One of the most controversial movies of the 40's won the Best Picture at the 1947 Awards. That film is call Gentleman's Agreement. The story was one that several people did not want to be made because the story is about anti-Semitism. Being that several movie heads were Jewish, and the fact that the Hollywood Blacklist was starting to breathe down their necks, it was a very risking move to make this movie and to release it at this time.
The story is about a journalist named Philip Green, who comes to New York to start writing for a magazine. This magazine is all about speaking and finding the truth about what is going on in America. The head of the magazine wants him to write an article about anti-Semitism but Philip is having a heard time figuring how to write about this story. Not because of the subject matter but because he can't figure out how to make the story feel human, and an active problem in the U.S.. That is until he decides to pretend to be Jewish for six months to begin to understand what actual Jews go through in their lives. This ends up being the best and worst time in his life to do the story in that way. He has a child in school, and he recently got engaged to the wonderful niece of the head of the magazine. They all know what he is doing for his story but that doesn't stop them from trying to protect them from friends and people in their personal lives. Many people accept him, at first, because his last name is not Jewish and they don't think he is. As it gets slowly revealed that he is, many people's opinions change about him. Some for the good, like that of his secretary at the magazine who tells him that she is Jewish as well and had to change her name to even be considered for the job. Some for the worse, like his Fiancé's friends from out of town who act like the are accepting of people but do not allow Jew to live in their neighborhood.
This story would not have been made if the producer of the film, Darryl F. Zanuck, when he was refused membership into the Los Angeles Country Club because he was Jewish. The kicker about this encounter is the fact the Zanuck is not Jewish at all. When this happened to him he turned to the novel that this book is based off of and turned it into the Best Picture that we have here today.. People in the industry, and that were Jewish, begged Zanuck not to make this film. Not because they were ashamed of their culture but because they didn't want to stir the pot with this issue. However, Zanuck defeated the odds of the film ever getting released and was able to have his film showed by the world.
I have to say this film does get you thinking. I don't believe this film even begins to touch the amount of horrendous acts the were committed to Jew during this time. However, this film does a great job of getting people to think about the people around them, how people have to hide, how people have tobe very careful about where they are and what they are doing. It does a good job of trying to have people to put themselves in other's shoes. It's a great movie to get the conversation starting about issues that are right under their nose. I believe that is why this film was a great pick to win this award.
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