Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt

Overview

At its peak, one million New York Jews spent their summers in the Borscht Belt, the birthplace of Jewish-American iconoclastic humor. This film shows how these Catskills communities were run by women, and how class divisions were reflected in the resort hotels: upwardly-mobile hotel guests were entertained by a who's-who of talent, while in the bungalows, do-it-yourself burlesque and vaudeville reigned among the blue-collar families. This film is happy, humane, ironic, and, finally, bittersweet, as we see that today's Jews no longer share the tastes or aspirations of their parents.

Details

Status

Released

Release date

September 14, 1986

Original language

English

Spoken languages

English

Countries

United States of America

Production

Villon Films

Cast

Joseph Wiseman

Director

Peter Davis

Producer

Peter Davis

Budget

Not recorded

Revenue

Not recorded

Homepage

Official site

IMDb

tt0299115