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Mr. Emmanuel

Content warning:

Contains depictions of antisemitism, scenes of torture

Trigger warning:

Attempted suicide

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Mr. Emmanuel

2 Oct 1944
Sound
97m

An elderly Jewish man journeys to Nazi Germany to track down a refugee’s mother in this extraordinary drama

One of the earliest fiction films to depict the oppression and persecution in Nazi Germany, Mr. Emmanuel follows an elderly Jewish man (Felix Aylmer) who leaves England to embark on an ill-advised mission to Nazi Germany to search for the mother of a German child refugee. He immediately arouses the suspicions of the Gestapo and finds himself in terrifying danger. The film was based on the novel Magnolia Street by Jewish author Louis Golding.

Released in 1944, before the extent of Nazi atrocities became widely known abroad, Mr. Emmanuel is a fascinating WWII drama with unusually dark themes. Scenes referencing a child’s attempted suicide and the cruel treatment meted out to the benevolent title character still disturb, while the inclusion of a sympathetic Jewish singer (Greta Gynt), who is having an affair with a Nazi officer, adds further complexity. The grimly ironic ending, too, is startling.

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From the collection

Jewish Britain

Jewish life on screen: a century of insights and hidden histories

This collection uncovers insights, injustices and hidden histories across a century of Jewish life on British screens. It brings together documentary and first-person accounts of Jewish life in the UK, alongside historical dramas and artists’ work exploring the 20th century Jewish experience. The earliest surviving depictions of Jewish characters in British cinema offer a troubling insight into antisemitic representation, yet prejudice was later tackled head-on, with newsreels documenting the anti-fascist movement of the 1930s.

Drop in on joyous family weddings and community gatherings, and see the ways in which UK Jewry supported Jews young and old, and those fleeing persecution, in a selection of fascinating films from the 1900s to the 1980s.

This collection is generously supported by the Neil Kreitman Foundation, Shoresh Charitable Trust, John S Cohen Foundation, and Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation.