Americaner Shadchen

Cute, occasionally quite melancholy, conclusion to the Ulmer Yiddish films. The melding of Yiddish and English and old world traditions and American practicality is interesting to watch. Incredibly optimistic look at Jewish identity created during the blackest period in the long history of Judaism.

I usually find Edgar G. Ulmer non-English language films a little hard to take. Much to do with the budget, of course, and for being so different to the Hollywood approach. Americaner Shadchen [American Matchmaker] (1940) however, was easier to appreciate. A simpler and more charming scenario of a man's struggle with finding love, doing so with subtle cute gestures. The subtitles were a bit limited compared to all the Yiddish, German and tiny bits of English that was spewed out.