Hirschbein later agreed to forgo his demand and allow ben-Ami to supervise drama as co-director. Ulmer accepted though he knew ben-Ami was much too old. They approached Hirschbein, who granted permission on one condition: Jacob ben-Ami Shimshirin, who was the most acclaimed actor to portray the lead role of Levi Yizchak, had to reprise it. Each one of the three shareholders claimed in later interviews the idea had been his. On 4 July 1937 they formed "Collective Film Producers." The company chose to adapt "Green Fields", a play by Peretz Hirschbein which was very popular with Jewish audiences after its 1918 premiere in the Folksbiene. He had much experience with the East Coast's ethnic film industry, which manufactured low-cost pictures for immigrants in their native languages.
Rebush was joined by distributor Ludwig Landy, and the two hired director Edgar G. Its success convinced producer Roman Rebush that Yiddish cinema had a large potential market. On 31 December 1936, Yiddle with His Fiddle opened in New York.
The phlegmatic, unworldly Levy is himself fascinated by the farmers' lives and their vitality. Dovid is flattered by the presence of a scholar among the poor unlearned peasants, and invites Levy Yitzchok to stay as a boarder and tutor his two sons in religious studies. He eventually settles in a small village, where the only Jews are two peasant families: Dovid-Noich, his wife Rochel, their two sons, Hersh Ber and Avraham Yankov, and daughter Tsine and Elkone, his wife Gittel and their daughter Stera.
Restless and distressed, he leaves his study hall in search of "real Jews" and wanders through the Belorussian countryside. Levy Yitzchok is an orphaned yeshiva student.