NEWLY RESTORED 35MM PRINT WITH COMPLETE NEW SUBTITLES
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Jerusalem International Film Festival 2007
His Wife’s Lover stars the popular comedian of the Yiddish theatre Ludwig Satz in his only film performance. Directed by Sidney M. Goldin (The Cantor’s Son, East and West, and Uncle Moses) and billed as the "first Jewish musical comedy talking picture," His Wife's Lover revels in its role reversals and love triangles. Written by a female author—Sheyne Rokhl Simkoff under the pen name Shin Ra-Chell—about which little is known, the film explores, at its core, issues of gender and proscribed roles for men and women. Simkoff is particularly astute in highlighting the struggles of immigrant and working-class women.Adapted from a popular Yiddish stage hit from the 1929-1930 season also starring Satz and filmed on a small budget in nine days on the Lower East Side at the height of the Depression, this fast-paced, song-filled farce benefits from location camerawork and fine performances. The music (although credited to Satz) was the first hit for Abraham Ellstein, who went on to become the accompanist for Molly Picon and a pillar of the Yiddish Theatre.
When handsome actor Eddie Wien (Ludwig Satz), decides to marry, his uncle and theatrical backer factory owner Oscar Stein (Isidore Casher) warns that all women are frivolous and selfish, only on the lookout for a fat pocketbook. Stein bets Eddie $10,000 that he cannot find a women who isn’t; even Golde Blumberg, an innocent shopgirl in Stein’s employ and a paragon of virtue, would, he argues ultimately sell herself for money. To put Golde—and her sex—to the test, Eddie must woo her as a repulsive, old millionaire “Herman Weingarten” and get her to refuse his offer of marriage. Golde, who has a crush on Eddie, initially resists “Herman,” but nagged by her relatives and by Stein to accept the offer of a lifetime and desperate to escape her dire financial situation, she finally accepts.
Eddie is heartbroken, not only because he has lost $10,000 but because in the course of the experiment, he has fallen in love with Golde. His uncle advises him to marry Golde, even though she was willing to marry an old fool for his money, arguing that soul and love do not exist in a woman, and Eddie shouldn’t hope for better. This leads to a new bet: Eddie will marry Golde, still disguised as the old man, and for $25,000 he will prove that she will remain faithful even to a husband she does not love.
Golde and “Herman” marry in a synagogue and spend their honeymoon—in separate bedrooms—at “Herman’s” beachfront estate. For three endless weeks, he whines, and complains, and lectures Golde on how to be a good wife, after which he goes on a business trip. No sooner has he left than Eddie arrives for a visit with his old friend “Mr. Weingarten.” Finding him absent, Eddie courts Golde, taking her to the beach, in a rowboat, and on long romantic walks. All the while, Stein watches and waits for Golde to fail his test.
Golde returns Eddie’s affections but, remembering that she is a married woman, begs him to leave. “Herman” returns and demands that Golde begin sharing his bedroom, which she cannot bring herself to do. She begs Herman to leave her alone and threatens to kill herself.
Meanwhile, Eddie receives a letter, supposedly from Golde but really from his scheming uncle, claiming that she cannot live without him. Upset, Eddie goes to her and Golde admits that she misses and love him, but that her husband loves her and that she cannot desert him. As a solution to the dilemma, Golde proposes that she and Eddie die together. Eddie counters by proposing that since “Herman” is old and will die soon anyway, they should meet clandestinely in the meantime. Golde is shocked, telling Eddie that love doesn’t mean cheating and to deception, and that she would rather die than betray her husband. As Golde orders Eddie to leave, the eavesdropping Stein writes out a check for $25,000.
The triumphant Eddie dresses up one last time as Herman, goes to his sobbing wife, who has confessed that Eddie tired to steal her away, and tells her that she is too young and nice to have an old husband. Eddie unmasks and reveals his true identity. The regime of separate bedrooms is over.
"Ludwig Satz, the gifted tummler who prefigures such mainstream American clowns as Sid Caesar and Jerry Lewis gets to strut his gallery of oafs and rakes...."
Richard Corliss, Time 1992"tough and racy.... a tour de force for Satz...."
J. Hoberman, Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds
HOME USE ONLY
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Home Use Only DVD (Not for Classroom/Institutional Use)Does not include Public Performance Rights
Home Use Policy (pdf)INSTITUTIONAL USE
$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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