Szaro, Henryk

(1900-1942)

   Film and theatrical director Henryk Szaro belonged to a group of the most important prewar Polish film directors. A student of Vsevolod Meyerhold, Szaro first made a well-received film in Yiddish, One of 36 (Lamedwownik, 1925). Later he also directed another Yiddish classic, The Wedding Vow (Tkijes kaf, 1937). Adaptations of Stefan Zeromski's novels are among his best-known films: Early Spring (Przedwiośnie, 1928) and The Story of Sin (Dzieje grzechu, 1933). Equally well received, and later often imitated, was a classic example of the patriotic genre, To Siberia (Na Sybir, 1930), with Adam Brodzisz and Jadwiga Smosarska. This partly sound film offered an illustration of patriotic tales combined with images of the peaceful Polish countryside. Szaro's next film, The Year 1914 (Rok 1914, 1932), belonged to the same genre. Until 1939 he continued making popular films, such as Three Troublemakers (Trójka hultajska, 1937), a musical comedy featuring Henryk Wars's music, and Krystyna's Lie (Kłamstwo Krystyny, 1939), a melodrama starring Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski and Elżbieta Barszczewska. Szaro was killed in 1942 in the Warsaw Ghetto.

   Other films: Rivals (Rywale, 1925), Red Jester (Czerwony błazen, 1926), The Call of the Sea (Zew morza, 1927), A Wild Girl (Dzikuska, 1928), A Strong Man (Mocny człowiek, 1929), Mr. Twardowski (Pan Twardowski, 1936), NoblemanMichorowski (Ordynat Michorowski, 1937).

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof