MovieChat Forums > Dirty Dancing (1987) Discussion > 'I feel like it's all ending!'

'I feel like it's all ending!'

posted 9 years ago by theDIABEETUS
10 replies | jump to latest

Did anyone catch Max Kellerman's commentary on the decline of the Borscht Belt resorts right before the end of the movie? I first saw this movie a few years ago... Coincidentally I recently started traveling out to the Catskills (where the movie takes place) every summer for a music festival. You can really see how it used to be a grand vacation spot back in the day... But now it is so desolate, so many abandoned houses and resorts... It's so beautiful but tragic. I think about it every time I watch this movie!

[–] capablecarl 9 years ago

And Kellerman was exactly right.

The resorts hung on for a few more years, but young people stopped allowing their summer's to be hijacked by their parents and went abroad, instead of upstate.

It was kind of sad though. End of eras are always sad.

[–] astockton_uk 9 years ago

It wasn't trips to Europe that ended the heyday of Borscht Belt resorts: it was passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. The Borscht Belt resorts existed in the first place because of anti-Jewish discrimination.

Once Jews and other minorities had the freedom, backed up by federal law, to travel anywhere in the United States and be sure that they'd be served in hotels and restaurants, that's exactly what they did.

[–] ck1-5 8 years ago

I drove through the Catskills ten years ago or so, and saw several "Dirty Dancing" type resorts (or, more accurately, what was left of them), including one with a large tree growing up out of the in ground swimming pool. Every May, I go to a car show/swap meet in Rhinebeck, and always think of this movie when I pass the sign with an arrow pointing the way to Loch Sheldrake.

[–] astockton_uk 8 years ago

Rhinebeck? Been there! In the 1960s my brother and sister-in-law took me and our parents to dinner at the Beekman Arms. I haven't been in New York since 1969, but I've seen a lot of upstate New York and it's beautiful country.

[–] ck1-5 8 years ago

Yes, I've eaten at the Beekman Arms. It's said to be the oldest continuously open inn in the country.

[–] Picnic10 8 years ago

Max's observation is one of the reasons that this movie is so popular - it is achingly bittersweet from start to finish. And that's not just because of Johnny and Baby. Holiday parks, and this includes in the UK too, owe their genesis to the Victorian rural or seaside pleasureseeking , with more money to spend. The camps often sprung up in that excitement of 20s decadence inbetween the wars. Some, during the Depression or in to the 50s and 60s. In a way, they were like the last frontier of the curious blend of innocence, seriousness yet sauciness.

[–] davebuffalo (3041) a year ago

The Mountain Lake Lodge where it was filmed is still alive and well, and you can visit near Blacksburg, Virginia. They even hold "Dirty Dancing" themed weekends, but the prices go way up. Unfortunately, the spring-fed lake dries up every 75 years or so, and is currently dry, with no prognosis on it's return. But there is hiking, pools, restaurants and other activities at the resort. And of course a "Dirty Dancing" gift shop!

[–] shadaif 8 years ago

Are there any documentaries about the Catskill resorts? I didn't know they were primarily for Jewish families.

"The end of the shoelace is called the...IT DOESN'T MATTER!"

[–] OldFriendOfTheChristys 8 years ago

Are there any documentaries about the Catskill resorts?

Having re-watched Dirty Dancing last night I'm finding myself wondering the same thing.

[–] strntz (10968) 8 months ago

There are - I remember seeing one several years ago on PBS. Very interesting program.