Based on the book Captain Dreyfus: A Story of Mass Hysteria by Nicholas Halasz, I Accuse! (1958) is a dramatic reenactment of the notorious turn-of-the-century trial that scandalized the French government. For those of you not familiar with this courtroom case, which exposed the anti-Semitic prejudices held by the French ruling class, here are the basic facts. Alfred Dreyfuss, a Jewish staff officer of the French Army, is suspected of revealing government secrets to the enemy and is charged with treason. Despite his innocence, he is found guilty, stripped of his rank and medals in public, and condemned to life imprisonment on Devil's Island, leaving behind a wife and two children. Dreyfuss supporters, however, including writer Emile Zola, one of the most popular and internationally respected figures in the French literary community, successfully fight to win a retrial for the prisoner. In the meantime, the real traitor is revealed but government and army officials are afraid to admit their mistake for fear of the demoralizing effect it would have on French citizens. So, Dreyfuss is found guilty a second time. Despite the verdict, the President of France, aware of the true facts in the case and responding to public outrage, pardons Dreyfuss and reinstates him in the army.

The title of the film comes from Emile Zola's headline for his fiery editorial that appeared in French newspapers at the time. The controversy not only revealed major weaknesses in the justice system but still stands as a classic case of bureaucratic bungling. Because of the important issues it raises, it's easy to see why any director would be drawn to the material and Jose Ferrer was a natural for the project. No stranger to controversial subject matter, Ferrer had previously directed The Shrike (1955) in which an emasculating wife drives her husband to a nervous breakdown and The Great Man (1956) where a beloved television star is revealed to be a despicable phony. For I Accuse!, Ferrer cast himself in the title role after unsuccessfully searching for a suitable lead, and hired some of the most respected actors in the film world to appear in supporting roles including Anton Walbrook as the traitorous Major Esterhazy, Herbert Lom as Major de Clam, Harry Andrews as Major Henry, Viveca Lindfors as his wife, Lucie, and Emlyn Williams as Emile Zola.

Besides the Emile Zola connection, I Accuse! carries an impressive literary pedigree due to its screenplay by Gore Vidal. The novelist had recently signed a contract with MGM and established his reputation quickly as an adaptor of literary works such as The Catered Affair (1956), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), and Ben-Hur (1959). While Vidal has few kind words to say about his experiences in Hollywood, I Accuse! is one of his more successful adaptations but was underrated at the time of its release. Audiences in 1958 were flocking to entertainments like South Pacific and Auntie Mame and didn't anticipate much pleasure from I Accuse!. While it's clearly not everyone's idea of an entertaining night out at the movies, I Accuse! is a fascinating history lesson and a powerful drama for the discriminating movie lover.

Producer: Sam Zimbalist
Director: JosåÀerrer
Screenplay: Nicholas Halasz (book), Gore Vidal
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Costume Design: Elizabeth Haffenden
Film Editing: Frank Clarke
Original Music: William Alwyn
Cast: Jose Ferrer (Captain Alfred Dreyfus), Anton Walbrook (Major Esterhazy), Viveca Lindfors (Lucie Dreyfus), Leo Genn (Major Picquart), Emlyn Williams (åÀile Zola), David Farrar (Mathieu Dreyfus), Herbert Lom (Major de Clam), Harry Andrews (Major Henry), George Coulouris (Colonel Sandherr).
BW-100m. Letterboxed. Closed captioning.

by Jeff Stafford