Restored by NCJF
Is Two Sisters "domestic tragedy or new comedy"? We like to think of it as a "Jewish General Hospital." Any way that you look at it, make sure there's a hanky nearby: The dying mother of two small daughters instructs Betty, the elder sister, to be both sister and mother to her younger sister Sally.From then on Betty works tirelessly supporting her sister through nursing school, her fiancee through medical school and her father in a TB sanatariumonly to have her happiness shattered when her sister and fiancee fall in love. Jennie Goldstein puts in a command performance as the "pathological arch-martyr" Betty, including a rampage through her fiancee's office declaring everything, including him, belongs to her!
This family drama of personal sacrifice and devotion without end amidst the struggle to succeed in America provides a perfect vehicle for Jennie Goldstein. The screenplay, which combines slapstick humor and deep pathos, is typical of the once-vibrant Second Avenue Yiddish theater and preserves Jennie Goldstein's only film appearance.
"Jennie Goldstein has selected an ambitious vehicle for her film debut: Two Sisters, well-directed by Ben K. Blake is an excellent crowd-pleaser."
-Variety"Compared to The Singing Blacksmith, The Dybuck (sic) and Tkies Kaf, Two Sisters is by far the best-produced picture. Jennie Goldstein re-enacts the fine dramatic moments with abundant talent."
-New York Jewish Journal"The dual reading that Tsvey Shvester demands mirrors the mindset of its original audience. Eager to assimilate into American society (or more exactly, for their children to be assimilated), yet conscious of their own connection to a dying traditionalism, the Yiddish audience for the movie were part of [Irving] Howe's `transitional generation,' stoically postponing gratification for the sake of their offspring. By presenting the psychic stresses of assimilation as an optimistic tragedy (or a grotesque comedy), Tsvey Shvester acknowledged the situation of this transitional generation with a directness that precludes escapism."
-J. Hoberman, Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds
The National Center For Jewish Film
Brandeis University, Lown 102, MS053, Waltham MA 02454
P: (781) 899 7044, F: (781) 736 2070
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