"

kt,1

Itv

ri

Reel Jewish

'One Of The no 3rwrood Ten'

e art of cinema story-
ing, according to British
film editor John Richards, meets
with successIvhen audiences are
both entertained and instructed,
*and Richards feels those quality
measures are amply fulfilled in
One of the Hollywood /t)7, the
centerpiece of this year's Jewish
Community Center Lenore
1Vlai-vvil Jewish Film. Festival.
Richards did considerable
research to understand the peo-
, ple being depicted and the his-
torical context of the events

recalled.
The movie-- to be shown 8
p•rn• Sunday, April 28, in
Commerce Township; Tuesday,
April 30, in Birmingham; and
Monday, May 6 ? in Ann Arbor
-- examines the lives of Jewish
film director Herbert Biberman,
portrayed by Jeff Goldblum, and
his wife, movie star Gale
Sondergaard; played by Greta
Scacchi.
*. Both central characters in this
- very dramatic history were
blacklisted from Hollywood in
the 1940s and 1950s. They got
caught up in the political hunt ,?';'
for Communists an4*.g
targets of the House
American Activities Committee
and the red scare tactics of the
late Sen. Joseph'McCarthy an
his Permanent
Subco mmittee.
'''

•

Mexico and pay differentials
between white and Mexican
miners, also is unraveled in One

of the Hollywood Ten.
The film takes its title from
events after World War II, when
the Cold War with the Russians
made Americans concerned
about Communist influences.
Congress asked many motion
picture icons to testify about the
presence of Communists in their
industry
Biberman was among eight
screenwriters and two directors
who refused to answer and were
subsequently denied work by

CINEMATIC DIVERSITY

•

•

months in prison. His accusers
were writer Budd Schulberg and
producer-director Edward
Dmytryk.
Because of his banishment
from Hollywood, Biberrnan
released Salt of the Earth in
Europe in the 1950s, and it won
awards in France and
Czechoslovakia. In 1965, the
movie was shown in America.
Biberman's last film, Slaves, an
adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin,
was completed in 1969, just two
years before his death, and his
work met with positive reviews
in France.

..•

•

come y,starri
Walken.: "I used
footage to make:
the film seem to be
footage. I wanted to
people understood tithe film
was grounded in truth."

Written and directed by Karl
Francis and made in England
and Spain, the film probes
Biberman's refusal to testify
before Congress and his subse-
quent imprisonment. The piece
then follows him into independ-
ent work after being shunned by
colleagues.
Controversy over Biberman's
film The Salt of the Earth, which
exposed terrible working condi-
tions faced by miners in New

rlesg.
Guild
ssistant sta e
ager in 1928, according to
Sandra Brennan of the

University -Of California-
Berkeley. Fie entered films as a
director and screenwriter in
1935 and made One Way Ticket •
(1935), Meet Nero Wolft (1936)
and The Master Race (1944).
His refusal to testify before
Congress occurred in 1950,
when he was sentenced to six

ta ge from
Holocaust newsreels,
"We've had very favorable

reactions to the film from our
audiences," Richards says. "Karl
is a Welshman, and we've shovvn
this at a Welsh film festival with
fantastic results. The impact
does seem strongest with Jewish
audiences."
— Suzanne Chessler

Once We Grow Up, a bittersweet
French sex comedy distinct in that
just about every character is Jewish,
follows the experiences of a young
man who befriends a pregnant neigh-
bor.
"We're very happy that these films
provide high entertainment while
making people feel and think about
David
what it is to be Jewish," says
Magidson
Magidson, who tracks films through
distributors, other festival coordina-
tors, magazine articles, Web information and a net-
work of people who regularly showcase Jewish films.
While Susan Marwil has a commitment to the fes-
tival as the niece of Lenore Marwil, she also has a
commitment to the cultural enrichment provided
through the program and has been a
volunteer since it started.
"The festival adds to the importance
of Detroit as a cultural city," says
Marwil, in her second year working on
the selection committee. "It also leads to
a better understanding of different back-
grounds and points of view."
Marwil, who has taught English and
French
at Berkley High School, suggests
Susan
that
a
number
of films will be of special
Marwil
interest to teens as well as adults.
"In Search of Peace offers an exciting
way to learn about the history of Israel," says Marwil
who also recommends the Oscar-winning One Day
in September, which probes the terrorist act that
killed Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics in
Munich.
"I think teens also would like Blue and White in
Red Square, which is about young musicians, and
Time of Favor, which is about devotion to religion
and country"
Hollander, a CPA who has been a
member of the Temple Kol Ami
Cultural Commission, is in his fourth
year volunteering for the film festival
and remains enthusiastic about what
will be introduced.
"Our process has us reviewing films
independently to decide on which
ones will be shown, and it's amazing
Martin
how we all agree on the final selec-
Hollander
tions," says Hollander, who with the
other committee members, screens
about 100 films and decides on about 25 for viewing.
Hollander is particularly taken with Left Luggage,
starring Isabella Rosselini as a nanny unfamiliar with
the customs of the Chasidic family that hired her,
and To Be Or Not to Be, starring Jack Benny in a
new print of the 1942 movie about a Polish acting
troupe that foils one of Hitler's plans and saves
thousands of lives.
Real and imagined personalities add to the impact
of the remainder of the films selected for presenta-
tion this year. They include:
• A Conversation with George Burns, initiated by
TV's Monty Hall, traces a century of comedy and

CINEMATIC DIVERSITY

4/19
2002

72

from page 65

on page 76