Product Details

• Actors: Judel Dubinsky, Judith Abarbanel, Leo Fuchs
• Directors: Edgar G Ulmer
• Format: Black & White, Collector's Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: NCJF
• DVD Release Date: December 1, 1940
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00079RC4G
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,049 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

About the Actor

Edgar G. Ulmer (1900-1972)

One of the most versatile and resourceful filmmakers in movie history, Edgar George Ulmer, worked in a bewildering variety of genres, countries, and languages.

Ulmer was born in what is now the Czech republic and raised in imperial Vienna; originally a student of architecture, he broke into the film industry as a teenager and, serving mainly as a set designer, shuttled back and forth between Berlin and Hollywood through the early ‘30s. After directing a highly successful horror film, The Black Cat, for Universal in 1934, Ulmer relocated to New York City where for five years he directed an assortment of independent "ethnic" features—including a quartet of Yiddish-language talkies that have since become classics. (Jewish, but not Yiddish-speaking, Ulmer worked with many of the leading actors and writers of New York’s Yiddish theater.) In 1941, Ulmer returned to Hollywood. There, among many other low-budget genre films, he made the quintessential film noir, Detour in 1945; his last movies were produced in Europe.

An underground auteur, largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Ulmer has since taken his place among cinema’s legendary figures—an inspiration for the French new wave and a precursor of the American independent film movement, as well as an innovative and unique stylist in his own right.

—J. Hoberman

Product Description

AMERICAN MATCHMAKER (Amerikaner Shadkhn)
USA, 1940, 87 minutes, B&W, Yiddish with English subtitles, preserved, digitally restored and re-mastered Produced & Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer
Screenplay by: S. Castle
Music and Lyrics by: Sam Morgenstern, William Mercur
Starring: Leo Fuchs, Judith Abarbanel, Judel Dubinksy, Anna Guskin,Celia Bodkin, Abraham Lax

Leo Fuchs, known on Second Avenue as "the Yiddish Fred Astaire," plays an elegant and eligible bachelor who can never seem to close the marriage deal. Edgar G. Ulmer’s last Yiddish movie was also his most modern, an art deco romantic comedy about male ambivalence and Jewish assimilation. With its urbane, neurotic hero, American Matchmaker looks ahead to the films of Woody Allen. Also included, the hilarious short I Want to Be a Boarder – a small classic of Yiddish absurdism – showcases Fuch’s comic virtuosity.

"As in the best Yiddish theater traditions, there is a successful combination of humor and schmaltz with the sentimentality at the end well-earned by the comic insights along the way... None is more charming than American Matchmaker. The title says it all – a clash between the urbane, slick manners of the new country and the old, busybody communal ways of the shtetl." – Films, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1983

"If you can’t laugh at yourself, it’s going to be a tough life." (refers to I Want to Be a Boarder.) – Joseph Seiden, Brooklyn Daily Eagle

DVD Extras:
Ø Program Notes by J. Hoberman
Ø Ulmer Biography
Ø Interview with actor Leo Fuchs
Ø Short - I WANT TO BE A BOARDER
USA, 1937, 15 minutes, B&W, Yiddish with English subtitles
Produced & Directed by: Joseph Seiden
Starring: Leo Fuchs, Yetta Zwerling

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Feygele (Gay) Camp, August 29, 2006

By	Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This amazing film was recognized by the scholar Eve Sicular as one of the earliest gay Jewish movies. It is absolutely hilarious. A notorious "bachelor" just can't seem to get married (wink, wink). He has a great butler who takes care of his canary. The film plays with many double-entendres, such as that of "feygele" (little bird) used to mean fairy or homosexual. The bachelor also has a fabulous butch sister who is also unmarried. Hmm.... Some things just run in the family!!!! I highly recommend this wonderful film.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, and a little gay, July 13, 2005

By	honeybearsf (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

Wonderful image of a fantasy Jewish culture - park avenue playboys in penthouses drinking martinis, speaking yiddish with the occasional sophisticated english word dropped in, complete with gloomy butler.

Several things about this movie read "gay" in light of modern perception--the man engaged 7 times but never married -- just like his uncle in the old country, who had such beautiful hands -- living alone with his butler, who oddly lullabies his bird to sleep singing Shlof, mein Feigele. There are too many of these items to seem coincidental to me, but draw your own conclusions.

Regardless, a very rich, funny, and enjoyable film.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars C n y u tel w at I m s in g? (or The Story of the Faulty Subtitles), December 11, 2007

By	A. Gyurisin "good friend, damn fool" (Wet, Wild, Wonderful Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

A quarter of the adventure of reviewing a film comes from what production value going on within sed film, another quarter involves how well the director and actors work within the frame of the camera, another quarter always is dedicated to sound and special effects - and with that said, the final quarter for me, a dedicated DVD reviewer, concerns how well the DVD itself is put together. A viewer could be watching the best film created, but if the DVD has been hastily put together, i.e. missing scenes, poor film transfer, or (in the case of my most recently reviewed film) a horrible subtitle opportunity, than the film is immediately seen in a new light. A film can be easily ruined if subtitles are not used properly ... two films lately have fallen prey to this pathetic error. The exuberantly long "Allonsanfan" used subtitles that were all over the screen, most of the time not within reading level and enforced the classic "dialogue, dialogue, dialogue" in a different language - with a subtitle merely saying, "Yes.". Horrible, and ruined the film experience altogether. As if the Gods were still laughing at me after that debacle, the film "American Matchmaker" came through the pipeline and it seemed that whoever was employed by "Allonsanfan" to do the titles was also employed by "American Matchmaker". With the poor use of subtitles, "American Matchmaker" transformed from a classic in Yiddish cinema, to just cheap comedy that missed the beats because of poor craftsmanship. While the story was interesting, and at times joyful, it was because I couldn't read the message that "American Matchmaker" falls from my shelves, not one that could be watched over and over again.

With those of you who are familiar with Edgar G. Ulmer's noir classic "Detour" probably felt like myself when I heard that he did a Yiddish comedy. Moving in a different cinematic direction, Ulmer attempts to bring a new, nearly unheard, language to the screen. He uses a simple story, with odd characters that do not quite make it through the major parts of the film, coupled with songs that are a bit catchy (yet more mundane), Ulmer completely misses the mark, giving us a quick ending to a short-changed film. Our troubles begin with the story of our characters, an ultimate bachelor wants to get married, but cannot find the right girl. With troubles rising, he decides to escape his family and create a matchmaking business for himself. If he can't get married, than why can't he help others? A question that I am not sure has an answer for those outside of our television screens, but for those inside it makes perfect sense. He isn't that great with this new job, matching comedy with drama unsuccessfully, he finally finds one that will stick - but it doesn't go without a quick climax which ultimately ends the film. It was short, to the point, and anything but sweet. "American Matchmaker" suffers from a script that felt like it was rushed to finish. The beginning is sharp, the entourage of Leo Fuchs friends enjoying laughs about his life, but we hit a song and it only slightly resembles anything we were discussing earlier. Than, we seem to be rushed into a conflict which accompanies absurdity and a business choice that comes from left field. The writers were attempting to connect A to B to C, but didn't have the right parts between to keep them glued together. By the time Fuchs has his moment of revelation, I lost interest in his character. He was jumping too far, Ulmer was allowing him to do whatever he wanted, and it never quite matched the character I knew from the prior scene. It was jumbled, and when there was an obvious missing step, Ulmer inserted a song and poor subtitles to throw us off. Don't worry - I still saw your downfalls Mr. Ulmer.

With the story somewhat in shambles (it was there only missing key segways) it was up to our characters to bring whatever was left back to life - but again, with a story already built like swiss cheese these guys didn't have much to follow. There was little to no chemistry between Fuchs and those involved. Perhaps it was my lack of Yiddish anything, but there should have been further explanation as to what Fuchs' job involved. I know it was matching people, but how are they found, what is the paperwork, and most importantly, how were the dates? Was it like "Blind Date" or was it more for convenience? Since we had such a lengthy opening, with songs galore, there wasn't enough time to develop the story behind the business or what eventually happens at the end, so instead of watching things evolve, we simply see an ends to mean. We get there, the work is done, we close off our minds and let whatever happen, happen. It seemed disgraceful for such a valued film. With that said, the actors had nothing to work with. Fuchs was entertaining to watch, but he had no true definition of his character. Nobody did, which only helped this film slowly implode from the inside out.

What may make this film enjoyable to some to view may be the music. Once thought to be the Fred Astair of the Yiddish theater, Fuchs doesn't just try to emulate Astair, but in fact he nearly tries to copy him using all of his on-screen mannerisms. At first it seems genuine, he singing about events (sometimes unknown to the viewer due to the horrid subtitle issue), but then it gets to where he sings for no apparent reason than just to fill time. Again, with the faulty subtitles, I am never quite certain his purpose for the tune. While the music itself may make you tap your toe in your chair, its rhyme or reason is unknown. This isn't classified as a musical, but a comedy - yet these songs were not funny.

Overall, with all of my complaining, this was a decent film. I had quite a bit of trouble working my way through this film due to the subtitles, the intermitted songs, and the unmotivated characters, but I have to give it credit because it was my very first Yiddish film. I will always remember it. Ulmer tried with this film, and perhaps if there were more technical advances before this film was created, it may have lasted longer through the cinematic timeline, but alas, it is a forgotten film. Currently, it can only be found through the Jewish Foundation at an astonishing price. For there to be a new rebirth of this film, it should be released to a larger audience, but for me, I cannot suggest it to friends. It was a decent way to spend 80+ minutes, but I could not do it again. Faulty subtitles. Who would have thought something so small would have ruined a film (now two films) for this critic? The integrity of film quality needs to be respected.

Grade: ** out of *****