It Happened on Hester Street in the 1900s – A Movie Classic

Dec 31, 2021 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Sue Weston and Susie Rosenbluth – Two Sues on the Aisle

Hester Street is a story of American Jewish migration, a point of connection, celebrating new beginnings while recounting some of the less inspirational moments of assimilation.  As Jewish families arrived in New York City in the early 1900s, they rushed to Americanize, renounced their heritage, and embraced the looser morals of their new country.  Director Joan Micklin Silver’s adaptation of Abraham Cahan’s 1896 novella, “Yekl: A Tale of a New York Ghetto” explores the struggle between respecting the past and embracing our future.  Masterful and moving, this period piece in monochrome, provides a glimpse back in time.

In 2020, the Cohen Film Collection at DuArt Media Services with help from Joan Micklin Silver’s daughter, Marisa Silver, restored the original black-and-white 35 mm film. The theme of this multi-generational collaboration focuses on the struggle for women’s rights. As Gitl (in an amazing performance by Oscar-nominated actress, Carol Kane) an Eastern European wife comes to America to be reunited with Yankel (played magnificently by Steven Keats) only to find an unrecognizable Americanized Jake, who sees her as a repugnant, ignorant greenhorn.

A Timeless Tale – Which is Our Legacy

The Jewish migration in the early 1900s was filled with rags-to-riches stories, where a poor laborer becomes a successful manager. Often our narratives of success gloss over the upside-down disparities, where a learned Talmud scholar from Europe becomes the lowly sweatshop worker living from hand-to-mouth, a border sharing cramped quarters, a bed, and maybe a desk if they are lucky.

This is the life of Bernstein (played by Mel Howard), who stubbornly retains his humanity, continuing to learn, teach, and remain observant. Bernstein is not seduced by the American dream. He shows Gitl that being American does not require giving up faith. In contrast, Jake, Gitl’s husband, renounced his past and shaved his beard into a debonaire mustache.  He became a womanizer, entangled in a romance with a dancer, Mamie (Dorrie Kavanaugh), who he divorces Gitl to marry.

Collision of Two Lifestyles

The movie’s depiction of Hester Street has been romanticized, cleaned up. Living conditions are sanitized to focus on the opportunities that lay on the streets of New York. Even Jakes’ son, Yossele is drawn into the magic of Hester Street, watching children jump on the back of carts as vendors lure them with sweets.  By today’s standards, the Hester Street shown in the movie would be called a ghetto, where poverty, desperation, and depravity reign. 

By toning down the poor conditions, we can see Hester Streets through as our ancestors did. Transformed into a melting pot, where the old-world meets New York, and traditions are trampled in the struggle to survive. Jake, is rich, making $12 a week as a garment worker, self-identifies as an American, teaching his son English, cutting his hair, and leaving his wife. 

The Hester Street depicted in the movie is much cleaner and more presentable than the real Hester Street in the 1900s (as discussed in a virtual tour by the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy). In actuality, Hester Street was filled past capacity with tenement dwellers, living in buildings that lacked indoor plumbing, proper ventilation, or lighting. Apartments were overcrowded with as many as 12 adults sleeping in a room some 13 feet across. Children played in NYC streets which were over crowed, contained open sewers, and trash.  

And yet, to the Jewish immigrant, New York City was a world full of opportunity, where fortunes could be made with ingenuity and hard work.  

A woman’s life in the 1900s was difficult, yet Gitl is able to strike a balance, to find her place in New York. She is strong and determined, maintaining her dignity, despite being a greenhorn. Her son, Yossele is now Joey, is learning to speak English.  Gitl embarks on a new life with Bernstein. Gitl is a testament to the strength of women, after traveling from Russia to a loveless marriage, she bends only so far in her attempt to adjust, and finds the strength to stand strong and make a life. Her American dream balances learning and hard work.  

Gitl provided a strong connection to grandparents, including mine, who immigrated to America and managed to exist without renouncing their heritage. Her story was our story, one which deserves to be told.

Preserving Our Past

Hester Street reminds us of the sacrifices Eastern European immigrants made just to survive. The movie fills in the knowledge gaps, the conversations that did not transcend from generation to generation. When reciting our past, we may acknowledge the discrimination in Europe, but skip lightly over the decisions and hardships faced in America, where even communication, Yiddish versus English was a challenge. This is our legacy.

The movie Hester Street provides a fresh breath of reality, and a story that deserves to be shared, a movie worth watching.

***

Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs it pays to buy (rather than make) in order to see the play, show, film, or exhibit being reviewed. 5 Challahs is our highest rating.

Hester Street received a 5 Challah Rating