The Eternal Jew (1934 film)

The Eternal Jew
Directed by Maurice Elvey
Produced by Julius Hagen
Written by H. Fowler Mear
Starring Conrad Veidt
Music by Hugo Riesenfeld
Cinematography Sydney Blythe
Edited by Jack Harris
Production
company
Julius Hagen Productions
Distributed by Gaumont British Distributors (1933) (UK)
Release dates
  • 1934
Running time
111 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

The Eternal Jew (Also known as The Wandering Jew) is a 1934 British fantasy drama film produced by the Gaumont-Twickenham Film Studios. It is the story of a Jew (played by Conrad Veidt) who is forced to wander the Earth for centuries because he rebuffed Jesus while he was carrying his cross.

Other cast members included a very young Peggy Ashcroft, Francis L. Sullivan, and Felix Aylmer.

Plot

The plot follows the titular character's epic journey. He is finally burnt at the stake by the Spanish Inquisition. As he burns, he is forgiven by God and finally allowed to die. The story bears a resemblance to the legend of the Flying Dutchman.

Portrayal of Jews

Unlike the antisemitic propaganda film produced by the Nazis in 1940, this film portrayed Jews in a favorable light as the victims of unjustified persecution throughout history, in the Spanish Inquisition, for example. The Nazi propaganda film, by contrast, was intended as violently anti-Semitic.[1]

References

  1. Friedlander, Saul (2008). 'The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews 1939-1945.

External Links