Gentleman's Agreement (1947) * *

Directed by:  Elia Kazan

Starring:  Gregory Peck, Dorothy Maguire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, Dean Stockwell

Gentleman's Agreement won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Picture.     Depsite this, director Elia Kazan reportedly did not like the movie (he won Best Director).     He said he didn't feel any passion in the film and the romance between Peck and Maguire was forced.     These are noteworthy observations from the film's own director.     This is a preachy, somber film that is about as subtle as a sledgehammer in its examination of anti-Semitism.      Speeches are made and music swells in the background to cue us on how we should feel, but where is the heart?

Anti-Semitism is certainly a topic worth exploring, but not the way it is done in this film.    Gregory Peck stars as Phil Schuyler Green, a gentile writer hired by a liberal magazine to write an expose on anti-Semitism.     After running into dead ends on how the piece should be tackled, he decides to pose as a Jew and write about the trouble he encounters when trying to rent a room at a hotel, get into exclusive clubs, etc.     He has a budding romance with rich Kathy Lacy (Maguire), who is not anti-Semitic, but doesn't want to rock the boat with her rich family and friends by speaking out against it.     This causes problems with Green, who is full of self-importance and pomposity.    

I don't know if anti-Semitism was as open as the segregation of blacks and whites in 1947, but the maitre-d's, club owners, and hotel managers in this movie display it wantonly and openly.     Once Green announces himself as Jewish, these guys flick on the anti-Semitic switch and become hostile, almost proud anti-Semites.      Wouldn't it be more effective if their prejudice was expressed in subtler ways?      Kazan and writer Moss Hart were apparently more interested in attacking with a blunt instrument.     

The romance between Peck and Maguire lacks any real juice, like Kazan himself suggested.     Because each Comes From a Different World, they clash on ideology often.     You would think they were trying to get all of their fights out of the way so when they get married they won't have the desire to argue.      The only Jewish character in the movie is Green's friend Dave (Garfield), a GI on leave who knows all too well about the effects of anti-Semitism.     Celeste Holm won an Academy Award as Anne, who works at the magazine and has more chemistry with Peck than Maguire.     However, her involvement with Peck and Garfield is murky.     Is she having an affair with the married Dave?    Is she in love with Green?    She certainly gives off those vibes, but nothing is spelled out.     It is a shame, because like in All About Eve (1950), she creates a lively character.   She seems to be the only one having a good time here.

Kathy often tells Green that he is morose and solemn, which is correct.    Anne also tells him, "Is that a smile I see?"    These are maybe sly in-jokes about Peck's performance, which is indeed morose, solemn, and full of pondering.     He plays Green as a pompous bore, forever preaching to someone about something, as if he is in love with the sound of his own voice.      Perhaps back in 1947, such treatment of this subject was deemed necessary, but I think it is only preaching to the converted, and even they would probably not approve of the film's heavy-handed approach.