Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
70 | NOVEMBER 17 • 2022
A Ground-Breaking Film
T
wo very public instances of antisemi-
tism occurred over the past few weeks.
High-profile celebrities, the rapper/
songwriter Kanye West — or as he now calls
himself, “Ye” — and National Basketball star
Kyrie Irving made international news for their
promotions of long-debunked tropes and false-
hoods about Jewish people.
Unfortunately, the actions of West and Irving
are nothing new in this modern era of rising
antisemitism. It was good to see
that they were met with wide-
spread criticism as well as eco-
nomic punishment as they lost
important sponsors.
Antisemitism was also in the
news 75 years ago. Gentleman’s
Agreement, the acclaimed book
by Laura Z. Hobson (1900-1986)
and the subsequent movie with the same title
starring Gregory Peck (1916-2003) were both
released in 1947. But unlike West and Irving,
Hobson and Peck made significant contribu-
tions to the fight against everyday antisemi-
tism.
Hobson, nee Laura Kean Zametkin, was the
daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. Her
novel, Gentleman’s Agreement, was first pub-
lished as a serial in the magazine Cosmopolitan
in 1946 and released as a book in April 1947.
It sold 100,000 copies in the first month and
became a bestseller.
The protagonist in her novel is a New
York magazine writer, who is asked to write
about antisemitism. He reluctantly takes the
assignment, but after a moment of inspiration,
decides to pretend to be Jewish in order to
personally experience antisemitism. He soon
gains a first-hand knowledge of everyday
antisemitism, both subtle and blatant, in post-
war America.
The movie Gentleman’s Agreement was
released in November 1947. Now generally rec-
ognized as the best post-World War II film to
deal with antisemitism, the movie was critically
acclaimed and a huge success at the box office.
It was nominated for eight Oscars and won
three, including Best Film and Best Director
(Elia Kazan).
Regardless of some tepid critiques
of the movie years later, its enor-
mous impact on the film industry
and audiences cannot be denied.
I decided to research the impact
of Gentleman’s Agreement upon the
local community in the William
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History. I found 113 men-
tions. Along with references to the
book and movie, there are also
some citations of generic “gentle-
man’s agreements,” or unwritten
non-legally binding yet honored
deals between nations or people, but many
pages hold relevant reports about the book and
movie themselves.
Shortly after the book was released, it was a
topic of discussion around town. Rabbi Leon
Fram of Temple Israel discussed the book at
the Detroit Institute of Arts (May 2, 1947, JN).
The Golda Myerson group of Detroit Pioneer
Women reviewed the book in October 1947
(Oct. 24, 1947).
Gentleman’s Agreement also generated
controversy. A JN editorial, “Spanish Justice,”
addressed the Spanish Film Censorship Board’s
banning of the movie (Oct. 15, 1948, JN). The
DeWitt High School in New York banned the
book because “it is offensive to the Roman
Catholic Church (Feb. 20, 1948, JN).”
There are other reports of book and movie
discussions, as well as references to the movie’s
inclusion on lists of best-ever movies. For the
best read on the subject, see the story in the
Oct. 18, 1997, issue of the JN: “The Golden
Anniversary of a Groundbreaking Film.”
It appears that our
local Jewish community
recognized the
importance of Gentleman’s
Agreement. It was indeed
pathbreaking.
Want to learn more? Go to
the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.
djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
Anniversary of a Groundbreaking Film.”
Gentleman’s
A Ground-Breaking Film
Regardless of some tepid critiques
I decided to research the impact
upon the
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
tions. Along with references to the
deals between nations or people, but many