''Jew Süss'' is a 1934 British historical

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

film based on

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

's 1925 novel ''Jud Süß'', about

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer Joseph Süß Oppenheimer ( – February 4, 1738) was a German banker who was court Jew for Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, managing several of his enterprises. Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some ...

. Directed by

Lothar Mendes Lothar Mendes (19 May 1894 – 24 February 1974) was a German-born screenwriter and film director. His two best known films are ''Jew Süss (1934 film), Jew Süss'' (1934) and ''The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' (1936), both productions for Briti ...

, the film stars German actor

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man ...

in the role of Oppenheimer. The screenplay was written by Dorothy Farnum and Arthur Rawlinson. Unlike the Nazis' antisemitic propaganda film ''Jud Süß'' (1940), the British film was intended to be sympathetic to Jews, and is generally considered to be a faithful adaptation of Feuchtwanger's novel. It was hoped the historical analogy, condemning

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

in 1730, would be a successful means of evading the ban by the British censors on political topics in films. The latter film with the same title, produced in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, is considered by some to be an antisemitic response to Mendes'

philosemitic Philosemitism, also called Judeophilia, is "defense, love, or admiration of Jews and Judaism". Such attitudes can be found in Western cultures across the centuries. The term originated in the nineteenth century by self-described German antisemit ...

film.

Plot

Cast

as Josef Süss Oppenheimer *

Benita Hume Benita Hume (14 October 1907 – 1 November 1967) was an English theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films from 1925 to 1955. Life and career She was married to film actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958; t ...

as Marie Auguste *

Frank Vosper Frank Permain Vosper (15 December 1899 – 6 March 1937) was an English actor who appeared in both stage and film roles and a dramatist, playwright and screenwriter. Stage Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urban ...

as Karl Alexander *

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned over 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and hi ...

as Rabbi Gabriel *

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and Actor-manager, manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies ...

as Weissensee *

Paul Graetz Paul Graetz or Paul Grätz (4 August 1889 – 16 February 1937) was a German actor and comedian star of the Weimar cabaret. Exile and Death In 1933, he was exiled from Germany by the Nazi regeime. "Half Berlin had laughed at his jokes," wrote ...

as Landauer *

Joan Maude Joan Maude (16 January 1908 – 28 September 1998) was an English actress, active from the 1920s to the 1950s. She is probably best known for playing the Chief Recorder in the 1946 Powell and Pressburger film ''A Matter of Life and Death (film), ...

as Magdalen Sibylle *

Pamela Mason Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason. Early life and personal life Born ...

as Naomi * Haidée Wright as Michelle Süss *

Eva Moore Eva Moore (9 February 1868 – 27 April 1955) was an English actress. Her career on stage and in film spanned six decades, and she was active in the women's suffrage movement. In her 1923 book of reminiscences, ''Exits and Entrances'', she des ...

as Jantje * Campbell Gulan as the Prince of Thurn and Taxis *

Sam Livesey Samuel Livesey (14 October 1873 – 7 November 1936) was a Welsh stage and film actor. Life Livesey's father, Thomas, had been a railway engineer before leaving the industry to establish a travelling theatre with his wife Mary. The two had six ...

as Harprecht * Joseph Markovitch as Seligman * Selma Vaz Dias as Frau Seligman * Lucius Blake as Ottman * Marcelle Rogez as Graziella *

Randle Ayrton Frederick Randle Ayrton (9 August 1869 – 28 May 1940) was a British actor of stage and screen, and was also a producer and director. Early life Ayrton was born in Chester to William Frances Ayrton, a wealthy wine-merchant who was a par ...

as Schoolmaster * P. Kynaston Reeves as Judge *

Percy Parsons Edward Percy Parsons (1878–1944) was an American actor and singer who worked largely in the British film industry. Selected filmography * ''Suspense'' (1930) * ''Beyond the Cities'' (1930) * ''Creeping Shadows'' (1931) * '' Strictly Business'' ...

as Pflug *

James Raglan James Raglan (6 January 1901 – 15 November 1961) was a British stage, film and television actor. In Australia Early in 1935 he was brought out to Australia with the Gabriel Toyne company by J. C. Williamson, playing ''Laburnum Grove'' and ...

as Lord Suffolk *

Dennis Hoey Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best remembered for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Early life Hoey was born Samuel ...

as Dieterle *

Hay Plumb Edward Hay-Plumb (1883 in Norwich, Norfolk – 1960 in Uxbridge, Middlesex) was an English actor and film director. He served as a lieutenant in the West Yorkshire Regiment during World War I. Selected filmography Director * ''Hamlet'' (1913) * ...

as Pfaeffle * Francis L. Sullivan as Remchingen

Release

The film premiered simultaneously at the Tivoli Cinema on the Strand in London and

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

in New York on 4 October 1934, with Prince George and Queen Maria of Romania being the guests of honour at the UK premiere. A blurry

telephoto A telephoto lens, also known as telelens, is a specific type of a long-focus lens used in photography and cinematography, in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens ...

picture of Prince George attending the London premiere was shown for the audience in New York, which – due to the

time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...

difference – saw the film some five hours later. According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' correspondent, "the reproduction was indistinct, but the picture was notable as the first attempt to use a radio photograph (see

wirephoto Wirephoto, telephotography or radiophoto is the sending of photographs by telegraph, telephone or radio. History Technologically and commercially, the wirephoto was the successor to Ernest A. Hummel's ''Telediagraph'' of 1895, which had tran ...

) on the screen". The film was retitled ''Power'' for the US release.

References

External links

''Jew Süss''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Complete film
at the BFI's YouTube channel *
Two Films About Jud Süss
essay by Edgar Feuchtwanger, nephew of Lion Feuchtwanger 1934 films 1934 romantic drama films Films set in the 18th century British black-and-white films British biographical films Films based on German novels Films directed by Lothar Mendes Films set in the 1730s Films set in Germany Films shot in London British romantic drama films Films scored by Jack Beaver Films scored by Bretton Byrd Films scored by Charles Williams (composer) Films about Jews and Judaism 1930s English-language films 1930s British films English-language romantic drama films {{1930s-UK-film-stub