seeking justice:
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With the exception of teachers’ courses, all programs and events
are free with Museum admission and free to Breman members.
Screening a Lynching: The Leo Frank Case in Film and TV
a Forum for Lovers of Film and History
presented by Dr. Matthew H. Bernstein
Film scholar Matthew Bernstein
will lead a film series, Screening a
Lynching, that explores how
Hollywood has dealt with the controversial
subject of the Leo Frank
case. Dr. Bernstein is Professor and
Chair of the Department of Film
Studies at Emory University and the
host/moderator of Atlanta’s Key Sunday Cinema
Club. He is also the author of Walter Wanger,
Hollywood Independent (1994, 2000) and editor of
Controlling Hollywood: Censorship and Regulation in
the Studio Era (2000), among other books. This series
is derived from his forthcoming book, Screening a
Lynching: The Leo Frank Case on Film and TV
(University of Georgia Press, 2009).
View a video introduction to The Breman's film series
Screening a Lynching: The Leo Frank Case in Film and TV.
Spring Series
Sunday, March 16, 2 p.m.
The Leo Frank Case on Film
Using video clips, Matthew Bernstein will present a one-hour
illustrated lecture on the two major American
film dramatizations of the Leo Frank case—one
from outside Hollywood and one from Hollywood.
He will discuss their decision to omit Frank’s
Jewish identity, their handling of Mary Phagan’s
working class background, the sectional prejudice
that informed the case, and their careful approach
to representing Leo Frank’s lynching, if at all.
Sunday, March 23, 2 p.m.
Murder in Harlem (1936)
Pioneer race filmmaker Oscar Micheaux claimed
to have attended Leo M. Frank’s trial in Atlanta in
1913. Whether he did or not is unclear, but he
knew intimate details of the case and made
several films about it—this is the only one that
survives.
This rarely-screened film is one of Micheaux’s best sound films and it depicts the case from an African American point of view: Jim Conley was telling the truth. Atlanta’s film censor cut the film in half.
With Clarence Brooks, Dorothy van Engle, Andrew Bishop as Leo Frank and Atlantan Alec Lovejoy, as the Jim Conley character. 105 MINUTES.
Sunday, March 30, 2 p.m.
They Won’t Forget (1937)
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Poster showing a courtroom scene from “They Won’t Forget.” |
Warner Bros. made this thinly disguised, fast-paced dramatization of the Frank case by adapting Ward Greene’s well-received 1936 novel Death In The Deep South.
Featuring imaginative staging and starring Claude Raines as the Hugh Dorsey character and Lana Turner (in her Hollywood debut) as the Mary Phagan character, this film has been hailed as one of the most powerful films made in Hollywood’s history, and one of only three films to protest against lynching. Not surprisingly, it was banned in Atlanta by the city’s censor. 105 MINUTES.
Sunday, June 8, 2 p.m.
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
Atlanta’s most successful
filmmaker prior to the 1960s,
Lamar Trotti, produced and adapted
his script from Walter Van Clark
Tilberg’s celebrated novel about a
lynching of alleged cattle rustlers
on the western frontier.
Directed
by William Wellman, and starring
Henry Fonda, supported by Harry
Morgan, Dana Andrews, Anthony
Quinn, Leigh Whipper and many other fine character
actors, The Ox-Bow Incident remains Hollywood’s
definitive anti-lynching film. 75 MINUTES.
Fall Series (dates TBA)
All programs will take place on Sundays; dates and times to be announced.
The Leo Frank Case on American TV
Using clips, Matthew Bernstein will present a one-hour
illustrated lecture on the two major American TV
dramatizations of the Leo Frank case from 1964 and
1988, which shift focus to Governor John M. Slaton’s
difficult decision to commute Leo Frank’s death
sentence to life imprisonment and Frank’s subsequent
lynching. He will discuss how these shows, unlike the
film versions of the 1930s, address the role of
antisemitism and depict Frank’s lynching directly.
Profiles in Courage: Governor John M. Slaton (1964)
Still the only TV series adapted from an American
president’s writing, this Peabody Award-winning
series ran for only one season (1963-1964) and
added Georgia’s Governor at the time of the Frank
trial to the list of figures President John F. Kennedy
had discussed in his volume. Governor Slaton
(Walter Matthau) considers his option to run for U.S.
Senate, endures threats from political leader Tom
Watson (Michael Constantine) should he grant Leo
Frank’s appeal for a life sentence, makes that
momentous choice, and deals with the consequences
of his decision. 51 MINUTES.
The Murder of
Mary Phagan
(Mini-series, 1988),
Part One
This stately, big-budget,
two-part mini-series
was shot on location and features Jack Lemmon as
Governor Slaton, Peter Gallagher as Leo Frank,
Kevin Spacey as fictional reporter Wes Brent, Paul
Dooley as Detective William Burns and a host of
other accomplished stage, screen and TV actors in
major roles. The first half takes the story through Leo
Frank’s conviction and decision to appeal.
The Murder of
Mary Phagan, Part Two
Like the Profiles in Courage episode, The Murder of Mary Phagan, Part Two focuses
on Governor Slaton’s hearings and re-investigation of
the Frank trial and his decision to commute Frank’s
sentence, particularly as it affects Slaton’s relationship
with Tom Watson and prosecutor Hugh Dorsey.
While this last is one of many fictional aspects of the
series, The Murder of Mary Phagan remains the most
comprehensive dramatization of the Leo Frank case.
“Story Songs”: The Ballad in American History
Sunday, April 13 at 2 p.m.
Long before tabloids there was the ballad, which captured the public’s imagination and curiosity. Discover how a captivating song both informed and inflamed public opinion.
Javier Albo, a musicologist from Georgia State University, will explore this unique musical tradition, including the controversial “Ballad of Mary Phagan” from the Leo Frank case (1913-1915). Accompanying him will be the Georgia Fireflies, a country-folk ensemble, who will perform with the lively acoustic sounds of the guitar, mandolin, and banjo.
Seeking Justice: Teaching the Leo Frank Case
Thursday, June 12, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Instructor: Sally Levine, M.S.
Offered in conjunction with our special exhibition Seeking Justice: The Leo Frank Case Revisited, this course will provide teachers with the opportunity to review and evaluate materials and strategies for teaching The Leo Frank Case with special emphasis on primary materials.
Teachers will receive a guided tour of The Breman’s special exhibition, and through scholarly lectures, first person accounts, primary sources from The Breman Archives, films and photographs, readings and discussions, will develop the background necessary to teach about Leo Frank in the context of world history, American history and Georgia history. The course content will be closely aligned with state standards for the teaching of language arts and social studies.
The Leo Frank Case: A Study in Ethics & Professionalism
Winter 2008 (Date and time TBA)
This two-hour roundtable session will focus on the legal and ethical aspects of the Frank case. This program is designed not only for attorneys, but for all who are fascinated by history and law.
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