Page Twelve

2 Men Who
Created
"Mrs. Miniver"

The Story of Sidney Frank-
lin and William Wyler

By PAUL B. GREENE

"Mrs. Miniver" has been ac-
claimed by film critics, profes-
sional actors and just plain ev-
eryday Americans as the finest
motion picture in history. In
New York, Radio City Music
Hall broke all marks in exhibit-
ing this masterwork, with a run
of 10 weeks. Frankly labeled
as "propaganda," "Mrs. Miniver"
is already on the list of "the
best 10 of all time" by all those
who have seen the film.
"Mrs. Miniver" was produced
by a Jew and directed by an-
other Jew. To those who decry
tile Jewish "influence" in Holly-
wood, the answer is thrown back
at them with this work of art
which incorporates the dreams,
aspirations, struggle and human-
ism of all mankind.
Sidney Franklin, five feet, six
inches tall, weighing 130 pounds,
brown-haired and brown-eyed,
San Francisco-born and conver-
sant with the film industry from
the ground up, is the producer
responsible for a picture which
is the climax of a career dotted
with sparkling productions. Now
49 years old, Franklin always
wanted to be an actor. When the
pioneers of the silver screen
struggled to win over the mil-
lions of Americans to a new type
of entertainment, David Wark
Griffith was the top producer and
director of the age. It was he
who offered the young Franklin
his first acting opportunity.
Franklin played in "The Sher-
iff." One would think that he
would be satisfied to continue
In his - chosen profession. But
once introduced to the magic of
the industry, he decided to step
out on his own. He began by
deserting the life of the thespian
for a job as assistant camera-
man to George Hill, now dead
but then a topnotcher.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Within a short time Franklin
won the job of directing Norma
Talmadge, one . of screendom's
earliest greats. Here are some
more of his finest jobs: Alfred
Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in
"The Guardsman;" "The Dark
Angel," with Merle Oberon and
Frederic March; "The Good
Earth," starring Paul Muni and
Louise Rainer, two of Jewry's
greatest actors. It was with
this last picture that Sidney
Franklin came to the end of his
active directing career. Fresh
with the taste of victory brought
on by "The Good Earth," un-
doubtedly a Hollywood immort-
al film, Franklin won his spurs
as a producer. "On Borrowed
Time," "The Mortal Storm" and
"Mrs. Miniver" are three of his
Products.

No Escape From Reality

Intense William Wyler, direct-
or of "Mrs. Miniver," is also
quite eloquent in his belief that
Hollywood must not fail in the
present crisis. "When," he said,
"I read this story of a middle-
class English family, which could
also be an American family, I
realized that was the most im-
portant motion picture I have
ever been privileged to direct."
Born in France, now 40 years
old, Wyler is a major in the Air
Corps. He directs about one,

New York Zionists
Form New Center

Will Provide Forum for Dis-
cussion of Problems Af-
fecting Movement

A new center for Zionists of
Greater New York has just been
established in the form of the
Zionist League of New York.
Organized to promote the free
study and discussion of Zionist

sometimes two, pictures a year.
He never takes on a film unless
he completely believes in it. He
worked his way up from Uni-
versal publicity man, to direct-
ing Westerns, to masterpieces
like "The Little Foxes," "Jeze-
bel," "Mrs. Miniver."
Franklin and Wyler—remem-
ber them, for they are the art-
ists who have combined to pre-
sent to American audiences a
portrait of a family in deadly
peril because of a man named
Hitler. Wyler is now actively
in the war. His work, and
Franklin's, will haunt all Am-
erican warriors who go out to
do battle against the danger to
our way of life.

(Copyright, 1942, by Independent
Jewish Press Service)

Friday, September 11. 1942

problems, to encourage sociabil-
ity and extend hospitality to
distinguished visitors from
abroad, the new organization
will, for the first time in years,
offer club facilities and a rally-
ing-point to Zionists in Greater
New York who are especially
interested in the working out of
the problems and the formula-
tion of policies, calculated to
stre -zthen the movement for
Jewish national restoration in
Palestine.
The League began with a
membership of 60 outstanding
Zionists. It is preparing a pro-
gram of meetings of members
as well as public gatherings in-
tended to focus attention on spe-
cific Zionist needs and questions
pertaining to immediate work
for Palestine in its various as-
pects.
The following officers were
elected: President, Sigmund
Thau; vice-president, Morris
Margulies; secretary, Marcus Ab-
ramson; treasurer, George I.
Fox; additional members of the
executive board, Samuel J. Bor-
owsky, Samuel Caplan, Sol Co-
hen, Jacob Fishman, Benjamin
M. Friedman, Jacob Ish-Kishor,
Samuel Judenfreund, Samuel
Kanarvogel, Sol Low, Rabbi Ir-
ving Miller, Bernard G. Rich-
ards, Moses Rubinson, Jochanon
I. Rudaysky, Joseph J. Schick-
ler, Carl Sherman.

Why No Coughlin
Indictment? Asks
Catholic Paper

NEW YORK (JPS)—The Com-
monweal, leading American Cath-
olic weekly, in examining and
disapproving of the indictment by
a Washington Grand Jury of 28
citizens on charges of conspiracy,
wonders why Father Coughlin
and "the proprietors of certain
large and rich newspapers" are
not on the list since they "look
on the surface to have been just
as much involved as the Griffins
and Dillings and Pelleys."
The Commonweal declares edi-
torially that legal procedure and
tradition have not been observed
in the indictment of '28 men and
women, most of them crackpots,
all of them enemies of democracy.
The Commonweal has no liking
for Fascists, American or other-
wise. Yet it finds in the methods
of the Department of Justice
something as much to be con-
demned, considering its high
source, as the preachments and
writings of the crackpots present-
ly indicted, however dangerous
they may be."

Two W e
e frese"
measures

every housewife should take

Becomes Great Producer

Franklin did well enough, but
the was not pleased with his not-
too-rapid progress. In 1914 he
wrote "The Baby," directed,
photographed and edited by him-
self. Following a few jobs, he
became an honest-to-goodness
director in his own right in 1916,
making "Babes in the Woods."

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