The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Norman Reilly Raine (screenplay) &
Heinz Herald (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 October 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

He'll Hold You In Silence As Deep As Your Emotions !

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Devil's Island | Author | Writing | Army

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Paul Muni	...	Emile Zola
Gale Sondergaard	...	Lucie Dreyfus
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Capt. Alfred Dreyfus
Gloria Holden	...	Alexandrine Zola
Donald Crisp	...	Maitre Labori
Erin O'Brien-Moore	...	Nana (as Erin O'Brien Moore)
John Litel	...	Charpentier
Henry O'Neill	...	Colonel Picquart
Morris Carnovsky	...	Anatole France
Louis Calhern	...	Major Dort
Ralph Morgan	...	Commander of Paris
Robert Barrat	...	Major Walsin-Esterhazy
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Paul Cezanne
Grant Mitchell	...	Georges Clemenceau
Harry Davenport	...	Chief of Staff
Robert Warwick	...	Major Henry
Charles Richman	...	M. Delagorgue
Gilbert Emery	...	Minister of War
Walter Kingsford	...	Colonel Sandherr
Paul Everton	...	Assistant Chief of Staff
Montagu Love	...	M. Cavaignac
Frank Sheridan	...	M. Van Cassell
Lumsden Hare	...	Mr. Richards
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Helen Richards
Florence Roberts	...	Madame Zola
Dickie Moore	...	Pierre Dreyfus
Rolla Gourvitch	...	Jeanne Dreyfus
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Chief Censor (uncredited)
Maurice Black	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	(uncredited)
Egon Brecher	...	Brucker (uncredited)
Iphigenie Castiglioni	...	Madame Charpentier (uncredited)
Robert Cummings Sr.	...	Gen. Gillian (uncredited)
Frank Darien	...	Albert (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	(uncredited)
Holmes Herbert	...	Commander of Paris (uncredited)
Paul Irving	...	La Rue (uncredited)
Alexander Leftwich	...	Maj. D'Aboville (uncredited)
Eric Mayne	...	Member of the Court (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Mathieu Dreyfus (uncredited)
Alex Novinsky	...	Member of the Court (uncredited)
Moroni Olsen	...	Capt. Guignet (uncredited)
Frank Reicher	...	M. Perrenx (uncredited)
Walter O. Stahl	...	Sen. Scheurer-Kestner (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Swartzoppen (uncredited)
Pierre Watkin	...	Prefect of Police (uncredited)
Dolores Weisenfreund	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Harry Worth	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)

Directed by
William Dieterle

Writing credits
Norman Reilly Raine		(screenplay) &
Heinz Herald		(screenplay) &
Geza Herczeg		(screenplay)
Heinz Herald		(story) and
Geza Herczeg		(story)
Matthew Josephson		(source material "Zola and His Time")

Produced by
Henry Blanke	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Tony Gaudio		(photography)

Film Editing by
Warren Low

Art Direction by
Anton Grot

Set Decoration by
Albert C. Wilson		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(costumes)
Ali Hubert		(costumes by)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Irving Rapper	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Russell Saunders	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Harper Goff	....	set designer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Irving Rapper	....	dialogue director
S. Charles Einfeld	....	press representative (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (present) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1937) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Warner Bros. Picture)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #3212) | Canada:G (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Canada:(Banned) (Quebec) (theatrical release) | USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

Goff Island, Laguna Beach, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

This was the first film to receive 10 Academy Award nominations.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The lettering on the door to Clemenceau's office at the newspaper misspells his first name "George" instead of the correct French spelling, "Georges".

Quotes:

Émile Zola:What does it matter if an individual is shattered - if only justice is resurrected?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Majestic (2001)

Soundtrack:

La Marseillaise

Fine acting, poor history

I highly recommend "The Life of Emile Zola" for the brilliant performances of Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard, and Joseph Schildkraut. (Although I still must admit I'm surprised by Schildkraut's Oscar victory...although he certainly does a good job as Alfred Dreyfus, the role doesn't really give him much opportunity to demonstrate his talents. Dreyfus is not shown in any depth; his role consists almost entirely of protesting his innocence and languishing in prison.)

Strong performances aside, though, I do have some problems with the film. It strikes me as very odd that a film that makes such a big deal about "the truth" is so hesitant at actually depicting it. One of the key issues of the Dreyfus affair, anti-semitism, is never even brought up. The only reference to Dreyfus' Judaism is a passing glimpse on his personnel papers. The filmmakers' reluctance to address such an important part of the story does a disservice to history.