Gregory Peck in 'Gentleman's Agreement'

'Gentleman's Agreement' is a brilliant and powerful, ground-breaking film made in 1947, directed by Elia Kazan, dealing directly with the hitherto unspoken subject of anti-Semitism.

It starred Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield and Celeste Holm and was based on the novel of the same name by Laura Hobson which was actually published at the same time as the film was released.

The film delivers a strong message which was even more potent on release in 1947 with memories of the Holocaust still fresh and with the state of Israel only recently formed.

Daryll F. Zanuck, the production chief of Twentieth Century Fox got the idea of making a film on the theme of anti-Semitism when, as a young man, he had been refused membership of Los Angeles Country Club for being Jewish, even though he was in fact Gentile. It is ironic that the other movie moguls of Hollywood, the vast majority of whom were Jewish immigrants, tried to warn Zanuck off making the movie as it would stir up trouble. Despite this, and to his great credit, Zanuck was not deflected from his purpose and saw the project through.

The movie was one of Fox's highest grossing movies of 1947 and was nominated for eight Oscars, winning three, for Best Picture, Best Director for Elia Kazan and Best Supporting Actress for Celeste Holm. It lost in five categories,including Best Actor and Best Actress.

Grregory Peck plays a journalist who decides to try to gain a real-life perspective on anti-Semitism by pretending to be Jewish. We see a number of incidents where he is slighted because of his supposed religion, the most insidious and prevalent being the subtle "gentleman's agreement" whereby anti-Jewish sentiments are taken for granted. He becomes a determined crusader against prejudice, helped by his Jewish friend, Dave Goldman, played by John Garfield, who in real life was Jewish.

It is tragically ironic that HUAC, the House Un-American Activities Committee, although publicly an avowed Communist-hunting group, also pursued an agenda of anti-Semitism, and the majority of people associated with making the film were called to testify before the Committee. John Garfield died, aged 39, of a heart attack, the night before he was due to
appear before them for a second time. It was the Gentleman's Agreement in action.

Read more about 'Gentleman's Agreement'.