Review of Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg (2009) by John M — 12 Jul 2009

A grand reclamation project to rewrite our history of the sit-com and the blacklist, among other topics, by presenting the extraordinary life and considerable work of Gertrude Berg. Berg wrote some 12,000 scripts over 17 years for radio and television to reflect on Jewish identity in her time. Ample footage from the paleotelevision era show a very ethnic show that took many a brave stand in the face of popular sentiment and world events. Interviews with Edward R. Murrow show a very canny and assimilated woman who inhabited the role for most of her waking hours. Her campaign to protect her costar Philip Loeb, accused of being a Communist seemingly for agitating for better working conditions and greater job security for actors, is amazing for its robustness while nonetheless tragic.

Sure, the filmmaker employs the "talking-head" format quite often, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and NPR's Susan Stamberg are capable of presenting their positions with authority.