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The Polish Jew (film)

1931 film by Jean Kemm

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ3223817 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Polish Jew (French: Le Juif polonais) is a 1931 French historical drama film directed by Jean Kemm and starring Harry Baur, Mady Berry and Simone Mareuil. It is based on the 1867 play The Bells by Alexandre Chatrian and Emile Erckmann.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Jean d'Eaubonne.

Synopsis

In Alsace in the 1830s, an innkeeper and burgomaster is haunted by the memories of a Polish Jew he robbed and murdered fifteen years before.

Cast

Harry Baur as Mathias

Mady Berry as Catherine

Georges La Cressonnière as Christian

Simone Mareuil as Annette

Lucien Dayle as Walter

Geo Laby as Richter Fils

Louis Pré Fils as Muller

Mlle Rivière as Loïs, la servante

Raymond Gardanne as Franz

Raymond Turgy as Nicolas

Jules Maurier as Le Juif polonais

References

Bibliography

Limbacher, James L. . Haven't I seen you somewhere before?: Remakes, sequels, and series in motion pictures and television, 1896-1978. Pierian Press, 1979.

Editorial summary

“The Polish Jew (film)” enters the record as 1931 film by Jean Kemm. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Polish, film and Jean can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1931, 1867, 1896, 1978—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1931-01-01. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Polish, film and Jean.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“The Polish Jew (film)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Polish, film and Jean provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3223817. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1931, 1867, 1896 and 1978.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Polish Jew (film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Polish Jew (film) primary sources, The Polish Jew (film) archive and Polish research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Polish Jew (film)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The Polish Jew (film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.