By Taylor Jasmine | On November 17, 2017 | Updated December 26, 2018 | Comments (0)
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman is a 1939 stage play considered a classic of twentieth century American theater. Set in small Southern town 1900, it centers on Regina Hubbard Giddens, who conspires with her brothers for control of a family business belonging to her husband, in an era when men were seen as the only legal heirs.
The play has been staged and in revival ever since it was first opened on Broadway in 1939. We’ll look at some of those performances (and a film version) after the following description. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On November 12, 2017 | Updated January 1, 2023 | Comments (0)
The 1968 film version of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, based on the 1940 novel by Carson McCullers, aimed for a faithful adaption. Though it had its merits, the film got mixed reviews.
Strong performances, especially by Alan Arkin as Singer and Sondra Locke as Mick (her film debut) earned them both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations — for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The film received numerous other nominations and awards, and was generally favorably reviewed.
Still, the film fails to capture the sweep and emotional impact of the book, so I’d recommend reading it before considering the film. Here’s a review that was published when the film premiered in 1968: Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On September 14, 2017 | Updated November 22, 2022 | Comments (0)
When Darryl Zanuck was considering making Laura Z. Hobson’s 1947 best-seller about “genteel” anti-Semitism, Gentleman’s Agreement, he faced a common dilemma: At the time, there were significant number of powerful Jews in Hollywood.
As studio heads, they were reluctant to plead for Jewish causes. They even avoided the topic of what had happened with the genocide of European Jews, before, during, and just after the war. Serious social issues were generally avoided because they weren’t good box office business. In tough times, especially, audiences wanted an escape. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On September 13, 2017 | Updated December 18, 2022 | Comments (0)
Gentleman’s Agreement, the classic 1947 film, was based on the novel of the same name by Laura Z. Hobson, who doubted any publisher would want to take it on, let alone that it would become an award-winning film.
It’s the story of Philip Schuyler Green, a journalist who poses as a Jew in order to investigate anti-Semitism in post-World War II New York City and environs.
Though it showed only a narrow slice of “upper crust” anti-Semitism, the film sensitively explores the topic and is quite true to the book. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On September 3, 2017 | Updated December 6, 2022 | Comments (0)
The 1979 movie My Brilliant Career was largely true to the novel of the same name by Australian author Miles Franklin (1897 – 1954) Her first book, it was published in 1901, when she was in her early twenties, though it was written while she was still in her teens.
The novel’s protagonist, Sybilla Melvyn, is a headstrong, creative young woman who fights convention, wishing to assert her independence and become a writer.
Starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill, and directed by Gillian Armstrong, the film enjoyed positive reviews and won a number of awards. Here is one such review that appeared after its American release. Read More→
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