George Roland

The Dybbuk

In a Polish shtetl, two young men who have grown up together betrothe their unborn children, ignoring the advice of a mysterious traveler not to pledge the lives of future generations. Soon after, one of them dies, and the wife of the other dies in childbirth. The children grow up in different towns, without ever knowing of the betrothal, but the power of the vow leads them to meet each other when they are marriageable. The young woman, Leah, is promised to another man, but Channon, the son of the father who died, is a practitioner of mysticism, and seeks to win his bride through sorcery.

I Want to be a Boarder

A lively short about a husband and wife who seek to reignite their marriage by pretending to be landlady and tenant.

Love and Sacrifice

The tale of a middle-class matron who shoots the man who compromises her, Love and Sacrifice is a prime example of "shund," the melodramatic, theatrical, escapist entertainment of the Yiddish theater.

The Wandering Jew

The Wandering Jew tells the story of Arthur Levi (Jacob Ben-Ami), a German-Jewish artist who experiences the new German antisemitism when his masterpiece, a portrait of his Polish-born father entitled "The Eternal Wanderer" is rejected by the Berlin Academy of Art, which also asks his resignation as professor. Later in the film the figure in the painting comes to life and tells Levi the story of the persecution of the Jewish people. The film ends with footage of an anti-Hitler rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden and Levi's resolve to bear onward in the face of adversity.

The Sacred Flame

Young high school teacher Rosalie Allen rejects the love of Dr. Paul Duncan to "save" Lionel Brooks, a man down on his luck.