“The contribution of Jewish culture to theatre and cinema has been often discussed: the countries which have benefited the most from it are certainly Germany and the United States. Today the name of one of the leading figures of Jewish culture, the great actor Rudolf Schildkraut has been forgotten, although both in Germany and the USA he was one of the best interpreters for the stage of characters such as Shylock, King Lear, Mephistopheles, Antolico in Winter Tale, and capable of infusing them with real life. Schildkraut, who had worked a long time for the theatre in Vienna and Berlin, moved later to America where in the Twenties he founded a theatre to represent, in their original language, all the major works of Yiddish culture and literature.

Quite plump, with piercing eyes, and a true gentleman’s poise on the stage, Schildkraut did not act, but he rather lived the characters’ lives he played on the stage. In the 1910’s he also worked in cinema in Germany (Damon und Mensch, Schlemil), as well as in Austria (Der Fluch) and later in the United States, where he died in 1930. His best films made in Hollywood are His People (1925), where he plays the role of a rabbi and this Country Doctor. Here, as the protagonist, with a captivating and subtle acting which is permeated with sincere Jewish charm, he is capable of solving the problems of a couple and saving the son of the bad guy, just at the closing of the film”.

(Vittorio Martinelli)