This film is certainly not as interesting in plot or in writing as many of the radio shows or TV episodes, but it is a taste of Gertrude Berg and the rest of the cast. My main reason for writing is to correct the impression left by a previous reviewer that Mrs. Berg did not fight to retain Phillip Loeb in face of the blacklist charges against him. According to "Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg" -- a documentary made by Aviva Kempner, featuring many of the actors in the show -- Gertrude Berg worked tirelessly to find another sponsor before giving up and accepting that the show would have to replace him if it was going to return to the television airwaves. Reviewers should be very cautious about charges of this sort before making them in a forum where others may rely on them without doing further research.
Add a Review
-
dsmithcohen6 January 2011
-
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre12 January 2003Gertrude Berg starred in the extremely popular radio sitcom "The Goldbergs", which made a successful transition to television and then to this one-off film. The appeal of "The Goldbergs" was similar to that of its contemporary "The Honeymooners": both featured working-class character studies in 1950s New York City, although "The Goldbergs" was more broadly ethnic, and featured more plausible situations and gentler humour. "The Goldbergs" was very much beloved in its time, yet it has not lingered in the public consciousness in the same way that "The Honeymooners" has done. In 1973, Kaye Ballard starred in a Broadway musical ("Molly") based on "The Goldbergs": it ran only two months. "The Goldbergs" was unique for its time, in that the lead actress was also the head scriptwriter and a producer of the series: a few male actors were also their own scriptwriters and producers, but Gertrude Berg was the first woman to work so effectively on both sides of a radio mike or tv camera.
The film version of "The Goldbergs" plays out like a long tv episode. The Goldbergs are anticipating a visit from Alexander Abel. Years ago he was Jake's classmate, and he was engaged to Molly before she decided to marry Jake: in the interim, Alexander has become a wealthy businessman, while Jake is a partner in a garment-cutting business just barely making a profit. Jake is anxious to impress his former rival with his own success, even though it means putting up a false front. Alexander, meanwhile, has recently got himself engaged to Debby, a very pretty woman from the midwest (Barbara Rush) who is young enough to be his daughter. When Debby meets a handsome music teacher who is nearer her own age (Peter Hansen), she feels a romantic conflict. Meanwhile, Jake has a chance to expand his business ... but only by hocking everything he owns. Of course, it's up to Molly to set everything to rights.
The director of this film, Walter Hart, is totally unknown to me, but he shows some real talent. One very poignant scene takes place entirely by matchlight. (Actually there must have been back-up lights, but their presence is unobtrusive.) When Rush and Hansen first kiss, the camera cuts away to show us Gertrude Berg's reaction, rather than the event itself. The humour throughout is gentle and subtle, with heavy reliance on Jewish speech patterns ... but always plausibly and affectionately. There are a few malapropisms carried over from the broader humour of the radio version of this series, such as "I'm honoured and steamed to meet you" and "I have a grosgrain headache". I was impressed by the brief appearance of a black maid, played by Shari Robinson: this character could easily have been depicted as a "yassuh" stereotype, but she's an entirely realistic and dignified character: a well-spoken servant, but not servile. Larry Robinson and Arlene McQuade are excellent as the Goldbergs' two children: they don't look Jewish, but their working-class New York accents are exactly right for the characters they play here. The art direction (by Paramount stalwarts Pereira and Bumstead) is exactly right: the Goldberg home has furnishings precisely appropriate to the family's income level.
David Opatoshu (looking amazingly like the young Hans Conreid) is extremely good here, as Jake Goldberg's chartered accountant who is also the Goldbergs' neighbour across the dumbwaiter shaft. (This film is full of 1950s artefacts such as dumbwaiters.) Philip Loeb gives a standout performance as Jake Goldberg, especially in a tragicomic scene involving a soda-water bottle. Loeb was notoriously blacklisted after he got mentioned in 'Red Channels' ... Gertrude Berg straight away dropped him from 'The Goldbergs', and Loeb committed suicide.
SLIGHT SPOILER HERE. I was extremely impressed with the ending of this film. After risking his last cent in a business deal with Abel, Jake Goldberg faces bankruptcy when Abel walks out of the deal. At the end of the film, an opportunity arises which *might* bring huge profits to Jake, but which more likely will merely return him to the precariously profitable situation where he started. I really dislike movies and tv shows in which a character takes some huge risk which then (conveniently) pays off big dividends by the end of a 30-minute episode. "The Goldbergs" was a very realistic series. I'll rate this movie version 7 out of 10: I would make it 8, if not for the extremely bad sound recording. -
grizzledgeezer25 March 2013Once upon a time... American Movie Classics was one of the best cable channels. Not only was it free, but it showed every kind of movie you could imagine -- from programmer garbage to some of the best movies ever made. I saw great films I'd never heard of, such as "The Scarlet Empress". AMC's conversion to a premium channel showing mostly well-known films was a major loss to anyone who enjoys movies.
One of the unfamiliar films AMC showed was 1950's "The Goldbergs". (It is /so/ unfamiliar that the Wikipedia article doesn't even mention it, an omission I'll correct after finishing this review.) I have nothing to add to F MacIntyre's excellent review, except this
SPOILER!!!
Molly Goldberg often tried to "make things right", sticking her nose where it didn't belong. In this film she goes way too far, so screwing up things that, at the end, it looks as if her husband will lose his business.
For a belovéd actress to portray her character as a fool who harms those around her (even though unintentionally) took guts. This probably explains the film's failure -- it was not at all what audiences expected.
"The Goldbergs" is worth seeing. Unfortunately, there appears to be no home-video edition. -
seventiesflicksgirl17 February 2007Philip Loeb was incredibly apt in his portrayal of The Golderg pariarch. I've onlt seen the syndicated episodes woth Robert H. Harris as Jake, but after having seen this theatrical version of the sitcom, it's unmistakably clear that the part of Jake was tailor-made for Loeb. He was magnificent! Getrude as Molly, the matriarch, was her usual warm & tender self, that you can't help but enjoy watching her, as well as Peter Hanson as the music teacher who falls for Barbara Rush's character, who happens to be engaged to Edward Franz's character, which of course, complicates things. Larry Robinson & Arlene McQuade are great, as is Eli Mintz as that lovable Uncle David. whom we all adore. I'm not sure this post contains an actual spoiler, but checked the box to be on the safe side.
Overall, a very entertaining 80 minutes. If you manage to catch this on DVD, you're in for a treat. -
THE GOLDBERGS(1950) was produced by Paramount about a year after the TV series launched. I sort of remember the series but really only recall the "Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Bloom" bit and the old ladies hanging out their windows and gossiping across the alley, which was parodied on other shows. Gertrude Berg was a big star on radio and early TV and also a writer. She wrote this film version which has the family expecting an old boyfriend of Molly's (Berg) who has become a rich businessman in Indiana (out west). When he shows up, he has a surprise: a young fiancée (Barbara Rush in her film debut). Always the kibitzer, Molly arranges for young Rush to accompany her to a music appreciation class, where Rush instantly falls for the teacher (Peter Hansen). There's also a young widow living next door to the Goldbergs who would make a better wife for her old friend (Eduard Franz). How will it all end? The series had a long and varied life on radio from 1929 to 1946 in various formats, lengths, and time slots. In 1949 it became a TV series and endured a rocky run. The McCarthy Era raised its ugly head and blacklisted co-star Philip Loeb. Berg refused to fire him from the series so CBS canceled it in 1951. NBC grabbed the show but refused to have Loeb. She relented and the show went on, though she continued to pay Loeb his salary until he committed suicide in 1955. The show then ran on the Dumont Network and first-run syndication until 1957. Berg won an Emmy as best TV actress during the CBS run.
Berg is pretty much the whole show in the movie version (probably on radio and TV also). She was a whirlwind of talent as an actress and writer. She also owned the show. There was also a Broadway play in 1948 written by Berg. At the end of the decade she was a Tony Award for the play "A Majority of One." Anyway, co-stars in the film include Eli Mintz as David, Larry Robinson and Arlene McQuade as the kids, David Opatoshu as the accountant, Betty Walker as a neighbor, Sarah Krohner as Elka, Josephine Whittell as Mrs. Van Nest, and Phyllis Kennedy as an adult student. A time capsule, yes, but one that preserves an important slice of America as it used to be.