The Warners followed a safe course in "The Life of Emile Zola," in New York. The story, of course, is the biography of Zola and the history of the Dreyfus case, factual inseparables. The Warners haven't been too fond of history; they've been chang-t to suit themselves for years; their biographies havent al-been models, either, although "Story of Louis Pasteur" was altogether satisfactory. But here they have made their peace with truth and their bid for a niche in the cinema's Hall of Fame: "The Life of Emile Zola" is one of the finest things Hollywood has done.
It is historically accurate (granting every dramatist reasonable licence); it is dramatically vibrant; it is magnificently played; it is handsomely produced; it is eloquently written. It is, in a very real sense, as timeless as the material it employs, as the theme it treats, The courageous spirit of Zola, who fought for truth and justice, shines through it in the brilliant performance of Paul Muni.
The patient, doglike loyalty of Dreyfus to his god—the army—is expressively stated by Joseph Schildkraut.
The flaming, intrepid Maitre Labori—Zola's attorney—is realized in the lifelike portrait by Donald Crisp. All the characters, the scenes. the incidents connected with history's most celebrated case have been recreated with such marvelous fidelity that the film has documentary, as well as dramatic, quality.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.