Made in Pennsylvania in the hope of countering the rise of antisemitism being spread by the KKK and Henry Ford, BREAKING HOME TIES is one film that was set up to both entertain and inform people that there was nothing evil about Jewish people.
The film is the story of a good man in Russia. He lives with his family and is studying American Law. He comes to the aid of a wandering violinist who takes refuge with his family. However when argument turns heated he strikes the violinist and ends up fleeing, thinking he killed him. He then flees to America where he becomes an attorney in New York. Years pass and he tries to contact his family in Russia, unaware that they have come to America.
The film is pure melodrama and very much of it’s time, but at the same time it’s compelling and you will want to see how it all comes out.
From a historical point of view the film is interesting because the whole story is so matter of fact. Even by the standards of the time things are not typically movie heightened, as a result the normalcy of the Jewish elements of the film are nothing out of the ordinary. I can see why this approach was used since the film was supposed to counter the hatred, and it works.
One quick note, the film was believed lost for decades and then a copy was found and it was restored on film and later digitally restored. While the film is now perfectly watchable (and has a great score), there are a couple of moments were there is some picture issues due to the deterioration on the original. I mention this because some people are more concerned with picture than with the fact the film is historically important.
Recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment