Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

In 1955, Thomas E. Gaddis, a prison consultant, psychologist and writer, profiled the remarkable story of prisoner Robert Stroud in his book Birdman of Alcatraz. A few years after its publication, 20th Century Fox was interested in adapting the biography into a movie. They received pressure by the Federal Beureau of Prisons to abandon the project which they eventually did. It took Burt Lancaster, an actor with the resources and the gumption to make things happen to bring Stroud’s story to the silver screen.

What made Robert Stroud’s story so captivating? Imprisoned for murder, Stroud spent 54 years of his life behind bars, and 42 of those was in solitary confinement. He rebelled against the prison system, killing a prison guard when he was denied a family visit and writing two books which cast doubt on how prisons were being managed. Stroud became famous for his work studying birds earning his name as the Birdman of Alcatraz. He rehabilitated and kept sparrows and canaries and developed medicine to cure a particularly stubborn disease that was killing his canaries en masse. His study contributed to the study of avian pathology in a big way.

With Stroud, Lancaster had an agenda. He admired Stroud’s resilience and said "Stroud will not kowtow. He will not make polite amends for what he has done." According to Lancaster biographer Kate Buford, "[Lancaster] hoped [his film] would galvanize the audience... and came to believe the movie would be the vehicle to free the prisoner."

Karl Malden, Neville Brand and Burt Lancaster in Birdman of Alcatraz

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) stars Burt Lancaster as Robert Stroud, a pimp accused of killing a man who beat up one of his prostitutes. He’s sent to Leavenworth Penitentiary and is under the supervision of prison guard Bull Ransom (Neville Brand). The prison warden Harvey Shoemaker (Karl Malden) is a strictly-by-the-book kind of guy. He believes he can rehabilitated even the worst criminal if they follow his rules. Stroud presents a challenge to Shoemaker’s way of thinking. When Stroud is denied a visit by his mother (Thelma Ritter), he kills one of the prison officials. His mother petitions on his behalf, saving him from execution but he must pay the price of his crime with life imprisonment in solitary confinement. We follow his story throughout the decades as he befriends fellow inmate Feto Gomez (Telly Savalas) and as he helps save and raise an abandoned sparrow. Stroud develops a keen interest in birds and uses not only his smarts but also prison regulation loopholes to raise the canaries in his cell. He becomes famous on the outside for his study on the diseases affecting canaries and befriends an aviary enthusiast Stella (Betty Field). The two create a business together and marry so that they can continue their work. We follow Stroud’s story until he his transferred to Alcatraz, lives through the famous prison riot, eventually leaves the island, meets with his biographer Gaddis (Edmond O’Brien) and is transferred to another facility.

There are no spoilers here because the timeline follows closely the events in the real Stroud’s life. However, Lancaster’s Robert Stroud is essentially different from the real man and many elements of the story are fictionalized. While Lancaster had high hopes that the movie would make an impact and help Stroud finally get parole, it ultimately didn’t. The biggest impediment was Stroud's notorious reputation. He was far more violent than the movie depicted and the Federal Bureau of Prisons classified him as a “violent homosexual.” Stroud died the year after the film’s release and never got to see Lancaster’s portrayal of his life.

Burt Lancaster in Birdman of Alcatraz

Birdman came after a string of notable films for Lancaster including Elmer Gantry (1960), The Young Savages (1961) and Judgement at Nuremberg (1961). Producer Harold Hecht and Lancaster revived their production company Norma to make Birdman. Initially Charles Crichton was on board as director but it quickly became apparent that this was not the project for him. Hot-tempered Lancaster clashed with Crichton and he was swiftly removed. Although Lancaster had also butted heads with John Frankenheimer on the set of The Young Savages, Lancaster admired his work and he was hired for Birdman. The Federal Bureau of Prisons was uncooperative so filming at actual locations was out of the question. Some exteriors were filmed in San Francisco and you can see Alcatraz in the background. The rest of the film was shot on the Columbia Studio lot. Lancaster spent weeks working with sparrows and canaries to prepare for the part. Unfortunately, as is the case with many early films featuring animals, birds were harmed (and killed) in the making of this movie.

This was my first time watching Birdman and I was quite taken with this marvelous movie. It’s long, clocking in at 2 hours and 28 minutes, but it never feels like it outstays its welcome. The audience is given time to live in Stroud’s world and to get to know him and the circumstances he’s living in. Nothing ever feels rushed as is the case with many biopics. I quite enjoyed Lancaster’s more muted performance as the quiet but rebellious Stroud. This film features many of my favorite actors including Karl Malden, Telly Savalas, Neville Brand, Edmond O’Brien and Thelma Ritter. I wish O’Brien had more to do. He’s only in two quick scenes at the very beginning and end.

There are several scenes scenes that really stood out for me in Birdman.

Opening scene – Stroud (Lancaster) and several other criminals, supervised by prison guard Bull Ransom (Neville Brand). Everyone is sweating profusely from the heat. Lancaster removes his prison cap, places his hands inside to protect them and shatters the glass with his fists letting some much needed air in. This is Stroud’s first act of defiance and sets up his character beautifully.

Feto Gomez at Alcatraz – During their time at Leavenworth, Stroud and Gomez (Telly Savalas) become friends. They are reunited at Alcatraz where Stroud is a new prisoner. Gomez has worked up the ranks, gaining the trust of officials and is now responsible for serving the prisoners their meals. The two have a wonderful moment reminiscing about the past and Gomez generously gives Stroud second helpings of food. Stroud asks Gomez how many years he’s been behind bars. As Gomez works through the math we realize why Stroud asked him this and the impact of spending so much of their lives imprisoned.

Prison guard says goodbye to Stroud – Ransom (Brand) and Stroud (Lancaster) were on opposite ends of the prison system and Ransom was always quick to have the upper hand. But after more than a decade together at Leavenworth, Ransom begins to feel a friendly affection for Stroud. He watches him progress in his study of birds. When the two part ways as Stroud is transferred to Alcatraz, Ransom’s eyes wells up with tears, they shake hands and part ways. This is a brilliantly nuanced performance by Brand who adeptly shows tenderness in a pivotal scene.

Rehabilitation Argument – This is by far my favorite scene int he movie. Warden Shoemaker (Malden) and Stroud (Lancaster) never see eye-to-eye. And it’s never more clear than in this moment in the film. Stroud has just written a manuscript criticizing the prison system and Shoemaker blocks it’s publication. Malden’s Shoemaker delivers a speech about his frustration with Stroud for resisting his efforts for rehabilitation. Lancaster’s Stroud comes back with a powerful rebuttal. He presents Shoemaker with the etymology of “rehabilitation” which means to restore someone to their former condition with dignity. It’s a powerful political statement for prison reform if I ever heard one.

In 1963, Birdman was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actor (Lancaster), Best Supporting Actor (Telly Savalas), Best Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter) and Best Cinematography - Black and White (Burnett Guffey). This was Lancaster's third Academy Award nominated performance and he and Frankenheimer worked on a total of five films together.

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Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Olive Films. The discs feature film commentary from Lancaster biographer Kate Buford. My Blu-Ray disc unfortunately was faulty and when I stopped the movie it started over from the beginning. I hope that Olive Films has corrected this by now.

Many thanks to Olive Films for sending me a Blu-Ray copy of Birdman of Alcatraz for review!

Cinema Shame: The Grass is Greener (1960)

Anyone who knows me knows I love Robert Mitchum. He's my favorite actor. Bar none. So why did it take me so long to watch him in The Grass is Greener (1960)? Well I was getting around to it. It's been on my to-be-watched list for years. There aren't many Mitchum comedies so maybe I was saving this for a rainy day. When I was working on my Cinema Shame list for 2018 I decided I was finally going to sit down and watch it. Perhaps I should have kept waiting.

The Grass is Always Greener is a genteel British comedy starring four Hollywood heavyweights: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons. Earl Victor Rhyall (Cary Grant), his wife Lady Hilary (Deborah Kerr) and their two children live in a sprawling British estate that the Rhyalls can't afford to keep. Even their butler Trevor (Moray Watson) has little to do and offers to take a pay cut, which they refuse. To make ends meet the couple harvest mushrooms and opened their estate, with all it's antique furniture and art, as a museum open the general public. One day, an oil rich Texas millionaire, Charles Delacro (Robert Mitchum), wanders into the private part of the estate and meets Hilary. He is enchanted by her and her by him. The two begin an affair. What Hilary doesn't know is that her husband Victor is on to her but let's her travel to London to see Delacro, under other pretenses of course, hoping she'll wise up and come back to him. Hattie Durant (Jean Simmons), Victor's old flame and Hilary's London friend, gleefully gets caught up in the love triangle. She's a glamour queen, with too much time on her hands, who hopes to steal Victor away from Hilary. Will Hilary go back to her old life of growing mushrooms in a museum with her first love or will living a life of plenty with the handsome new stranger win her over?

The Grass is Greener was directed and produced by Stanley Donen. This is one of many films in the 1960s Donen worked on in Europe including Once More, with Feeling (1960), Surprise Package (1960), Charade (1963), Arabesque (1966), Two for the Road (1967), Bedazzled (1967) and Staircase (1968). Donen and Cary Grant own the company Grandon Productions which produced Indiscreet (1958) and The Grass is Greener.  After their film Indiscreet, Donen and Grant bought the rights to
the British stage play by Hugh Williams and Margaret (Vyner) Williams which premiered in 1956 and had a successful run in the West End. Stage actor Moray Watson played the part of Trevor the butler in the production and was the only actor from the original cast to appear in the film adaptation.

Grant initially turned down the role of Victor. Actor Rex Harrison came on board. When Harrison's wife Kay Kendall became ill, she died soon after, he had to drop out and Grant stepped in. According to Grant biographer Marc Eliot, Grant insisted the movie be shot in London so he could spend time in his home country. Deborah Kerr had been avoiding the cool English lady roles but wanted to appear again with Grant, Mitchum and Simmons. Mitchum had been in London filming The Sundowners, along with Kerr, and stuck around to make this movie.

The cast members were quite familiar with each other. In addition to The Sundowners, Mitchum and Kerr appeared together in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957). Simmons and Mitchum appeared in She Couldn't Say No (1952) and Angel Face (1953). Simmons and Kerr were in Black Narcissus (1947) and Young Bess (1953). Kerr and Grant were in Dream Wife (1953) and An Affair to Remember (1957). For Grant and Mitchum, however, this was their only film together. Off screen they were polar opposites which worked for their on screen personalities. But inevitably they clashed on set. Grant worried that Mitchum's coolness made him look uptight and Mitchum worried that Grant's dialogue heavy role made him look like a man of too few words. Which it did on both counts. Mitchum biographer Lee Server points out that Grant and Mitchum were served poorly by the material. The same could be said for Kerr and Simmons. In his interview with Stanley Donen, author Marc Eliot remarked "Donen remembers the film as a milestone of sorts, marking the end of a certain type of sophisticated British comedy, before the antic humor of Peter Sellers arrived and dominated the English cinematic 1960s.

The cast and crew were made up of some of the most talented names of the era. There was original music by Noel Coward. Simmons wardrobe was designed by Christian Dior (and Kerr's by Hardy Amies). Moray Watson struck me as familiar but I couldn't quite pinpoint him. When I looked him up I was pleased to see that he also played one of my favorite characters, the Brigadier, in the British mini-series The Darling Buds of May.

Unfortunately, The Grass is Greener was a bore. Not even the amazing cast, beautiful sets, a mid-century aesthetic I so adore and Simmons' gorgeous Dior wardrobe could have saved this for me. The allure of having not seen the movie all these years outweighed any pleasure I experienced actually watching it.  Perhaps for me the grass seemed greener on the other side when it really wasn't. The movie wasn't a complete loss though. Staring at Robert Mitchum didn't hurt (and yes I'd pick him over Cary Grant any day). Any scene with Simmons was a delight because she added much needed levity to the story. Also the duel scene was quite fun, even if it was because Grant, Mitchum and Watson wore thick-rimmed glasses, a style of the era I'm obsessed with.

The Grass is Greener (1960) is the second of eight films that I am watching for the 2018 Cinema Shame challenge. Check out my original list and stay tuned for more reviews! Special thanks to my good friend Frank who loaned me his Olive Films Blu-Ray copy of The Grass is Greener.

The Miracle Worker (1962)

Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker (1962)

It seemed like an impossible task. How does one teach a young girl who is blind, deaf, and mute how to communicate with the world? It would take a teacher of great strength who would persist against all odds. It would take a miracle worker.

As a toddler, Helen Keller (Patty Duke) contracts a serious illness which leaves her blind then deaf. There are few resources for the Keller family and they raise her as best as they know how. Mother Kate Keller (Inga Swenson) dotes on her child, Captain Arthur Keller (Victor Jory) fusses over the situation and their oldest son James (Andrew Prine) thinks it's all a hopeless cause. Years pass and Helen has gotten worse. Spoiled by parents and servants who want nothing but to calm her down, Helen is in a chaotic state. Unkempt, erratic and with little understanding of the world around her, the Kellers are at their wits end. They take a chance on a teacher who offers to work with Helen. As soon as Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft) arrives she gets to work on Helen. Trying to teach her words through sign language, decorum through example, and everything through repetition. It's an exhausting task as Helen fights her tooth and nail and the Kellers, including Aunt Ev (Kathleen Comegys), get in the way more than they help. It seems like Annie has the most difficult job in the world: to teach Helen how to communicate and to be a part of the world around her.

Inga Swenson, Victor Jory, Andrew Prine, Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft in a scene from The Miracle Worker (1962)

The Miracle Worker (1962) is based on William Gibson's play about Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan. Much of the inspiration comes from Keller's own autobiography. Gibson's play debuted on live television on Playhouse 90 and went on to become a popular Broadway production starring both Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. Bancroft won a Tony Award for her performance. It was inevitable that The Miracle Worker would be adapted to film. According to Anne Bancroft biographer Douglass K. Daniel, William Gibson was dismayed by the play-to-film failure of his work Two for the Seesaw and wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. He collaborated with producer Fred Coe and director Arthur Penn. The three started a production company called Playfilm Productions and United Artists financed and distributed the film.

Bancroft and Duke almost didn't get their parts. United Artists wanted Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor to ensure a financial return on their investment. Duke was almost not considered because it was thought she was getting too old for the part. Thank goodness Gibson stood his ground because Bancroft and Duke deliver masterful performances and I can't imagine the film without either of them.

Patty Duke and Helen Keller

The film was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Director (Arthur Penn), Best Writing (William Gibson) and Best Costume Design (Ruth Morley). It's no surprise that Anne Bancroft won for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Patty Duke won Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Bancroft was not at the ceremony to accept her award and actress Joan Crawford accepted it on her behalf. Duke was the youngest actor to win a non-honorary Oscar until Tatum O'Neal broke the record in 1974.

The Miracle Worker (1962) is a film that grabs hold of you and won't let you go. It requires all of your concentration which you will so willingly give because the subject matter is fascinating. The film itself is not a miracle rather a result of hard work and a lot of talent. When I watched it I felt equal parts exhausted and enlightened. It's a complicated and brilliant film that breaks you down and builds you back up.

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The Miracle Worker (1962) is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Olive Films.

Thank you to Olive Films for sending me a copy of this film to review!

Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

Stefan is a tortured artist. A once celebrated composer, he has abandoned his craft for a transient life of excess. He leaves a trail of broken hearts behind him. A wealthy man has challenged him to a duel, one Stefan doesn't plan to go through with. When he arrives at his home, his butler John presents him with a letter. It's from someone he doesn't quite remember, a dying woman named Lisa. Lisa has been in love with Stefan ever since she first laid eyes on him at the tender age of 16. Over the years she follows his career and longs to be with him. They have a short and passionate affair that leaves her bearing his child. Every time she comes into his life, Stefan doesn't remember Lisa. She's relegated to the status of unknown woman. Lisa's letter tells Stefan the story of her love for him, the one he's neglected to appreciate over the years.

Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan in Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) is Lisa's story. We follow her from her teenage years all the way until the delivery of her letter to Stefan. The film stars Joan Fontaine as Lisa Brendle, the impressionable and shy young woman whose fierce devotion to the object of her affection makes her more of a tragic figure than her early demise. Fontaine plays Lisa at different stages at her life. At the age of 30, which Fontaine was at the time of filming, it's difficult to pull off playing a 16 year old. However, Fontaine's natural talent for playing shy yet passionate characters makes an impression. Had they cast another actress to play teenage Lisa, the viewer wouldn't have felt such a strong connection to the character as they do when they follow Fontaine as Lisa throughout the film.Louis Jourdan plays Stefan, the impossibly handsome composer who refuses to be pinned down by life. The only constant in his life is John (Art Smith) his mute butler. It drives me mad to see how Stefan can forget Lisa so quickly. Doesn't he realize just how special she is? The art of this film is how it makes one feel so strongly about a fictional character.

Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan in Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

Directed by one of the greatest directors of all time, Max Ophuls, Letter from an Unknown Woman is a stunning movie. It's rich in emotional drama without becoming overly sentimental. The audience enters the world of Lisa and Stefan giving us the room to understand and sympathize with Lisa as we follow her journey. Stefan is elusive and feels just out of reach, much as he does in Lisa's life. The film boasts trademarks of Ophuls work including European sensibilities, a complex and interesting female protagonist, a duel, and luxurious sets and costumes that are pleasing to the eye.

The story is based on a novella by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig. The plot had to be toned down quite a bit for American movie audiences. Produced by Joan Fontaine and her husband WIlliam Dozier's company Rampart Productions, the film got its start at RKO. However they couldn't get the plot past the Hays Office. Max Ophuls convinced Universal Pictures head William Goetz to let him make the movie when Ophuls cornered Goetz in a Turkish bath. At Universal, screenwriter Howard Koch adapted the story. Because of the increasing number of independent production companies and players, members of the Hays Office knew it would eventually get made so they negotiated with Universal on several plot points to get it approved. Most notably the couple, and their son, had to be punished for having relations out of wedlock. I suspect that having the story based in Austria helped their cause. American audiences could relegate the behavior of the protagonists as something those naughty Europeans do. The otherness of the characters was less threatening than if they were Americans going against their own moral code.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the perspective of the story. Most see it as Lisa's point-of-view. It's infuriating for viewers to see how Stefan neglects Lisa and can't fully remember her when he encounters her again. She loves him with such fervor so why can't he wake up and appreciate this? The only person Stefan seems to remember is his mute butler John. Possibly because he is the only person who does not ask Stefan for anything. Unlike Stefan's many romantic flings or admirers of his music who demand new art from him. Another school of thought places the perspective on Stefan. He reads Lisa's letter and imagines her story through the filter of his own ego. In this way she is a more submissive, loving, and self-sacrificing character than what she might have been in real life.

Letter from an Unknown Woman is the second Max Ophuls movie I've watched but won't be my last. Ever since my viewing of The Earrings of Madame De... (1953) I've been very interested in Ophuls as a director. Letter was made during the ten years in which Ophuls lived and worked in the United States before moving back to France. In the early 1930s, Ophuls predicted the rise of German Nazis and as a Jew wisely fled Germany for France. He held out in France for as long as possible. However, a serious threat by the Nazis forced him to leave France and after a short stint in Switzerland, he made his way to Hollywood. The film industry already had plenty of European emigres. Ophuls found it difficult to break into the business. He worked as an independent director with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s production company, Universal Studios, Paramount Studios and MGM making one film with each. After the war, Ophuls moved back to France and continued his film career there.

Olive Films has released a limited edition Blu-Ray of Letter from an Unknown Woman as part of their Oliver Signature line. Only 3,5000 copies have been made and once they're gone, they're gone. Olive Films already had a Blu-Ray edition of this film but the Signature edition is a collector's item fans of the film will want to have. The film has undergone a 4k restoration and looks absolute brilliant. The Blu-Ray is tucked into a beautifully designed and slender slipcase. The bonus features include commentary by Litz Bacher, a Max Ophuls expert who speaks specifically on the production of the film. Also included are interviews and essays. I particularly enjoyed the video interview with Max Ophuls' son Marcel Ophuls who speaks at length about their time in the United States.


The Olive Signature Edition of Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) is a must have for classic film collectors and Max Ophuls enthusiasts alike. Thank you to Olive Films for sending me a copy for review!

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J'accuse (1938)

"I dedicate this film to the dead of the war of tomorrow, who will no doubt watch it skeptically without recognizing in it their own image." - Abel Gance

Yesterday my husband and I had a lovely conversation with a 93 year old WWII veteran who fought on D-Day in 1944. He told us about the time when he went back to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of the battle. My husband asked if visiting was difficult for him to go back and he replied "not really." In fact during the most of the conversation this vet brushed off any notion that anything to do with his service, including the dwindling size of his infantry, had any bad effect on him. This vet was either impervious to the brutalities of war or was still living with the decades old stigma of shell shock and the societal pressure of being a brave soldier.

But what about those who were affected and showed it openly? Director Abel Gance's J'Accuse (1938) shines a spotlight on the mental anguish caused by war. Victor Francen plays Jean Diaz, a soldier during WWI, is having an affair with the wife of fellow soldier Laurin (Marcel Delaître). It's the eve of the armistice and Laurin's troop has been chosen by lots to fight at Ravin des Dames, a battle that will lead to certain death. Laurin gives Jean a series of letters to send to their shared love Edith (Line Noro). Jean decides instead to swap places with another soldier and fight alongside Laurin and the others in the troop. Jean is the sole survivor and he returns to Edith. But he discovers he's lost his love for her and instead focuses his energy on preventing another war. Twenty years pass and the threat of a second great war is looming. Jean, who displays photos of the lost soldiers in the form of a cross above his bed, is haunted by the dead. His mental state spirals out of control. When Jean hears the news of the impending war he summons the dead from the graves in an epic and fantastical finale.

"I hope they have enough trees to make crosses." - Morat

I've read a few summaries of this film and many focus on the love triangle between Jean, Laurin and Edith. While this is certainly part of the plot it's not really the heart of the story. J'Accuse is Gance's anti-war manifesto. It comes almost 20 years after his silent version of the story, released in 1919 focusing on WWI. Gance remade the film in a sound version but chose to expand the story and bridge both WWI and the impending WWII. It's a fantastic film yet it's also bleak, unrelenting and difficult to watch. I had started and stopped the film several times. After my conversation with the WWII vet I was in a better head space to tackle the film and watched it all the way through.

J'Accuse is my first Abel Gance film but it certainly won't be my last. I've had my eye on Napoleon for a while and will be watching the original J'Accuse very soon.

Jean Diaz (Victor Francen) at the tombs of his fellow soldiers

The title is inspired by Jean accusations. He blames Europe of not learning from the past war to prevent a future one. I was particularly taken by Jean's speech, delivered just before his downward spiral. I've transcribed it below:

"I accuse the war of yesterday of making the Europe of today. And I accuse the war of tomorrow of preparing its destruction. I accuse mankind of failing to learn the lessons of the last catastrophe, of waiting with folded arms for the next war.  I accuse the short-sighted, the egotists, of having allowed Europe to be divided instead of building a permanent alliance. And I accuse the men of today not only of failing to understand, but of laughing when reminded of the most beautiful expression on earth: love one another. I accuse you same men of ignoring the voices of the millions who died in the war and who have cried out to you for 20 years Stop! You're taking the same terrible path!" - Jean Diaz

J'Accuse was released a few months before the start of WWII. According to Gance's end credits, the film's success demonstrated that France wanted peace not war. I've always been drawn to these types of stories. I credit Dalton Trumbo's anti-war novel Johnny Got His Gun for my love of literature and for influencing my politics. And in many ways it contributed to my passion for film. I was particularly fascinated by how Gance focuses on the dead and how their sacrifice should never be forgotten. The film is worth watching not only for it's message but also for the wonderful cinematography, the fine performance by lead actor Francen and an early depiction of zombies, who differ greatly from our modern representation of the paranormal.

Even if you're put off by the subject matter, I encourage you to tackle this film. J'Accuse is an underrated classic and important time capsule of world history.

J'Accuse (1938) is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Olive Films. Thank you to Olive for a copy of this film to review.