Film

Tevye

1939 · 1h 33m · Drama

The original, non-musical film version of the book which inspired "Fiddler on the Roof".

IMDb

6.9

Rotten Tomatoes

92%

Tevye is a dairyman in the Russian Ukraine early in the 20th century. He lives in a cabin outside Boyberik with his wife Goldie, his widowed daughter Tseytl, her two children, and his younger daughter, the unmarried Khave. Khave is being courted by Fedya, a Christian, the son of a local government official. Tevye warns Khave against romance and marriage outside her faith, but Fedya is persuasive too. What will Khave decide, how will Tevye react, and when the Tsar initiates a pogrom, will Tevye's friends come to his defense? Can the stubborn Tevye reconcile his heart and tradition?

Maurice Schwartz

Tevya 'Tevye'

Miriam Riselle

Chavah 'Khave'

Rebecca Weintraub

Goldie 'Golde'

Paula Lubelski

Zeitel 'Tseytl'

Leon Liebgold

Fedya 'Fedye' Galagen

Vicki Marcus

Shloimele

Betty Marcus

Perele

Julius Adler

Aleksei, the Priest

Daniel Makarenko

Mikita Galagen, Fedya's Father

Helen Grossman

Mrs. Galagen, Mikita's Wife

Morris Strassberg

Starosta

Al Harris

Zazuli 'Zuzuya'

Louis Weisberg

Shtarsina

Boas Young

Uradnick, the Officer

• Maurice SchwartzDirector · Writer · Producer
• Sholom AleichemNovel
• Henry ZiskinProducer
• Larry WilliamsDirector of Photography
• Sholom SecundaOriginal Music Composer
• Sam CitronEditor

Release date

December 21, 1939

Status

Released

Original language

English

Runtime

1h 33m

Genres

Drama