The Wandering Jew

The life story of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, is told in this rare silent movie. The film shows the young Herzl learning about the persecution of the Jewish people throughout the ages, from the Spanish Inquisition to the Dreyfus affair. As an adult, he sees the foundation of a Jewish state as the only solution to Anti-Semitism around the world. Herzl's writings and tireless political campaigning will eventually lead to the creation of the state of Israel in what was once Palestine.

Also known as The Life of Theodor Herzl, or The Standard Bearer of the Jewish People, this Austrian silent drama draws inspiration from D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) in its sequences depicting the history of Anti-Semitism. The Jewish Chronicle called it a film "made by Jews for Jews,'' while print advertisements boasted screenings would be accompanied by "Special Jewish Music composed for the occasion." The mythical figure of the Wandering Jew, which gives this American print of the movie its name, only appears during the beginning of the film, portrayed by Rudoph Schildkraut. That legend would receive a more in-depth exploration in the 1923 Maurice Elvey film The Wandering Jew (the success of that British picture may have lead to the retitling of this 1921 film.) Rudolph Schildkraut's son, Joseph, later to win an Oscar for playing Alfred Dreyfus in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), also appears in the film as King David.