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.
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> 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
>
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> University of Alabama.