Based on Sholem Asch's story/serial of the same name, "Uncle Moses" is an adaption set in NYC. It is the story of a Jewish man from a small town in the Pale who has come to America and owns a sweatshop that employs many people who came from the same small town. He falls for and marries a young woman who doesn't love him (she loves a young Marxist). The results.... well, you'll just have to watch it.
One of the most interesting details in the film is its setting of the 1930s NY's Yiddish- Jewish community, which was recreated many years later in "Ragtime" and "Hester Street." It no longer exists the way it did back then (or earlier), and the first few minutes of film show a glimpse of how it was (in a documentary footage style). Most of the movie is filmed in a New Jersey studio, and within 2 rooms. The movie is mostly about how money does not create happiness, nor purchase one's heart. The movie is also strong on peoples' and workers' rights during the Great Depression (it's a 1932 film), much like its country-set relative, "Grapes of Wrath" (John Ford).
The entire film is mostly spoken in Yiddish, a language rarely used in cinema. It does have English, showing that Jews from the Pale needed to use a franca lingua in business (much like today). For one who studies Jewish people in America, this film is priceless in this respect!
The acting is a little stagy (Schwartz was a big theatre producer and director and many films of this era were based on theatrical works, or they were musicals). The plot is also melodramatic, but not overly so (like "The Jazz Singer"). In my opinion, the lesser acting came from the character of Mashale, who doesn't really age and doesn't have the depth of characterization as she does in the original stories (she's a near-feminist in the book). This may be because the movie is an adaptation and Uncle Moses is where the audience would focus their attention. An what a great acting job Schwartz does!
The ending, which should look like be several years after the middle of the story, looks like it was done the same week. This always annoys me. Uncle Moses looks older, especially with the "sickly" makeup, but others look freshly out of the last shots. (I call this the "Untouchables Syndrome" - and if you have seen DePalma's movie, then you know what I am referring to).
The "stagey-ness" of the movie would probably leave the casual viewer somewhat bored, but the movie is definitely for the student of film, Jewish culture (especially US immigrant), and pre-Holocaust Jewish cinema. It is a pretty good movie, and historical for many reasons mentioned above. Great companion pieces include "Avalon," "Grapes of Wrath," and "Hester Street."
8 of 10. ---------- E.