Hester Street **** (1975, Carol Kane, Steven Keats, Mel Howard) – Classic Movie Review 5803

Writer-director Joan Micklin Silver’s appealing and atmospheric 1975 little gem is based on the 1896 novella Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto by Abraham Cahan.

Carol Kane stars as the Russian Jewish immigrant Gitl who settles in New York’s Lower East Side in the 1890s, but is shocked to find her husband Jake (Steven Keats) has already taken on the new customs.

A totally charming, perfectly performed little story, full of insights into the time, place and people, it is beautifully written by director Silver (in her feature debut) and wonderfully expertly played by Kane, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Also in the cast are Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell, Lauren Frost, Paul Freedman, Martin Garner, Zane Laski, Bert Salzman, Lin Shaye, Ed Crowley, Anna Berger, Sol Frieder, Mordecai Lawner, Leib Lensky and Robert Lesser.

It is shot in black and white by Kenneth Van Sickle, produced by Raphael D Silver and David Appleton, and scored by William Bolcom and Herbert L Clarke.

Joan Micklin Silver went on to make Between the Lines, Head over Heels and Crossing Delancey.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5803

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