While most of the old Hollywood studio heads were Jews, they did not
promote Jewishness in their films, mainly because they wanted their films
to appeal; to mainstream America. So there were very few references to the
ethnic backgrounds of movie characters, whether doctors, intellectuals or
showbiz types - even though their accents might have "given them away".
This began to change after the Second World War, with two significant
movies appearing in 1947. One is GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT, directed by Elia
Kazan, concerning an Aryan played by Gregory Peck pretending to be a Jew to
reveal anti-semitism. The word "Jew" is used repeatedly, making it a
groundbreaking mainstream movie. Ironically, it was produced by Twentieth
Century Fox, which was headed by an Irishman - Darryl. F. Zanuck. The other
film was CROSSFIRE, directed by  Edward Dmytryk. This concerned the murder
of a jew by a racially bigotted soldier, played by Robert Ryan. However, in
the original play (called The Brick Foxhole) the victim was a homosexual,
but as that was a real no-no in film of that time he was "converted" to a
Jew.
In Nazi Germany cinema, Jews were the villains and blamed for just about
everything - including sinking the Titanic! These days, ethnicity is
generally accepted in film, including using the real names of actors and
actresses, when in the old days they would have been "Anglicized".
Anyway, good luck with your "doctor" hunt.
---------
> From: Harvey R Greenberg Md <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Jewish doctors, cinematic and televisual
> Date: Friday, February 26, 1999 3:40 PM
>
> for an upcoming article, I need both specific references and general
thoughts
> about Jewish doctors, identified specifically as such   or identifiable
by
> other means  in film and television (not literature)
>
> My own initial overview: most are psychiatrists or psychoanalysts, few
appear
> before the Fifties; most are depicted as intellectual  compassionate
> politically left  alienated  outsiders  embittered  all or some of the
above
>
> your thoughts would be greatly appreciated
>
> many thanks
>
> harvey roy greenberg, md
>
> ----
> Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the
> University of Alabama.