The Pawnbroker (film)

• Release Date: 1964
• Director(s): Sidney Lumet
• Writer(s): Morton S. Fine; David Friedkin
• Principal Actors and Roles: Rod Steiger (Sol Nazerman); Geraldine Fitzgerald (Marilyn Birchfield); Thelma Oliver (Ortiz's Girl); Brock Peters (Rodriguez); Jaime Sanchez (Jesus Ortiz)
• Book / Story Film Based On: The Pawnbroker by Edward Louis Wallant

The Pawnbroker is a dramatic film that tells the story of Sol Nazerman, a Holocaust survivor, who moves to the slums of New York City and works in a pawnshop, trying to forget his horrible past.

Rod Steiger, the film’s lead actor, signed onto the project quite early on in the process—about one year after the novel’s initial publication, just after its rights had been purchased. The film’s initial director was Arthur Hiller, but he was fired from the project while it was still in pre-production. Many other high profile directors were approached to replace him, including Stanley Kubrick, but all turned it down. The film’s direction was ultimately handed over to Sidney Lumet, director of other classic films such as 12 Angry Men (1957) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975). Lumet had his doubts about the casting of Steiger in the role of Nazerman, calling the actor’s artistic choices "tasteless," although Steiger, who had worked with Lumet previously on the television series You Are There, trusted the director and agreed to make the film for just $50,000, an amount far below the actor’s usual asking price. Steiger was praised for his acting in The Pawnbroker, and achieved an international level of success and recognition following the film’s release. He was nominated for both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for best actor, but surprisingly lost out in both awards. Lumet eventually came around and recognized Steiger’s talent in his portrayal.

Plot

The film follows Sol Nazerman, a German Jew who was persecuted during the Holocaust for his beliefs. Before the height of Hitler’s power, Nazerman was a professor at a local university, and had a wife and two children. As Hitler’s influence increased, however, the entire Nazerman family was brought to a concentration camp. Throughout the film, Nazerman involuntarily remembers the atrocities he experienced during his time in the concentration camp—including the death of both of his children, and the rape of his wife.

In present times, Nazerman has moved to New York City, and works in the slums of East Harlem. As a result of the horrors he has been through, Nazerman has developed a hard shell to shut out other people and unpleasant emotions. Nazerman works at a pawnshop, where he meets Jesus Ortiz who acts as his assistant. Ortiz takes a particular liking to his boss, but all of his attempts to befriend or reach out to Nazerman are rejected. Nazerman also meets Marilyn Birchfield, a local social worker, who expresses interest in Nazerman, but she is met with the same cold exterior.

Soon, Nazerman learns that Rodriguez, the man who owns the pawnshop, uses the store as a front for his prostitution business. This leaves a particularly bad taste in Nazerman’s mouth, who experiences flashbacks to the concentration camp where he witnessed Nazi officers rape his wife, and therefore refuses to be a part of such an establishment. The two men contend over the issue, and Rodriguez threatens to have Nazerman killed. Ortiz once again has his friendship denied and Nazerman tells Ortiz that he means nothing to him. So hurt by Nazerman’s words, Ortiz helps organize a robbery of the pawnshop by a neighborhood gang. When the robbery occurs, Nazerman does not cooperate, refusing to hand over the money. When a gang member tries to shoot Nazerman, Ortiz has a change of heart and takes the bullet instead, dying in Nazerman’s arms.

Significance

The Pawnbroker was mostly shot on location in New York City over the course of about four months in 1963, with a budget of $930,000. When production of The Pawnbroker was complete, the producers found it extremely challenging to secure a distributor in the United States, with all major companies refusing to take part due to the film’s bleak subject and instances of nudity. Producer Ely Landau attempted to find a distributor overseas, looking to England, but encountered the same roadblocks. In a lucky strike, a West End theatre in London agreed to screen the movie, and the film was met with positive reviews, and finally found a distributor.

Next, The Pawnbroker encountered trouble with the Motion Picture Association of America (or, MPAA) and their Hays Code, which stipulated a set of moral guidelines films released by major studios had to follow. Actresses Linda Geiser and Thelma Oliver exposed their breasts in the film, and this became the first time significant nudity was shown in an American film. The American censors took issue with this, and refused to approve the film with the graphic scenes intact. Landau successfully negotiated with Allied Artists to release the film anyway, but without the MPAA seal of approval, forcing the MPAA into a vote over the issue. Eventually, the MPAA ruled in favor of The Pawnbroker, calling the verdict an exception to the rule and asked the producers to shorten the lengths of the scenes in question. This ruling was a huge victory of the producers of The Pawnbroker and ultimately for filmmakers in general, calling the value of the Hays Code into question, and it was eventually phased out in 1968 in favor of the modern ratings system.

After securing the film’s release in the United States, The Pawnbroker was still a subject of controversy with many special interest groups taking issue with its content. The Catholic Legion of Decency gave the film a condemned rating, and many Jewish groups believed that the film promoted anti-Semitic stereotypes. By and large, however, the film was well received by both critics and audiences alike, who praised the film for its original depiction of a Holocaust survivor as well as Steiger’s powerful performance. The film received awards for both best picture and best director in the New York Film Critics Awards. In 2008, the Library of Congress added The Pawnbroker to the United States National Film Registry, citing its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Awards and nominations

Nominated

• Academy Award (1965) Best Actor: Rod Steiger
• Golden Globe (1965) Best Motion Picture Actor (Drama): Rod Steiger

Bibliography

Cunningham, Frank R. Sidney Lumet: Film and Literary Vision. Lexington: UP Kentucky, 1991. Print.

Grant, Barry Keith, ed. American Cinema of the 1960s: Themes and Variations. Piscataway: Rutgers UP, 2008. Print.

Rapf, Joanna E. Sidney Lumet: Interviews. Jackson: UP Mississippi, 2006. Print.

Stafford, Jeff. "The Pawnbroker." Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Turner Entertainment Networks, 2015. Web. 3 Sept. 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/87957|0/The-Pawnbroker.html>.

Wallant, Edward Lewis. The Pawnbroker. Orlando: Harvest, 1961. Print.