Should TCM still be used for independent contractor contracts? Yes, independent contractor and consultant contracts are a type of contract and TCM should be used for all contracts in the future. The bestseller Gentleman`s Agreement was published in Cosmopolitan (November 1946-February 1947) before being published as a book. In an interview with Cosmopolitan in July 1947, author Laura Z. Hobson explained, “What did I try to do with the book? I think a woman who wrote to me summed it up in two wonderful sentences. She says, “The bad guys aren`t really scary. It`s the millions of nice people who do and allow dishonest things. I think that`s the heart of what I wanted to say. Hobson noted that Darryl Zanuck, fox`s production manager, who made the film his only personal production of 1947, told him that if the film failed at the box office, it would “set Hollywood back twenty years to honestly address the problem of prejudice.” It was the first time that the famous playwright Moss Hart wrote directly for the screen. Director Elia Kazan explains in his autobiography that Jewish leaders from other major film studios held a meeting in which they urged Hart to convince Zanuck not to make the film because they did not want to stir up anti-Semitism. A March 1947 New York Times article noted: “Some objections [to the film] have come from Jews who think the image can increase rather than reduce intolerance, but a much larger proportion of Jewish opinion approves of the venture, according to Zanuck.
In a November 1947 New York Times column, critic Bosley Crowther mentioned a rumor that a “well-known Hollywood producer” was trying to convince Hart that the film should not be made, a situation reflected in the film itself, when a Jewish industrialist, quoting Crowther, said, “You can`t write it from existence. The less we talk about it, the better. Leave him alone! According to twentieth century-Fox`s legal records, scenes were filmed at various locations in New York City, including Rockefeller Plaza and the NBC Building, as well as in Darien, CT. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that John Garfield accepted his limited role in the film after Zanuck promised that the film would remain true to Hart`s script. The film`s promotion indicates that Zanuck Garfield paid “his full star salary” for the role. Daily Variety praised Garfield and Celeste Holm`s acting in the film`s review, stating, “It`s an image in which the performances of the supporting actors equal or exceed those of the two main actors.” Fox Legal Records reports that Morris Carnovsky was initially hired to play “Professor Lieberman,” but his contract was terminated by mutual agreement. Modern sources claim that the film was Fox`s highest-grossing image from 1948, that it cost $2,000,000, and that it was the second largest box office in the South until then. The film received the Oscar for Best Picture and Celeste Holm won the award for Best Supporting Actress. Gentleman`s Agreement was also nominated for An Academy Award for Best Actor (Gregory Peck), Best Actress (Dorothy McGuire), Best Supporting Actress (Anne Revere), Screenplay (Moss Hart) and Editing (Harmon Jones). According to an advertisement in the Motion Picture Herald in April 1948, the film won fifty-one film-related awards, including the New York Critics` Circle Award.
In a modern interview, Kazan said of the film: “For the first time, someone said that America is full of anti-Semitism, both consciously and unconsciously, and among the best and most liberal people. It was a much bolder statement then than it is today. It was about telling the audience, “You`re an average American and you`re anti-Semitic.” In his autobiography, Kazan relativizes his enthusiasm for the film by stating that it “does not have what would have made it last in its effect: the intimate experience of someone who had lived the bitter and humiliating experience.” Critics have praised the film a lot. The Los Angeles Daily News hailed it as “both bold and adult, a film that is not afraid to name names or depict a love story whose conflicts are exceptionally over ideas.” Hollywood Reporter called the film “the most fascinating story ever put on celluloid.” The Protestant Motion Picture Council urged viewers to “have courage to see it. It really means seeing him, dealing with his personal implications, and then “doing something about it.” The film`s dialogues refer to a number of then prominent demagogic characters known for their bigotry, including the United States.