Professor Mamlock (1938 film)
| Professor Mamlock | |
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An advertisement for Professor Mamlock, published in the New York Times on the day of its American premiere.
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| Directed by |
Herbert Rappaport Adolf Minkin |
| Produced by | V. Zotov |
| Written by |
Friedrich Wolf (original play) Adolf Minkin |
| Starring | Semion Mezhinsky |
| Music by | Yuri Kochurov Nikolai Timofeyev |
| Cinematography | Georgi Filatov |
| Edited by | A. Ruzanovo |
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| Distributed by | Amkino (United States) |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Professor Mamlock (Russian: Профессор Мамлок) is a 1938 Soviet drama film, directed by Herbert Rappaport and Adolf Minkin. It is one of the earliest film directly dealing with the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany.
Professor Mamlock, a successful and respected Jewish surgeon, does his best to ignore the political crisis of the Weimar Republic. He is greatly troubled by the political tendencies of his son, Rolf, a passionate communist who is determined to resist the strengthening Nazi Party by all means. When the Nazis seize power and brutally crush all opposition, Mamlock is forced to leave his clinic for Jews are no longer allowed to practice medicine. He is dragged through the streets by SA men who emblazon his doctor's robe with the word "Jew". Mamlock, broken and humiliated, attempts suicide; at the last moment, an SA man arrives and convinces him to operate once more, to save the life of a high-ranking Nazi, promising that his rights will be restored. But Mamlock's hopes are frustrated when a Nazi activist in the clinic convinces the other doctors to blame him for various misdemeanors he did not commit. In the meantime, his son Rolf and another communist are arrested and brutally tortured. They escape and are hunted down by the police. When they hide in a store, the SA besiege them. A large crowd gathers in support of the communists, and the Nazis intend to shoot at them. Professor Mamlock, who hears the commotion from his house, carries a speech calling on the people to resist, having finally realized that his political apathy was a mistake. The SA kill him. Rolf, who has escaped, becomes leader of a new resistance movement.
German author Friedrich Wolf composed a theater play by the same name while in French exile, during 1933. It was first performed in Warsaw's Yiddish Theater. Director Rappaport saw it in a Moscow theater and decided to adapt it to screen, albeit with considerable differences form Wolf's play: among others, portraying the protagonist being executed rather than committing suicide.Georges Sadoul recalled the playwright told him that during World War II, he visited a Red Army unit at the front; many of those present watched the film. He was asked to recount the plot of Professor Mamlock, which he did based on the play — "the soldiers judged his summary so inaccurate that he might have been shot" had an officer not recognized him.
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