Restored by NCJF
The two sons of a poor Russian-Jewish pushcart peddler on New York's Lower East Side are both causing their father grief. Morris, a selfish, ambitious student, wants to become a lawyer, and in doing so tries to hide his background from his friends. Sammy gets a job to help pay his brother's college education, and to his father's horror, becomes a prizefighter and plans to marry an Irish girl.As Morris and Sammy stray from traditions cherished by their parents, each generation learns to accept change in order to preserve the family as a source of love and respect
Director Sloman's images of New York's Lower East Side are so evocative that the viewer can almost hear the hustle and bustle of that thriving neighborhood during the 1920s.
"... Few silent films give so thorough a picture of Jewish home life in the American ghetto."
- Tom Gunning, Outisders as Insiders: Jews and the History of the American Silent Film"Sloman's compelling vision of the painful depths and joyous heights of immigrant life endow the film with an exuberant vitality that captivates modern filmgoers and enlightens film historians."
- Lester B. Friedman, Hollywood's Image of the Jew
The National Center For Jewish Film
Brandeis University, Lown 102, MS053, Waltham MA 02454
P: (781) 899 7044, F: (781) 736 2070
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