Country: US
Technical: bw 116m
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut, Vladimir Sokoloff, Donald Crisp, Louis Calhern
Synopsis:
Zola climbs to fame working for various publishers in Paris, then, at the pinnacle of his career, risks all in an attempt to clear the name of a Jewish artillery officer convicted of treason.
Review:
Fairly standard Warners picturebook history, which devotes three quarters of its running time to the Dreyfus affair and doesn't so much as refer to the Rougon-Macquart by name. Which last is handled faithfully enough, even if the word 'Jew' is glimpsed once and never mentioned (interesting); the film then closes with a Panthéon eulogy that clumsily aligns Zola's achievements with American ideals of liberty, when they are far more to do with justice.
Country: US
Technical: bw 116m
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut, Vladimir Sokoloff, Donald Crisp, Louis Calhern
Synopsis:
Zola climbs to fame working for various publishers in Paris, then, at the pinnacle of his career, risks all in an attempt to clear the name of a Jewish artillery officer convicted of treason.
Review:
Fairly standard Warners picturebook history, which devotes three quarters of its running time to the Dreyfus affair and doesn't so much as refer to the Rougon-Macquart by name. Which last is handled faithfully enough, even if the word 'Jew' is glimpsed once and never mentioned (interesting); the film then closes with a Panthéon eulogy that clumsily aligns Zola's achievements with American ideals of liberty, when they are far more to do with justice.
