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Mothers of Today

Mothers of Today features the first motion picture performance of radio star Esther Field, best known on the airwaves of the 1930s as the 'Yiddishe Mama.' The film exemplifies the Yiddish film genre of shund, a brand of popular entertainment which appealed to working-class Jewish-American immigrant audiences with broadly-drawn, sentimental stories that reflected the daily life and culture of a distinctively American Yiddish community. While the shund films were invariably low-budget (and low-brow) affairs, these humble productions formed an important part of life in the United States for their audience.

Top Cast

  • Esther Field

    Esther Field

    Esther Waldman

  • Max Rosenblatt

    Max Rosenblatt

    Solomon Waldman

  • Simon Wolf

    Simon Wolf

    Getzel Boxer

  • Gertrude Krause

    Gertrude Krause

    Anna Waldman

  • Paula Lubelski

    Paula Lubelski

    Breindl 'Beatrice' Boxer

Overview

Mothers of Today features the first motion picture performance of radio star Esther Field, best known on the airwaves of the 1930s as the 'Yiddishe Mama.' The film exemplifies the Yiddish film genre of shund, a brand of popular entertainment which appealed to working-class Jewish-American immigrant audiences with broadly-drawn, sentimental stories that reflected the daily life and culture of a distinctively American Yiddish community. While the shund films were invariably low-budget (and low-brow) affairs, these humble productions formed an important part of life in the United States for their audience.

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