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 | Writing | Paris France | Court Martial

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 3 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)
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")

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

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson
Ali Hubert

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

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

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

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

Other crew
Irving Rapper	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #3212)

Filming Locations:

Goff Island, Laguna Beach, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The first biographical picture to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Quotes:

La Rue: We've been watching your writings, young man. You're a troublemaker! These articles of yours, attacking our leading men of letters, the arts! Criticizing the civic authorities!
Émile Zola: Perhaps you know of something better for me to criticize?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

May my name be forgotten, if Dreyfus is not innocent.. He is innocent.

In 1937, The Life of Emile Zola was nominated for the largest number of awards, ten. The movie won three including Best Picture. However, sadly and in some ways shamefully, this film has been ridiculed for being dated today, it's ways and means a little obsolete, and it's style rather unusual. That is downright unjust! The style which is portrayed in this remarkable seventy year old film is quite conventional. The dialogue is perhaps overwritten, but the powerful story is there, and the story line is enhanced by intelligent dialogue to say the least, as well as, first rate performances by an excellent cast, preferably Paul Muni (giving possibly his best performance) as Emile Zola and supported well by Joseph Schildkraut as Dreyfus. Not to mention, the film is technically excellent. Editing, costuming, lighting - without doubt, and all the production values stand up beautifully even several decades later.

Sure it's a fictionalized version of the life of the great French writer Emile Zola, however, great fiction can make a great film and that is the case with The Life of Emile Zola. One may forget that this film was released in 1937 when anti-Semitism was again sweeping the continent of Europe, and for that very reason, the word "Jew" is never mentioned and we are only given a short visual reference. To avoid lawsuits from their descendants, only Major Dort and Major Esterhazy names were specifically identified. Others are referred to as the Chief of Staff, the Minister of War, etc. Also, Dreyfus was not freed and restored to rank in 1902, the year of Zola's death, but in 1906 after being found guilty again in an 1899 retrial. These historical errors can be forgiven, because it's the films message which stands and given the current climate, the movie's message is all the more important.

The shifting focus of this film doesn't make it a frustrating experience for modern viewers. In fact, the film flows quite nicely: struggling writer, gets in trouble for his book, then the film follows Zola's success as he becomes a powerful force in society. Eventually we get to 1894, where many claim the film to zoom away from its subject, where the film begins to focus on Dreyfus. With that being said, if you sit down to watch The Life of Emile Zola, don't skip the first third of the movie, because it's every bit as moving and powerful as the dramatic court scene, most notably in the unforgettable self-defense scene in which Muni delivers an outstanding performance.

Unfortunately, had Muni not won the previous year for another biopic, The Story of Louis Pasteur, he would have received the Oscar for his portrayal of Zola. Muni was not only nominated for an Oscar for this role but also received awards from many critics groups. Today many dismiss the significant talent of Muni (one of films first devoted actors), however, one cannot deny he had a great deal with elevating the art of film acting.