Skokie (1981) (TV)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Herbert Wise

Writer:

Ernest Kinoy (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A dramatization of the controversial trial concerning the right for Neo-Nazis to march in the predominately Jewish community of Skokie.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | March | Nazi | Aclu | Mayor

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Danny Kaye	...	Max Feldman
John Rubinstein	...	Herb Lewisohn
Carl Reiner	...	Abbot Rosen
Kim Hunter	...	Bertha Feldman
Eli Wallach	...	Bert Silverman
Brian Dennehy	...	Police Chief Arthur Buchanan
George Dzundza	...	Frank Collin
Ed Flanders	...	Mayor Albert J. Smith
Stephen D. Newman	...	Aryeh Neier
James Sutorius	...	David Hamlin
Lee Strasberg	...	Morton Weisman
Marin Kanter	...	Janet Feldman
Robin Bartlett	...	JDL Girl
David Hurst	...	Sol Goldstein
Ruth Nelson	...	Grandma Jannsen

Also Known As:

Once They Marched Through a Thousand Towns (UK)

Runtime:

125 min | Germany:115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Norway:18

Company:

Titus Productions

Trivia:

This would be the final appearance of Danny Kaye before motion picture cameras, and his only straight dramatic work.

Goofs:

Continuity: One actress seen in the synagogue protesting the Nazi march is seen later in the ACLU office answering phones and defending the Nazi march.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: Danny Kaye: A Legacy of Laughter" (1996)

Skokie: Lest We Forget

He could have his pick of them but this is the only film role Danny Kaye took after a 12 year retirement of sorts.

He managed to sandwich in Skokie amid a slew of TV specials, tributes, and various other glorified career retrospectives. It would be his last significant work before the cameras, and it proved to be some of his finest.

The subject matter may seem corny or outdated to a young person, but not to anyone who knows the dark side of history the Nazis created.

And now here in a land where liberal communist sympathizers had been attacked at every turn for decades by the authorities, the conservative neo-Nazi party was enjoying a blind eye being turned to them. They were allowed to run rampant, particularly in America's East, and specifically in Illinois.

The cast, including the late Mr. Kaye, Kim Hunter, Ed Flanders and Lee Strasberg, is excellent and all turn in the fine performances that one would expect of actors of their sterling talent.

Naturally the old racist line turns up that goes "the only trouble with Hitler is that he didn't finish the job." But yes, that fact actually did mean not only "trouble" for his party, it meant the downfall of his entire regime - as well as the echoes of it here in America. Do not ignore the past, Skokie is saying, lest our apathy be mistaken for weakness.

These days, though, two decades after Skokie was filmed, we're keeping a much closer eye on Oregon than Illinois, but the message is the same - maintain constant vigilance upon those who would hide behind the Constitution in order to further the sickness of bigotry.