Hester Street (1975)

Hester Street (1974) is a black-and-white story from writer and director Joan Micklin Silver based on the novella called Yekl. In this Jewish American story, a Russian Jewish immigrant has been living in the United States for 3 years. The year is now 1896 and he is learning to love his new life as an American in late 19th century New York City. He lives on Hester Street in the Lower East Side where he has learned English, changed his name to Jake, and he works as a semester in order to save up his earnings and be able to afford to bring his wife Gitl to the United States. While in America, he has fallen in love with a dancer, but he is still thrilled to finally bring his wife and son to America. But Gitl doesn't assimilate to America quite as he did. Gitl is very Russian Jewish in all ways and Jake tries his best to keep up the appearance that everything will be okay, but he has doubts that he only confides to his American mistress. A young Carol Kane plays Gitl in this Oscar-nominated performance where she takes off a corset over her white nightgown and shows some pokies. She isn't the only sexy one! Lin Shaye plays a prostitute who lays in bed with her dress unbuttoned to show off her big ta-ta's. In her first film role, Lin Shaye confidently shows off her breasts as she asks the man who just walked into her room "what you waitin' for?"