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The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

APPROVED  116 min  -  Biography | Drama   -  2 October 1937 (USA)
7.4
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Ratings: 7.4/10 from 2,336 users  
Reviews: 32 user | 21 critic

The biopic of the famous French muckraking writer and his involvement in fighting the injustice of the Dreyfuss Affair.

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Norman Reilly Raine (screenplay), Heinz Herald (screenplay), and 4 more credits »
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Won 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Muni ...
Gale Sondergaard ...
Joseph Schildkraut ...
Gloria Holden ...
Donald Crisp Donald Crisp ...
Maitre Labori
Erin O'Brien-Moore Erin O'Brien-Moore ...
Nana (as Erin O'Brien Moore)
John Litel John Litel ...
Charpentier
Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill ...
Morris Carnovsky Morris Carnovsky ...
Louis Calhern ...
Major Dort
Ralph Morgan Ralph Morgan ...
Commander of Paris
Robert Barrat Robert Barrat ...
Major Walsin-Esterhazy
Vladimir Sokoloff Vladimir Sokoloff ...
Grant Mitchell Grant Mitchell ...
Harry Davenport ...
Chief of Staff
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Storyline

Fictionalized account of the life of famed French author Emile Zola. As portrayed in the film, he was a penniless writer sharing an apartment in Paris with painter Paul Cezanne when he finally wrote a best-seller, Nana. He has always had difficulty holding onto a job as he is quite outspoken, being warned on several occasions by the public prosecutor that he risks charges if he does not temper his writings. The bulk of the film deals with his involvement in the case of Captain Alfred Dreyfus who was falsely convicted of giving secret military information to the Germans and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devils Island. Antisemitism played an important role in the real-life case but is hardly mentioned in the film. Even after the military found definitive evidence that Dreyfus was innocent, the army decided to cover it up rather than face the scandal of having arbitrarily convicted the wrong man... Written by garykmcd  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Devil's Island | Writing | Author | Army  | See more »

Taglines:

Here Is True Greatness ! See more »

Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

A Vida de Emile Zola See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Pictures See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to severe flooding in Los Angeles in 1938, the presentation of the Best Picture Oscar for this movie was postponed from Thursday March 3rd to Thursday March 10, 1938. (see also - In the Heat of the Night and Raging Bull). See more »

Goofs

Miscellaneous: When Erin O'Brien-Moore as Nana comes into the café from the snow, the artificial snow stays on her clothes long after real snow would have melted, then suddenly in a second it disappears with the next cut. See more »

Quotes

Émile Zola: At this solemn moment, in the presence of this tribunal, which is the representative of human justice, before France, before the whole world, I swear that Dreyfus is innocent! By all that I have won, by all that I have written to spread the spirit of France, I swear that he is innocent. May all that melt away; may my name perish if Dreyfus be not innocent. He is innocent.
See more »

Connections

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) See more »

Soundtracks

"La Marseillaise"
(1792) (uncredited)
Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Variations often in the score See more »