Gentleman's Agreement
by Elia Kazan
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Actor: Anne Revere, Celeste Holm, Dorothy McGuire, Gregory Peck, John GarfieldDirector: Elia Kazan
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Arthur C. Miller
Writer: Elia Kazan
Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
Writer: Laura Z. Hobson
Writer: Moss Hart
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-01-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Gentleman's Agreement
DVD Review: Gentleman's Agreement: A Noble But Failed Attempt at Social Commentary
Summary: 2 Stars
I give this 20th Century Fox DVD issue of Gentleman's Agreement 2 stars. One star is for the DVD quality, which I found excellent -- a clean, sharp black and white high quality print with good sound. The second star is for Celeste Holm's performance, which is the standout performance of the movie.
The plot has been described in great detail in other reviews, so I will not repeat it. What I want to do here is to warn people not to purchase this movie until they have seen it. Gentleman's Agreement tackles the social issue of anti-Semitism, which is a noble undertaking, but it bites off more than it can chew. I have seen all but a few of Gregory Peck's films, and this is his weakest performance ever. In fact, Gregory Peck was one of the all-time great actors, and I have never seen him give anything other than a first-rate performance until I watched Gentleman's Agreement. In this movie he seems very uncomfortable with his character, and his performance is forced and wooden. His character is supposed to be engaged in the noble fight against anti-Semitism, yet he makes his character unlikable. Peck plays his character as preachy, self-righteous and self-serving, even pompous at times. It's difficult for the viewer to develop a sympathy with the character. Early in the movie Peck's character starts to become as ponderous as the anti-semitic characters, which I doubt was the intention of the director. It doesn't help that the plot and dialogue handle the subject in an awkward manner, devoid of anything clever and intelligent. Celeste Holm is the exception. Always a great actress, her performance here is first-rate, and she makes her character interesting, honest, sympathetic and likable. John Garfield's performance is good, but not on a par with his best, and again, I think that has to do with the stiff and predictable plot and script. Dean Stockwell does a very competent job at playing Peck's son. Dorothy McGuire's performance as Peck's love interest has been harshly criticized by many other reviewers. I'm not sure it was a weak performance. I think she may be playing the character exactly as the director intended. It's just that her character is not very likable. And the fact that her unlikable character is Peck's love interest instead of Celeste Holm's lovable character may be a weakness in the script that ultimately pulls down the movie and damages its believability.
Another problem with Gentleman's Agreement is that it drags. It is boring and ponderous. Even Celeste Holm's great performance does not add enough spark and sparkle to this drab film to save it from being a snoozer. About 1/3 into the film you start to wish they would just get on with it and get to the end. Too many points are repeatedly rehashed and beaten into the ground long after the viewer has gotten them.
There also appears to me to be an additional problem: The movie seems to exaggerate the degree of anti-Semitism in order to play on the viewers emotions, thereby reducing much of the movie to melodrama. Granted, the movie was made in 1947 and I was not born until 1949, so I may have missed the intensity of the problem at the time the movie was made. But growing up shortly after that period in the 1950's I did not witness such rampant anti-semitism in practice. I lived in a suburban community and had Jewish neighbors. I swam at a swimming club with jewish friends. I went to school with Jewish kids. My father worked with Jews. Yes, I am non-Jewish, and surely I would have felt it more directly if I were Jewish. But the fact that I was not able to observe any descrimination that was as obvious and rampant as that depicted in the movie leads me to believe that the movie overplays its hand. The movie implies that Jews were routinely denied jobs and housing, and were routinely refused service in hotels and restaurants merely because they had a Jewish name or looked Jewish. The movie appears to exaggerate the problem, even for 1947.
I want to be fair to this movie. Therefore, I encourage people to view it and decide for themselves. My criticism here is merely intended to serve as a helpful warning to those who are thinking of purchasing a copy sight-unseen. I made that mistake and am now sorry. It's a worthwhile movie for one-time viewing, but not good enough to keep in my permanent video library. So my recommendation is to find an inexpensive way to view it before you decide to purchase it. I hope this review is helpful to the perspective buyer.
Description of Gentleman's Agreement
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