Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt

N/A

1986

Documentary

1 hour 21 minutes

Summary

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.

Peter Davis

Director

Top Billed Cast

Reviews

No comment for this review.

Sign in

StatusReleased: 38 years ago
September 14, 1986

LanguageEnglish

Spoken LanguagesEnglish

Budget-

Revenue-

Visit website