Movie Description
Paul Muni stars as Emile Zola, giving possibly his best performance in this excellent biography of the great writer, which won three Oscars, including Best Picture. The film's most unusual aspect is its evasiveness regarding the anti-Semitism that led to the terrible injustice of the Dreyfus affair. As Neil Gabler and others have pointed out, this can probably be attributed to the reluctance of the Jewish studio moguls to incur the ire of a society in which they still didn't feel entirely accepted. The film tracks Zola's early years, including his friendship with Paul Cezanne (Vladimir Sokoloff), and his uphill battle to expose in print the social ills that plagued France's lower classes. When success arrives with the publication of NANA, he garners an audience that can appreciate his exposés of the corruption of the nation's government, military, and business community. But it's in the Herculean effort to clear Captain Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut), a victim of anti-Semitism who had been framed on charges of military espionage and sent to Devil's Island, that Zola reveals in full force the tremendous courage that undergirded his achievment. High production values, an excellent cast, and an intelligent script all add to the film's extraordinary quality.
| Credits | | Writer: | Norman Reilly Raine | | Producer: | Henry Blanke | | Cast: | Charles Richman, Dickie Moore, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Henry O'Neill, Louis Calhern, Ralph Morgan |
Notes
DVD Features:
Region (unknown)
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33)
Audio:
Mono 1.0 English, Theatrical release: October 2, 1937.
Although a key reason for Captain Dreyfus's persecution by the French army was that he was Jewish, the word "Jewish" is never used in the film.
The story of the Dreyfus trial was told again in 1958's I ACCUSE!, which starred José Ferrer as Dreyfus and Emlyn Williams as Zola.
THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2000.
Awards
1937Academy AwardsBest Adapted ScreenplayGeza Herczeg, 1937Academy AwardsBest Adapted ScreenplayHeinz Herald, 1937Academy AwardsBest Adapted ScreenplayNorman Reilly Raine, 1937Academy AwardsBest Picture, 1937Academy AwardsBest Supporting ActorJoseph Schildkraut
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