I
Friday, November 30, 1945
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE
and
Pege Five
The Legal Chronicle
FROM 2nd AVENUE TO WORLD FAME - - -
ON PAUL MUNI'S 50th BIRTHDAY
By ALFRED WERNER
A photographic exhibit, "The
Jew in American Life," is now
travelling from State to State.
Intended to show the Jews' in-
tegration into American life, it
demonstrates by means of en-
gravings, portraits and photo-
graphs, that American Jews are
farmers as well as scientists,
athletes as well as artists. Hol-
lywood's Jewish-born actors and
a ctresses are represented by
lovely Sylvia Sidney, flanked by
Edward G. Robinson and Paul
Muni. The latter's name recent-
ly loomed in papers, not in such
special columns as "The Screen,"
"Hollywood Ness's" or "Speaking
of Movies," but on front pages,
in connection with the name of
Robert Elliott Burns.
Burns, as you will recall, was
convicted in 1922 for participa-
tion in the hold-up of an At-
lanta . grocer. A veteran of the
first World War, he had return-
ed to the States to find his old
job gone. Winding up in Atlan-
ta, Georgia, he became, against
his will, involved in the rob-
bery: two strangers, who had
bought him food, threatened to
shoot him if he refused to par-
ticipate in the hold-up. He did
not fully realize what was go-
ing to be done, yet he was found
by the police and sentenced to
a decade of hard labor. Three
months later he escaped from a
chain gang, fled to Chicago
married and started a business
magazine. After seven years of
liberty, in which he proved to
be a perfect citizen, he was di-
vorced and his former wife be-
trayed his whereabouts to the
Georgia authorities. Promised a
pardon if he would return, Mr.
Burns came back, but was dou-
ble-crossed and imprisoned once
again. After several months on
another chain gang, he escaped
anew. That time he went to
New York where he wrote a
stirring book, "I Am a Fugitive
from a Georgia Chain Gang."
In 1932 Warner Brothers de-
cided to make a movie from the
book, with Mr. Burns as techni-
cal adviser, and a relatively
unknown Jewish actor starring
in the title role. It was a full
success! Paul Muni's honest,
straightforward characterization
was a terrible indictment of the
South's way with prisoners. For
many years nothing came from
Hollywood that was as exciting
and socially vital as "I An a
Fugitive from a Chain Gang."
Some faint-hearted people ob-
jected to the horror of the mo-
vies realism — but should not
people be aware of the cruelties
often practiced on mankind by
man
Burns settled in New Jerse:i
where he prospered and married
again. Though he was a model
citizen and family man, the in-
famous Talmadge, Georgia's la-
bor — and Negro-baiting gov-
ernor — tried to catch him, but
the New Jersey authorities de-
__
04:1-tleiXt
Hied Georgia's extradition ap-
peal. Last October, the strange
case of Robert
Elliott Burns
came to a dram-
atic end when
the Georgia
State prison and
parole board un-
der the govern-
orship of Ellis
Armin commut-
ed to time served
Burns' 28 - year
old sentence of
six to ten years.
The happy news
reached Paul
Paul Muni
Muni about the time he was
celebrating his fiftieth birthday,
and all those who know the ac-
tor as a staunch champion of
human rights, can imagine that
no better birthday gift could
have been presented than these
good tidings. There is no doubt
that Muni's superb acting, thir-
teen years ago, was highly in-
strumental in convincing millions
of Americans that the atrocious
chain gang system was a blot
on America's shield of honor
that must be erased!
I happened to meet Paul Mu-
ni five years after his first hit
as a movie star. The time was
December, 1937. Paul Muni and
his wife were stopping in Viet, -
CHANUKAH
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to us in Yiddish, and we were
thrilled by his simple humanity,
by the kindness emanating from
his dark, expressive eyes and by
the charm of his quick smile. He
lacked completely the manner
isms so often marring the per-
sonality of a star, he was not
"Louis Pasteur" or "Emile Zo-
la," but just an actor amongst
colleagues. Muni explained that
he and his wife were on their
way to the holy Land which
for many years they had desired
CHANUKAH GREETINGS
Chanukah Greetings
To All!
1418 Hastings St.
CA. 2570
na, on their way to Palestine.
At that time I was on the staff
of the Juedisches Kultur-theater
which was part of the state-
approved Jewish Cultural Asso-
ciation of Vienna, and had on
its repertoire German versions
of plays by Sholcm Aleichem,
Hirschbein Peretz, Ossip Dymov
and other Yiddish dramatists.
Muni attended one of our pe•-
formances, and after the show
spent some time with the cast
and the literary staff. He spoke
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timitom mu militiommu mm ummiminiu mu mmanammik.