---
name: "Eugenie Besserer"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/eugenie-besserer"
fi1m_id: "eugenie-besserer"
imdb_id: "nm0078806"
tmdb_id: 14288
wikidata_id: "Q3059595"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 December 1868"
died: "28 May 1934"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T06:25:23.272714+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Eugenie Besserer

## Identity

Eugenie Besserer

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/eugenie-besserer
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** eugenie-besserer
- **IMDb ID:** nm0078806
- **TMDB ID:** 14288
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3059595
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenie_Besserer, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3059595, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0078806/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14288

Actor. Born 24 December 1868 in Watertown, New York, USA. Died 28 May 1934.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 December 1868, Watertown, New York, USA
- **Died:** 28 May 1934
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 65 (1), 1930s 85 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenie_Besserer, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3059595, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0078806/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14288

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*The Jazz Singer*](https://film.one/film/the-jazz-singer.md) (65)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Eugenie Besserer was an American actress who appeared in supporting roles in silent films and early sound pictures from 1910 to 1933. She had previously worked in the theatre and was often cast as mothers or grandmothers.

She made her screen debut in the 1910 silent adaptation of *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz* as Aunt Em. Besserer is best known for playing Sara Rabinowitz, the mother of Al Jolson's character, in *The Jazz Singer* (1927). Other credits include *Flesh and the Devil* (1926), *Scarface* (1932) and *To the Last Man* (1933).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these

- *The Jazz Singer* (1927), Fi1m 65, as Sara Rabinowitz — [page](https://film.one/film/the-jazz-singer.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Scarface* (1932), Fi1m 85, as Citizens Committee Member (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/scarface-1932.md)

## Complete filmography (89)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Almonds and Raisins* (1984), Actor
- *To the Last Man* (1933), as Granny Spelvin
- *6 Hours to Live* (1932), as The Marquisa
- *Scarface* (1932), as Citizens Committee Member (uncredited) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/scarface-1932.md)
- *Du Barry, Woman of Passion* (1930), as Rosalie / Prison Matron
- *In Gay Madrid* (1930), as Doña Generosa
- *A Royal Romance* (1930), as Mother
- *Seven Faces* (1929), as Madame Vallon
- *Mister Antonio* (1929), as Mrs. Jorny
- *Speedway* (1929), as Mrs. MacDonald
- *Illusion* (1929), as Mrs. Jacob Schmittlap
- *Madame X* (1929), as Rose, Floriot's Servant
- *Thunderbolt* (1929), as Mrs. Moran
- *A Lady of Chance* (1928), as Mrs. Crandall
- *Lilac Time* (1928), as Madame Berthelot
- *The Yellow Lily* (1928), as Archduchess
- *Drums of Love* (1928), as Duchess de Alvia
- *The Jazz Singer* (1927), as Sara Rabinowitz — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-jazz-singer.md)
- *Slightly Used* (1927), as Aunt Lydia
- *When a Man Loves* (1927), as The Landlady (uncredited)
- *Captain Salvation* (1927), as Mrs. Buxom
- *The Night of Love* (1927), as Gypsy
- *Wandering Girls* (1927), as Mrs. Marston
- *Flesh and the Devil* (1926), as Leo's Mother
- *The Fire Brigade* (1926), as Mrs.O'Neil
- *Wandering Footsteps* (1926), as Elizabeth Stuyvesant Whitney
- *Kiki* (1926), as Landlady (uncredited)
- *The Skyrocket* (1926), as Wardrobe Mistress
- *Bright Lights* (1925), as Patsy's Mother
- *The Circle* (1925), as Lady Catherine 'Kitty' Cheney
- *The Coast of Folly* (1925), as Nanny
- *Friendly Enemies* (1925), Actor
- *Confessions of a Queen* (1925), as Elanora
- *A Fool and His Money* (1925), as Mother
- *The Price She Paid* (1924), as Mrs. Elton Gower
- *Enemies of Children* (1923), as Mrs. Slavin
- *Anna Christie* (1923), as Marthy
- *The Rendezvous* (1923), as Nini
- *Her Reputation* (1923), as Madame Cervanez
- *The Strangers' Banquet* (1922), as Mrs. McPherson
- *June Madness* (1922), as Mrs. Whitmore
- *The Hands of Nara* (1922), as Mrs. Claveloux
- *Kindred of the Dust* (1922), as Mrs. McKaye
- *The Rosary* (1922), as Widow Kathleen Wilson
- *The Light in the Clearing* (1921), as Roving Kate
- *Molly O'* (1921), as Antonia Bacigalupi
- *The Sin of Martha Queed* (1921), as Alicia Queed
- *Good Women* (1921), as Mrs. Emmeline Shelby
- *The Breaking Point* (1921), as Mrs. Janeway
- *What Happened To Rosa* (1920), as Madame O'Donnelly
- *The Scoffer* (1920), as Boorman's Wife
- *45 Minutes from Broadway* (1920), as Mrs. David Dean
- *Seeds of Vengeance* (1920), as Judith Cree
- *Fickle Women* (1920), as Mrs. Price
- *For the Soul of Rafael* (1920), as Dona Luisa
- *The Brand of Lopez* (1920), as Señora Castillo
- *The Gift Supreme* (1920), as Martha Vinton
- *The Fighting Shepherdess* (1920), as Jezebel
- *The Greatest Question* (1919), as Mrs. Hilton
- *Scarlet Days* (1919), as Mrs. Nell Winters aka Rosie Nell
- *Turning the Tables* (1919), as Mrs. Feverill
- *Little Orphant Annie* (1918), as Mrs. Goode
- *The Sea Flower* (1918), as Kealani
- *The Road Through the Dark* (1918), as Aunt Julie
- *Mother, I Need You* (1918), Actor
- *A Hoosier Romance* (1918), as The Squire's Wife
- *The Eyes of Julia Deep* (1918), as Mrs. Lowe
- *The Still Alarm* (1918), Actor
- *The City of Purple Dreams* (1918), Actor
- *Who Shall Take My Life?* (1917), as Mrs. Munroe
- *The Curse of Eve* (1917), as The Mother
- *Beware of Strangers* (1917), as Mary DeLacy
- *The Garden of Allah* (1916), as Lady Rens
- *Twisted Trails* (1916), as Martha, Housekeeper
- *Thou Shalt Not Covet* (1916), as My Wife
- *The Circular Staircase* (1915), as Aunt Ray
- *The Way of a Woman's Heart* (1915), as Rose March aka Rosalind Ayre
- *The Ingratitude of Liz Taylor* (1915), Actor
- *The Carpet from Bagdad* (1915), as Mrs. Chedsoye
- *The Poetic Justice of Omar Khan* (1915), as Neva Hyde
- *A Just Punishment* (1914), as Mrs. Preston - Bob's Wife
- *When the Night Call Came* (1914), as Nell Delaney
- *Indian Summer* (1913), as Virginia
- *Greater Wealth* (1913), as Mrs. John Sharon
- *Monte Cristo* (1912), as Mercedes
- *The Blacksmith's Love* (1911), as Mary Brewer Saunders
- *The Still Alarm* (1911), as Elinor Fordham
- *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz* (1910), as Aunt Em
- *The Lonely Road*, as Martha True

## Gallery

- ![Eugenie Besserer](https://film.one/media/person/3850515/gallery-b2b4c2c8d652.jpg) Eugenie Besserer — Film World Publishing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Eugenie_Besserer_01.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Silent film actress Eugenie Besserer. Subjects (LCTGM): actresses (1925)](https://film.one/media/person/3850515/gallery-e7af57867e16.jpg) Silent film actress Eugenie Besserer. Subjects (LCTGM): actresses (1925) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Silent_film_actress_Eugenie_Besserer_%28SAYRE_6068%29.jpg/1280px-Silent_film_actress_Eugenie_Besserer_%28SAYRE_6068%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Film actress Eugenie Besserer. Subjects: actresses (1923)](https://film.one/media/person/3850515/gallery-a6691e0f5b45.jpg) Film actress Eugenie Besserer. Subjects: actresses (1923) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Film_actress_Eugenie_Besserer_%28SAYRE_6248%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Warner Bros. publicity photo for the film The Jazz Singer, featuring Al Jolson as Jack Robin and Eugenie Besserer as his mother, Sara Rabinowitz. (1927)](https://film.one/media/person/3850515/gallery-c051307ceae0.jpg) Warner Bros. publicity photo for the film The Jazz Singer, featuring Al Jolson as Jack Robin and Eugenie Besserer as his mother, Sara Rabinowitz. (1927) — Warner Bros. (Original holder of property rights), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/JazzSingerJackMother.jpg/1280px-JazzSingerJackMother.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Eugenie Besserer](https://film.one/media/person/3850515/gallery-2d1c0b58aa0d.jpg) Eugenie Besserer — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/eugenie-besserer