Friday, July 10, 2009
MOVIE REVIEW
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
A Forgotten Trailblazer, With Abundant But Lonely Glories
Gertrude Berg (aka Tilly Edelstein).
A legendary first lady of American television whose signature character Molly
Goldberg captured the hearts of millions during the Great Depression and beyond,
Ms. Berg is profiled in the documentary "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg", directed by
Aviva Kempner. The film opened today exclusively in New York City at the
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in Manhattan. (Photo: International Film Circuit)
By
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday, July 10, 2009
"Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" is one of those undiscovered treasures of a
documentary: it illuminates the heart and broadens the mind. Aviva Kempner
constructs an affectionate portrayal of one of Hollywood's most unsung
television artists, Gertrude Berg (aka Tilly Edelstein), who died in 1966 from a
broken heart as much as from incredible hard work. She pioneered what
would be called the sitcom on American television, while fighting anti-Semitism
and the McCarthy Era movement that kept many entertainers out of work in
Hollywood for at least a decade during the 1950s, accused of being Communist
sympathizers. Ms. Berg's principal creation was Molly Goldberg, and her
signature cry on her television comedy show was, "Yoo-Hoo!" She also wrote
and produced the show, receiving the first Best Actress Emmy Award in the
history of the Emmys. She went on to write 12,000 scripts and won a Tony
Award in 1959. "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" opened exclusively today at the
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York City and will be opening in other U.S. cities
over the next few weeks and months.
Ms. Kempner ("The Life And Times Of Hank Greenberg") weaves a sad, heartwarming
and hopeful portrait of Gertrude Berg, featuring interviews with show business
personalities, historians, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
members of generations of the Goldberg family as they fondly recall her
dedication, single-mindedness and positive portrayals of Jewish women, which
were rare to none at the time, while other women strongly identified with her.
Ms. Berg made her debut via radio just after the Wall Street Crash of October
1929 during the Great Depression, entertaining millions in the process.
The documentary features a lot of archive footage of Gertrude Berg, weaving
excerpts from her show and her status as a pitch person for products on
television, revealing Ms. Berg as a brilliant mind with a resolute strength of
heart and courage. The documentary also depicts her as a communal figure,
not one who condescended to others, while maintaining a sharp and warm sense of
humor, an infectious and engaging presence who influenced more than a bit of
American culture.
The longer one watches "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg", the more one realizes just how
much her incarnation of Molly overtook Ms. Berg's private life, which was full
of personal pains and isolations. The documentary traces Ms. Berg's
emergence in the late 1920s right through to the 1960s, and her transcendence of
racial, cultural and ethnic barriers. Ms. Berg evolved during the era of
the racist Amos & Andy radio and television shows, which her show was second to
during the 1950s. An activist and idealist, Ms. Berg successfully lobbied
for her own show about a Jewish family not to be filled with stereotypes or
anti-Semitic caricatures and defended performers like Philip Loeb, who suffered
sadly at the hands of McCarthyism. Ms. Kempner's film is touching,
sentimental, illustrative and a beautiful tapestry of a courageous woman who
never stopped, nor received the credit she richly deserved. A popular
woman at the height of her fame, Gertrude Berg, arguably the First Lady of
television and radio, has never received the credit now that Lucille Ball still
receives today. Ms. Kempner's film works well as a fond corrective, and
the filmmaker does right by Ms. Berg and examines the politics of Hollywood and
womens' places in it.
An affectionate yoo-hoo to Ms. Kempner for a job well done on a cherished and
forgotten legend.
"Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" is not rated by the Motion Picture Association of
America. The film contains a brief shot of Amos & Andy in blackface, which
some may find offensive. The film's running time is one hour and 32
minutes.
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