5. The Gentleman's Agreement
Gregory Peck is the epitome of the standup individual with his role as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and especially his role in the Elia Kazan message film, The Gentlemans Agreement. The reason why it is called a message film is that it is a film in which the obvious message is clear. It is not okay to be anti-Semitic. The film plays like the inspiration to the book Black like Me in which he is a reporter who changes his name to a gentile name to see how different people treated a man who is suspected of being Jewish. The film was made by Elia Kazan who is one of the greatest American directors who would alter go on to make A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront. But, with The Gentlemans Agreement, his usually naturalistic style is replaced with a stuffy story that drowns in its own pretentiousness. It is not a great movie which is saved by Gregory Peck but it certainly feels like an important movie. The modern day equivalent of the film is that of a film that is trying to vie for an Oscar like Crash or The Blind Side. It doesnt breathe like some other message films like a Guess Whos Coming to Dinner. Maybe it needs to be celebrated for the risks the film takes in 1947 but, for a modern audience it felt overly obvious.