Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 83: Have I Got Jews For You

We're back to the winner's enclosure again with the social commentary film that got the Best Picture award at the 1948 ceremony. The film deals with the theme of anti-Semitism something that 20th Century Fox boss Daryl F Zanuck felt strongly about at the time after being refused entry to the L.A. Country Club on account of his religion. Zanuck was approached by other studio heads, most of them being fellow Jews, to ask him not to go ahead with the project as they feared it would stir up trouble for them as well. The role of journalist Philip Green was originally offered to Cary Grant but he turned it down and Gregory Peck took the part against the advice of his agent. However in the end the film triumphed against this initial adversity and went onto win three Oscars - Picture, Director and Supporting Actress for Celeste Holm.

The plot itself looks at Peck's Green a widowed reporter who moves to New York with his son and mother to write for a new magazine. His boss tells him to write about anti-Semitism and he eventually decides to go undercover as a Jew to see how he is treated by various members of the community. Throughout the film Phil deals with several incidents including being treated differently by a doctor who is dealing with his mother's heart condition and also sees his son being bullied at school for having a Jewish father. Phil also romance's his bosses niece Kathy who is aware of his article but advices him against it. After a brief courtship they are to be married however Phil gets annoyed at Kathy when she tells members of her family about her new fiancée not being Jewish at all. Phil is again met with adversity when he tries to book a honeymoon at a posh hotel but is told that they are all booked up when they discover that he is Jewish. Phil's old friend Dave, who is Jewish, comes to stay with him while he looks for a house for him and his family however the Jewish Dave is met with adversity when he finds a lot of landlords won't rent to Jews. Kathy then reveals to Phil that there is a Gentleman's Agreement among landlords about not renting to Jews something that astonishes him. The character of Kathy is the film's most interesting as she admits to being against anti-Semitism but at the same time doesn't do anything to stop it and indeed admits to Dave that she didn't say anything when someone made an anti-Semitic joke at a dinner she had. As well as Dave the film's only other Jewish character is Elaine, Phil's new secretary, who reveals that she has hidden her religion in order to get the job and later is stunned when Phil reveals that he isn't actually Jewish. Elaine's role in the film is to show that sometimes even Jews are made to feel ashamed of themselves and want to escape the stigma attatched to be Jewish. After Phil's article comes out he is praised but at the same time wants to leave New York after breaking up with Kathy over her feelings about his article. Phil is comforted by the magazine's fashion editor Anne, a woman whom he had built up a friendship with throughout the film, who tells him that Kathy is nothing more than a hypocrite and Kathy realises why Phil was angry with her after a meeting with Dave. The film ends with Phil arriving at Kathy's apartment presumably to reconcile with her.

While not being entirely perfect Gentleman's Agreement was still a fairly enjoyable film with a direct message but one that was never hammered home. I felt that the message about anti-Semtisim wasn't as blatant as it could've been and that the cast played their roles well. Gregory Peck made Phil seem like a real human being although one who may've been a bit too worthy for his own good, he was willing to do good for all around him while at the same time encountering adversity. For me though the supporting characters were much more interesting, I'm not sure why Celeste Holm won the Oscar but her character is a breath of fresh air, she is a woman in a man's world and floats through the room dishing out insults and at the same time becomes a shoulder to lean on for Phil. Also worth a mention are John Garfield and Anne Revere who were both compelling as Dave and Phil's mother respectively. However my favourite performance came from Dorothy McGuire as the mixed up Kathy, her journey is the film's most interesting and Mcguire gives a layered performance that earned her an Oscar nomination. Overall a well-written and well-acted message film that I'm glad won the Best Picture award because it proved it initial critics wrong if nothing else.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 81: A Presidential Epic

Following one biopic with another this time about the 28th President of the U.S.A Woodrow Wilson. Ask someone from the UK to name all the presidents of America that they know and they would probably give you Lincoln, Washington, Nixon, Bush, Clinton and Obama and possibly a couple more. But only the more knowledgeable would be able to tell you about Wilson even though he served through two terms and was the President of America during World War 1 and helped forge the League of Nations. The film itself was the project of 20th Century Fox's head honcho Darryl F Zanuck who was a big fan of Wilson's however despite winning five Oscars it was a monumental flop and Zanuck was so disappointed the film was never to be mentioned in his presence again. One of the reasons that the film may not have done so well is that it is incredibly long. I think Zanuck didn't want to leave anything out about Wilson's life but that means that the film does drag from time to time. We see him originally as a Princeton professor who has written many works about politics he is encouraged to run for governor and then eventually for President. Despite not doing much campaigning he is able to get in due to earnest nature. Initially Wilson refuses that America enter the war claiming that he didn't want to be responsible for any American men losing their lives but eventually he decides to help out and even contributes to the war effort. After the war he is one of the leaders involved in the League of Nations who try to ensure that something like a World War doesn't happen again. Some of the leaders disagree but Wilson delivers a speech and eventually they all agree. That seems to be a recurring theme of the film, Wilson's long and worthy speeches which convince people of his ideas. Meanwhile Wilson's personal life is also detailed with the death of his first wife and his very quick romance and marriage to his second wife. This is one of the moments in the film that I found a bit creepy, I thought that Wilson didn't leave it too long before moving on but the film blesses Wilson's new wife because she is the favourite of Wilson's daughters.

The film's best point and possibly reason for its failure is the no-name Alexander Knox as Wilson himself. Knox doesn't look like an actor and doesn't particularly act and that's why the film works I'd go as far to say as his performance is one of the best I've ever seen by a Lead Actor of all time. Showing little emotion from the beginning to the end but still being passionate about his family and his causes, Knox's Wilson is a compelling presence without being overtly loud and over-the-top. There is a large collection of supporting characters the most famous of whom are Charles Coburn and oddly Vincent Price as one of Wilson's political aides. Supposedly the film glossed over some of Wilson's flaws his very belligerent nature as well as his inherent racism aren't mentioned at all. The film also is very pro-America propaganda, as the film was released while the war was still on and it is very support our troops and boo the Germans. Despite though this is a fairly enjoyable if overlong biopic with a stunning central performance.