Skokie (1981)

Danny kaye at hismost serious

In one of his last film roles Danny Kaye becomes deadly serious,as he gets involved in a row splitting a town apart - should Nazi sympathisers be given a platform for their views? The Jewish residents think not. Judge for yourself. June 18, 2008

SKOKIE

After looking forward sometime to viewing this film, I am sad to report that the film is far too fragmented. What could have been a very thought provoking movie, turned out to be a failure.
The acting was very wooden in parts, only Kaye rose above the average school of players.
The subject matter could have been alot more hard hitting, for if this was based on fact, it was far to limp.
April 3, 2008

Good to see this again

"Skokie" was, I believe, the last vehicle for Danny Kaye, and one of his few serious roles. I was most impressed with it when it first aired, and had tried to find it over the years since. Danny Kaye is terrific, and surprising, in the role he plays. A young George Dzundza, whom I did not remember as having been in it, delivered an excellent performance as well. Over all I was delighted with the DVD although I wish there had been some more of the history of the true incident, and of the fine cast, included as special features. August 23, 2006

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The subject matter may seem corny or outdated to a young person, but not to anyone who knows the dark side of history the Nazis created.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 main cast, featuring the great Mr. Kaye, Kim Hunter, Ed Flanders and Lee Strasberg (all of whom are sadly no longer with us), is excellent and all turn in the fine performances that one would expect of actors of their sterling talent.

Do not ignore the past, Skokie is saying, in case our apathy might 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 and wave the flag in order to further the sickness of bigotry. April 26, 2004

Strong recreation testing the extent of free speech

Skokie is the name of the small suburb outside Chicago and home to a large Jewish populace, many of whom are survivors of the Holocaust. In 1977, it was also the epicenter of an uproar when the American Nazi Party publicly announced they would hold a rally in the center of the town. This film examines the inevitable aftermath of emotions felt nationwide (particularly among the township's residents), along with the legalities of speech protection by the First Ammendment, no matter how pejorative.
The story intensifies its dramatic (and ironic)pitch when the ACLU quickly sides with the Nazis, despite many of its members being Jews. They explicitly indicate how even hateful ideology and practices are protected under the Bill of Rights; a move that angers even its most ardent supporters. The film's theme is this most basic of arguments: do even hate groups of this vile nature have the right to free speech. Or does this act breach any limitations set forth in the ammendment (such as yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded theater)? And if so, will stopping this march undermine the principles of the Bill of Rights?
An first-rate cast delivers excellent performances to this reenactment: John Rubenstein as the ACLU's attorney desperately trying to convince the public that the Nazis have a right to conduct their assembly, George Dzundza as the menacing leader of the Nazis, Kim Hunter as a Holocaust survivor haunted by the horror of the concentration camps, Eli Wallach (making a brief but strong cameo) as a disgruntled senior ACLU member. Leading this ensemble is the late Danny Kaye in a rare dramatic role. When his character is first alerted of the Nazi's imminent move, he attends a town council meeting and vehemently objects to the Nazi's actions. This performance was a refreshing turnaround from his early comedic roles.
Despite some lapses into melodrama, "Skokie" challenges viewers of all ages to this question: Should a group like the American Nazi Party be allowed the freedom of speech even though if they ever came to power, they would surely deny such freedom? May 17, 2002

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