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.
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.
Top Cast
Alice Hastings
Character: Khavah
Alexander Tenenholtz
Character: Fedka
Giacomo Masuroff
Character: Tobias, Khavah's Father
Billie Wilson
Character: Khavah's Mother
Sonia Radin
Character: Parasha, Fedka's Mother
Phil Sanford
Character: Ivan, Fedka's Father
Anna Kay
Character: Khavah's Sister
Raymond Friedgen
Character: Fedka's Chum
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