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MOVIES
Joyce: This is a very conventional documentary with nothing going for it except for its very interesting subject.
Rico: It's the story of how Gertrude Berg created the character Molly Goldberg.
Amazingly, she originated and wrote all of the scripts as well as starred.
Joyce: "The Goldbergs" and Molly were one of radio and then TV's very popular sitcoms. The immigrant Goldbergs were an upbeat, positive attitude Jewish-Americans, full of appreciation for the American dream. They were also very warm and fuzzy.
Rico: Aviva Kempner the documentarian made "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg". It seems the theme of these two films is their relationship to how the American culture related to "Jewishness."
Joyce: Berg, was indeed a TV pioneer. She did the show on radio for 17 years before going on early television in 1949. She won the first Emmy for best actress, and really paved the way for those who followed her, especially, Lucille Ball. Berg was forced off the air, making way for Lucy and Desi.
Rico: There are many interviews with those who were her contemporaries and those influenced by her and her work. Noteworthy would be Susan Stamberg, an NPR correspondent still on the air today, as well as the likes of Norman Lear, Ed Asner, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Joyce: One of the interviewees declared that her Jewish immigrant parents, who had no relatives in America, considered Molly's family as their extended family. That's how influential the Goldberg family was to many.
Rico: This is a wonderful nostalgic view of life when it was supposedly simpler.
That is, if you didn't know what was going on behind the scenes.
Joyce: Berg was a brilliantly talented lady--writing, acting and a wise business woman as well, who steered her career and the show through both good and bad days.
Joyce: ***
Rico: ***
Now Playing at the Drexel:
Film: Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg
Cast Includes: Gertrude Berg, Norman Lear, Roberta Wallach, Sara Chase, Margaret Nagle, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Documentary: By Aviva Kempner
Running Time: 90:00
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