The Life of Emile Zola  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

I accuse Colonel Dort of having been the diabolical agent of the affair, and of continuing to defend his deadly work through three years of revolting machinations.

I accuse the Minister of War of having concealed decisive proofs of the innocence of Dreyfus.

I accuse the Chief of Staff and the Assistant Chief of Staff of being accomplices in the same crime.

I accuse the Commander of the Paris Garrison of the most monstrous partiality.

I accuse the War Office of having viciously led a campaign to misdirect public opinion and cover up its sins.

I accuse the first court-martial of violating all human rights and condemning a prisoner on testimony kept secret from him.

And finally, I accuse the Esterhazy court-martial of covering up this illegality by order, thus, in turn, committing the judicial crime of acquitting a guilty man.

In making these accusations, I am aware that I render myself open to prosecution for libel. But, that does not matter. The action I take is designed only to hasten the explosion of truth and justice.

Let there be a trial in the full light of day!

I am waiting.


--Émile Zola (played by Paul Muni in The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Related e

Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Shop

Featured:

The Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author Émile Zola. Set in the mid through late 1800s, it depicts his friendship with noted painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement in the Dreyfus affair. The film had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles and was a great success both critically and financially; contemporary reviews cited it as the best biographical film made up to that time. It is still held in high regard by many critics. It is the second biographical film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

In 2000, The Life of Emile Zola was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

[edit]

Plot

Struggling writer Émile Zola (Paul Muni) shares a drafty Paris attic with his friend, painter Paul Cézanne (Vladimir Sokoloff). A chance encounter with a street prostitute (Erin O'Brien-Moore) hiding from a police raid leads to his first bestseller, Nana, an exposé of the seamy underside of Parisian life.

Other successful books follow. Zola becomes rich and famous; he marries Alexandrine (Gloria Holden) and settles down to a comfortable life in his mansion. One day, his old friend Cézanne, still poor and unknown, visits him before leaving the city. He tells Zola that he has become complacent, a far cry from the zealous reformer of his youth.

Meanwhile, a French secret agent steals a letter addressed to a military officer in the German embassy. The letter confirms there is a spy within the top French army staff. With little thought, the army commanders decide that Jewish Captain Alfred Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut) is the traitor. He is courtmartialed and imprisoned on Devil's Island in French Guyana.

Later, Colonel Picquart (Henry O'Neill), the new chief of intelligence, discovers evidence implicating Major Walsin-Esterhazy (Robert Barrat) as the spy, but he is ordered by his superiors to remain silent, as this revelation would embarrass them. He is quickly reassigned to a distant post.

Years go by. Finally, Dreyfus's loyal wife Lucie (Gale Sondergaard) pleads with Zola to take up her husband's cause. Zola is reluctant to give up his comfortable life, but the evidence she has brought him piques his curiosity. He publishes a letter in the newspaper accusing the army of covering up a monstrous injustice. Zola barely escapes from an angry mob incited by agents provocateurs employed by the military.

As he had expected, he is brought to trial for libel. His attorney, Maitre Labori (Donald Crisp) does his best, but the presiding judge refuses to allow him to bring up the Dreyfus affair and the military witnesses all commit perjury, with the exception of Picquart. Zola is found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison. He reluctantly accepts the advice of his friends and flees to England, where he continues to write on behalf of Dreyfus.

A new administration finally admits that Dreyfus is innocent, those responsible for the coverup are forced to resign or are dismissed, and Walsin-Esterhazy flees the country. However, Zola dies of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty stove the night before the public ceremony in which Dreyfus is exonerated.

[edit]

Cast

[edit]

Awards

Academy Award nominations


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "The Life of Emile Zola" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Retrieved from "http://artandpopularculture.com/The_Life_of_Emile_Zola"
Personal tools
Metas