- Published on
Director Mark Schweid (From the Museum of Family History)
An independent film featuring actors from the Yiddish Theatre.
Date of Release: Dec 10, 1929
Studio: Hollywood Pictures Corp
Director: Mark Schweid
Screenplay: S. Rodnow
Leading Actors: Mary Fowler (Darya), Arthur Albro (Alexis), Henrietta Tilghman (Olga), Mark Schweid (Zhuck), John Gould (Piotr), Betty Simonoff (Nadia, a gypsy), Misha Markoff (Foma), Paul Haakon (Tosha), Marsh Irvin (Borrah), Antony Andre (Deacon), Robert Norton (Bartender), Zachary Martinoff (Cossack), Ballalaika Orchestra, Imperial Cossack Choir, Ballalaika Orchestra
Wedding on the Volga was produced and released by Hollywood Pictures, a low-budget studio and distributor. Hollywood Pictures worked primarily with small-scale and independent producers, and was one of the first studios to distribute imported films in the United States.
Most of the cast and crew worked in the Yiddish Theatre in New York, and Wedding on the Volga was for the most part, their first and last feature film. According to archivist Margaret Compton, despite the ties to Yiddish theatre, the film was not centered around a Jewish wedding.
Director Mark Schweid, who also appeared in the film, was a prominent Polish-American actor, writer, and poet. He briefly served as the director of the Bronx Art Theatre, and also appeared in ten Broadway plays and five Hollywood films including East Side Sadie (1929) and Uncle Moses (1932). A collection of Schweid’s papers are held by the American Jewish Historical Society.
Actress Betty Simonoff was the daughter of celebrated actor Moshe Siminoff. Betty was interviewed about her life in 1986 for the Oral History William E. Wiener Library at the New York Public Library, and the transcript is available online.
A wonderful picture of Simonoff as a child can be found at the Museum of the City of New York.
Danish-born Paul Haakon was a prominent Broadway dancer. He appeared in several films and later worked for Warner Bros as a choreographer. The New York Times described Haakon as one of the “great male ballet dancers of the 20th century.”
The film had a limited release, and didn’t do particularly well at the box office. It was released in the UK in 1931 where it received tepid reviews.
Wedding on the Volga was considered lost until several reels were discovered in Georgia in 2015. Archivist Margaret Compton, writing for the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project, states that restoring the Wedding on the Volga would be useful in order to preserve Mark Schweid’s only film directing effort. It would be interesting to also see early footage of Paul Haakon.
Hopefully the sound reels can also be re-discovered. The score contained songs performed by a Cossack choir and Ballalaika Orchestra, providing a sound not usually heard in movie musicals at this time.
Perhaps one day we will hear the Russian wedding bells chime!
Studio: Hollywood Pictures Corp
Director: Mark Schweid
Screenplay: S. Rodnow
Leading Actors: Mary Fowler (Darya), Arthur Albro (Alexis), Henrietta Tilghman (Olga), Mark Schweid (Zhuck), John Gould (Piotr), Betty Simonoff (Nadia, a gypsy), Misha Markoff (Foma), Paul Haakon (Tosha), Marsh Irvin (Borrah), Antony Andre (Deacon), Robert Norton (Bartender), Zachary Martinoff (Cossack), Ballalaika Orchestra, Imperial Cossack Choir, Ballalaika Orchestra
Wedding on the Volga was produced and released by Hollywood Pictures, a low-budget studio and distributor. Hollywood Pictures worked primarily with small-scale and independent producers, and was one of the first studios to distribute imported films in the United States.
Most of the cast and crew worked in the Yiddish Theatre in New York, and Wedding on the Volga was for the most part, their first and last feature film. According to archivist Margaret Compton, despite the ties to Yiddish theatre, the film was not centered around a Jewish wedding.
Director Mark Schweid, who also appeared in the film, was a prominent Polish-American actor, writer, and poet. He briefly served as the director of the Bronx Art Theatre, and also appeared in ten Broadway plays and five Hollywood films including East Side Sadie (1929) and Uncle Moses (1932). A collection of Schweid’s papers are held by the American Jewish Historical Society.
Actress Betty Simonoff was the daughter of celebrated actor Moshe Siminoff. Betty was interviewed about her life in 1986 for the Oral History William E. Wiener Library at the New York Public Library, and the transcript is available online.
A wonderful picture of Simonoff as a child can be found at the Museum of the City of New York.
Danish-born Paul Haakon was a prominent Broadway dancer. He appeared in several films and later worked for Warner Bros as a choreographer. The New York Times described Haakon as one of the “great male ballet dancers of the 20th century.”
The film had a limited release, and didn’t do particularly well at the box office. It was released in the UK in 1931 where it received tepid reviews.
Wedding on the Volga was considered lost until several reels were discovered in Georgia in 2015. Archivist Margaret Compton, writing for the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project, states that restoring the Wedding on the Volga would be useful in order to preserve Mark Schweid’s only film directing effort. It would be interesting to also see early footage of Paul Haakon.
Hopefully the sound reels can also be re-discovered. The score contained songs performed by a Cossack choir and Ballalaika Orchestra, providing a sound not usually heard in movie musicals at this time.
Perhaps one day we will hear the Russian wedding bells chime!
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