Review of Gentleman's Agreement (1947) by Daniel K — 11 Jun 2013

3: Gregory Peck is definitely the right man for this role. It is essentially the same character he played variations of time and time again (to include To Kill A Mockingbird), but no one else could play it like him.

This is one of those film's I've read about but had never actually seen. I can't tell for sure how much has changed since it was made. Probably a lot in most circles, but I'm fairly certain there are still large segments of society that would still tend to have these feelings.

As peck's character discovers over the course of the film, most prejudices are not as blatant and obvious as many people think. They are largely subconscious and unconsciously acted upon. I would wager that everyone has prejudices of one kind or another, but those depicted in the film are for the most part fairly subtle.

Masquerading as Jew for six months is an interesting concept and it makes for a quality film. Kazan seems to have been the right man for the job as his touch is just right, while he also got the perfect lead and solid supporting cast as well.

This was obviously a unique and difficult film to make in it's day (a major studio would likely balk at making something like it today for that matter, more because of commercial necessities than subject matter I suppose) so it's place in the pantheon of film's that changed Hollywood is certainly justified.