Britain's Jewish Film Pioneer*

JewishHistorical Studies , volume 44, 2012 George Berthold Samuelson (1889-1947): Britain's Jewish film pioneer* GABRIEL A. SIVAN Jews played a decisive role in the American filmindustry's growth and development,1yet their pioneering contribution to the industryin Britain tends to be overlooked.When motion pictureswere still in theirinfancy (1900-1910), they were generally considered to be "a low-gradeform of enter- tainment- suitableonly for the immigrant or theuneducated masses - rather thana validart form, and thoseconnected with films were held in contempt".2 Not havingto contendwith powerful vested interests, enterprising Jews in Britainand theUnited States opened littlepicture houses for the less affluent, enablingthem to enjoythe latest silent films. "Jews moved into motion picture productionand exhibitionfor the same reasonsthey had gravitatedto fields likesmall merchandising and the garmenttrades: little skill and littlecapital wererequired to participate.And since it was a new industry,all entrepre- neurswere on an equal footing".3Before long, those operating these cheap movietheatres (known as cinemasin Britainand as bioscopesin SouthAfrica) turnedto filmdistribution. Some became producersand directors;others, particularlyin Hollywood,went on to head largefilm companies with their own studios,hundreds of employees and a multi-milliondollar turnover. "For a long period", accordingto the EncyclopaediaJudaica, "American competitionmade it impossible for the British motion picture to gain a footholdin the world market"and it was a HungarianJew, Sir Alexander Korda (1893-1956), who "finallypulled the Britishindustry out of the dol- drums" afterhe establishedthe London Films Company in 1930.4 While doingjustice to Korda, thisassertion underrates the previousachievements ofSir Michael Balcon (1896-1977; in partnershipwith Victor Saville, Balcon 5 had spent£30,000 filminghis firstpicture, Woman to Woman, in 1923). It * Thisis a slightlyrevised version ofa lecturedelivered tothe Israel branch of the Society on 28 Feb.201 1. 1 SeePatricia Erens, The Jew in American Cinema (Bloomington, IN: 1984) and Neal Gabler, EmpireofTheir Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood (New York, 1988). 2 EncyclopaediaJudaica (Jerusalem, 1972; hereafter EJ' s.v."Motion Pictures", 12:446. 3 Erens,Jew in American Cinema , 53. 4 £112:451-52. 5 Oneof many facts omitted from the skimpy article inthe E J (4: 129-30). 201 Jewish Historical Society of England is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Jewish Historical Studies ® www.jstor.org GabrielA. Sivan completelyignores the still earlier pioneering role of George Berthold Samuelson (1889-1947), who had made no less thanseventy films by 1921. These includedmajor productions of the silent era, films that had successful runsin theUnited Statesand othersof a latervintage (1927-33) thatshowed bothJews and Judaismin a positivelight. When I began researchingG. B. Samuelson's filmwork, in 1994, there were scarcelyany referencesto him in books dealing withmotion picture history (a brief entry in HallirpeWsFilmgoer's Companionstates that Samuelsonwas "a Britishproducer and distributorof silent films" but gives incorrectdates forhis birthand death.6One exceptionwas the US writer David Shipman,who dismissedthe earlier British entrepreneurs as "mainly dilettantesand theatreshowmen" but hastened to add that"there were sound businessmenbehind the successfulcompanies, which were Stoll, Ideal, G. B. Samuelson,Gaumont, the team of Thomas Welsh and George Pearson- 7 the latteran alumnusof both Samuelson and Gaumont- and Hep worth". Shipmanobserved that Herbert Wilcox possesseda "ruthlessnessand drive [that]would not have disgracedan Americanproducer" and that,after the British industry'spost-First World War decline, Michael Balcon "also foughtback by raising quality and looking realisticallyto the American market".8Samuelson tried to do thesame but possessedneither the former's "ruthlessness"nor thelatter's considerable financial resources. In thecourse of my preliminary research I managedto obtainphotocopies ofvarious items relating to theSamuelson family which Linda Greenlick,the chieflibrarian of tht JewishChronicle , was kind enough to dispatch from London. I also had the opportunityof meetingDavid Samuelson,the film- maker'seldest son, who showedme the draftof a book he was writingabout his fatherand who allowedme to tape our conversationat his London home. That book appearedas a massive(11 10-page)illustrated volume,9 for private distributiononly, and the copy I was fortunateenough to receive in November2010 has enabledme to siftthrough the vast amount of authorita- tiveinformation which it contains. This paperis a muchenlarged and updatedversion of an articlepublished more than fifteenyears ago in South Africa.10Since then,much more has been writtenabout the Jewish film pioneer, both in printand on theinternet. Rachael Low refersto himin herseven- volume work on Britishfilm history 6 HalliwelVsFilmgoer's Companion , 9thedition (London, 1988), 61 1. 7 DavidShipman, The Story of Cinema (New York. 1982), 187. 8 Ibid.,188-89. HaroldDunham and David W. Samuelson, Bertie : The Life and Times ofG. B. Samuelson(3rd impression,2010; hereafter Bertie). 10"G. B. Samuelson",inJewish Affairs , 50, 2 (Johannesburg,Winter 1995): 21-27. To make amendsfor the EJTs disregard of'Bertie' Samuelson, I prepared anentry for the E J Decennial Bookiç8j-ç2 ; unfortunately,itcould not be processed intime. 202 GeorgeBerthold Samuelson (1889-1947): Britain's Jewish film pioneer and a biographicalentry has at last appeared in theDNB.n Thanks to these publications,G. B. Samuelson is no longeran unjustlyforgotten man. Family background Towards the end of the eighteenthcentury, a Jewishfurrier named Jacob Metzenberglived in the Prussian town of Lissa (now Leszno in Poland), whereleading rabbisand graduatesof the local yeshivah(such as R. Akiva Eger) made thecommunity renowned.12 Samuel Metzenberg(c. 1798-1875), one ofJacob's fivechildren, had foursons and fourdaughters. Two of the sons, Elias (1826-1901) and Henschel (1829-1889), lefthome in 1841 and foundtheir way to Dublin, wherean uncle of theirs,Levy Metzenberg,had settledthe yearbefore. Levy, a hot-tempered,quarrelsome individual, was expelledfrom the Dublin Hebrew Congregationin September1845 (appar- ently,he was constantlyat loggerheads with the synagogue's honorary officersbecause of his unpaid debtsand misbehaviour13),which is probably thereason why his nephewschanged their surname from Metzenberg to the 14 patronymicSamuelson in 1846. Elias began tradingas an outfitter,married Sarah Solomon in July1845 and had thirteenchildren, three of whomdied in infancy.His merchantand militarytailoring establishment flourished, enjoying the patronageof the Duke ofConnaught and othermembers of the nobility. Elias servedtwice as thepresident of the Dublin Hebrew Congregation(in 1859 and 1865). After movingto London earlyin 1874, he transferredhis business to the Savile Row districtand had many celebratedclients but only Chavah (Clarissa; 1846-1911 ), Elias and Sarah's eldestchild, had Jewishdescendants.15 Henschel is thoughtto have been a jewellerin Dublin but evidentlyfound thistrade unrewarding since he boarded a ship forLiverpool in or around 1873 and thenmoved to Southport,a pleasantseaside townto the northof Liverpool. There he opened a cigar and tobacco storeat 41 Nevili Street, close to the promenade. His business prospered and, as a man of 46, he marriedBertha Weile (1855-1913) at the Maida Vale home of his brother Elias, the ceremony(on 21 December 1875) being conductedby the Chief Rabbi, Nathan Marcus Adler. Bertha's father,Solomon Weile, had died 11See the new edition of Rachael Low's History ofBritish Film (1997) and Luke McKernan, "Samuelson,George Berthold [Bertie] (1889-1947), film producer and director", Oxford DictionaryofNational Biography {ODNB; online edition, 2004). 12For more details see EJf 11: 52-53. 13Louis Hyman, The Jews of Ireland from Earliest Times tothe Year igio (London and Jerusalem, 1972),i4off. 14Bertie , 2-3. Some of the family information provided below is quoted from this book. 15A fact ascertained from the Samuelson family tree. 203 GabrielA. Sivan youngand hermother, Rahle, had contracteda secondmarriage in Germany witha widower,the Reverend Isaac Bischofswerder,prior to theirarrival in England. Isaac alreadyhad sevenchildren of his own and servedas themin- isterof the smallJewish community in Penzance, Cornwall,where his large familyhelped to keep a minyan goingfor about fourdecades. (This community'smost famous member, in theearly nineteenth century, was thedistiller Lemon Hart, 1768-1845, who later became a warden of London's Great Synagogue.)16 Bertha was probablyglad to leave home and move to Southport,even thoughHenschel was physicallyhandicapped and morethan twice her age. Their happinesswas marredby the deathof a firstbornson in 1877 but they wenton to have fourother children: Julian Ulric (1878-1934), who became England's "King of Pantomime"; Maurice Laurence (Lauri; 1880-1951), who also made his careeron the stage; Rahleen May (1886-1950), a busi- nesswoman;and GeorgeBerthold (Bertie; 1889-1947), with whom this paper is chieflyconcerned. (Having anglicizedBertha's maiden name, Julian later appeared on the stage as JulianWylie and Maurice followedhis example. Many ofBertha's descendants have also added Wylieto theirsurname.) There was no organizedJewish community in Southportuntil around 1890. (When its firstsynagogue

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