''Joseph in the Land of Egypt'' (Yiddish title: ''Yoysef in Mitsraim'') is a 1932 American

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

directed by George Roland and starring Joseph Green. The film is based on the biblical drama "Joseph and His Brethren". The film is considered to be the first

talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...

filmed in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

Production notes

''Joseph in the Land of Egypt'' was intended to exploit the burgeoning Yiddish-speaking theater-going in America by introducing them to the new medium of film. Rather than creating an original film, Green took an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

interest and dubbed it in Yiddish. Joseph Green, the producer, also took the starring role of Joseph for himself.

Reception

The film was well received by audiences in both the United States and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. That summer, Green took his film to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, then the largest Jewish center in Europe. Although most theater owners were reluctant to show it there, fearing that it would spark

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, he eventually found two theater owners who were willing to show the film during the week of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

. According to one story, the theater owners barred the door of their office with their bodies and declared that Green could not leave until he agreed to allow them to show the film. ''Joseph in the Land of Egypt'' was an immediate success and had a 30-week run at that theater before making its way through the rest of the country. With the film's success, Green went on to produce several more films in Poland, all of which were considered highlights of the

Yiddish cinema Yiddish cinema ( yi, יידישע קינא, יידיש-שפראכיגע קינא; trans. ''Idish-Sprakhige Kino'', ''Idishe Kino'') refers to the Yiddish language film industry which produced some 130 full-length motion pictures and 30 short durin ...

Resources

External links

* * 1932 films 1930s independent films 1930s historical drama films American historical drama films American independent films American black-and-white films Films based on the Book of Genesis Films set in ancient Egypt Yiddish-language films Yiddish-language mass media in the United States Cultural depictions of Joseph (Genesis) 1932 drama films 1930s American films {{historic-film-stub