201chas to be cajoled out of reality.\u201d Yet, the review concludes, for all its weaknesses it is an \u201cinteresting record.\u201d<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

During the 1950s, the film made its rounds throughout various Jewish communities, but so much of it had deteriorated. Years later, in 1989, The Dybbuk<\/em> was restored by the National Center for Jewish Film, which was dedicated to \u201creturning the neglected fragments of this cinematic artwork to its pristine glory.\u201d It played for two weeks at the Festival Theater on West 57th<\/sup> Street.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n