Broken Barriers

This 1919 silent is the first American film based on the same Sholem Aleichem stories as Fiddler on the Roof, but produced 50 years before the blockbuster musical. Unlike most adaptations of Aleichem’s work, Broken Barriers (Khavah) focuses not on Tevye the milkman, but on his daughter Khavah, who falls in love with the gentile boy Fedka and must navigate the reverberations from this with both her community and her family.

Cast

Alice Hastings

Alice Hastings

as Khavah

Alexander Tenenholtz

Alexander Tenenholtz

as Fedka

Giacomo Masuroff

Giacomo Masuroff

as Tobias, Khavah's Father

Billie Wilson

Billie Wilson

as Khavah's Mother

Sonia Radin

Sonia Radin

as Parasha, Fedka's Mother

Phil Sanford

Phil Sanford

as Ivan, Fedka's Father

Anna Kay

Anna Kay

as Khavah's Sister

Raymond Friedgen

Raymond Friedgen

as Fedka's Chum

Reviews

Similar Movies