Just watched this on my local PBS station, and the intro person said that Hawks, when he was casting Bacall, used some "casual antisemitism" around her, not knowing she was Jewish. First off, neither did I. But second, I wonder what the casual antisemitism was. Anyone know?
I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
I don't know, but I would guess that the most likely racist pejorative term for a Jewish person would have one that starts with a "K". I suppose that there are other possibilities, though.
shareOnce such comment was made when Hawks took her to lunch, "Do you notice how noisy it is in here suddenly? That's because Leo Forbstein just walked in - Jews always make more noise."
Oh Lord, you gave them eyes but they cannot see...
Okay, that's pretty casual . . .
I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
The source I got this from, "Howard Hawks : The Grey Fox of Hollywood" said that this was the second occurence which had followed an earlier casual remark that first put Bacall on alert that he might not know she was Jewish. She is said to have years later regretted not saying something to Hawks after the remarks. However, the same book said that some Jewish friends of Hawks said he made such remarks just for the effect it had on people, which he found humorous and that he was not a hard-core anti-semite.
Oh Lord, you gave them eyes but they cannot see...
"Jews always make more noise".
How exactly is that remark anti-semitic? Ethnic stereotyping, yes, but not even terribly negative as such.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
From what I've read, Hawks knew that Bacall was Jewish, took her to a Hollywood eatery, made a remark to the effect that the place with "lousy with Jews, let's get out of here" (I paraphrase) just to test Bacall, to see how she'd react. It was all, believe it or not, in good fun. That was well over sixty years ago. Hawks had a mischevous sense of humor. To the best of my knowledge Hawks was not a bigot. He was, however, a product of his time.
shareI'm not sure what casual antisemitism is, but every antisemite i've ever known has been a jerk at heart.
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