(1882–1974) American film
producer, born in Warsaw,
Poland. Known as a
man of
taste and a perfectionist, Goldwyn demanded the best, whatever the
cost. It was said that as long a s one agreed with him it was easy to get along with him; otherwise h e could be impossible. His last film, Porgy and Bess (1959), based on a
play about a
crippled black beggar, was extremely controversial and received a great deal of
attention before filming even started. Many blacks protested the filming of this story because they felt that it was a giant
step backward in their fight for equalityNa story of fornication, drug addiction and
murder, all told in heavy dialect, that, in their
opinion, did nothing but reinforce black stereotypes. One black
organization placed a double
page advertisement against the film in various papers. After the filming of the movie started, Goldwyn and the
director had disagreements about how the movie should be filmed. Goldwyn finally
fired the
director, even though h e had successfully directed Porgy and Bess on the
stage as a
play and an opera. After that, another advertisement appeared in papers which stated in part: "The whole atmosphere at the Goldwyn studio is
calculated to impress you that you are in the
presence of a ‘Great I Am,’ the High Lama of Celluloid."
—State of Man Congress Approved Gls (14.5.92)