The House I Live In
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| The House I Live In | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Mervyn LeRoy (uncredited) |
| Produced by | Frank Ross Mervyn LeRoy |
| Written by | Albert Maltz |
| Starring | Frank Sinatra |
| Music by | Earl Robinson (song) |
| Cinematography | Robert De Grasse |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 9 November 1945 |
| Running time | 10 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The House I Live In (1945) is a ten-minute short film written by Albert Maltz, produced by Frank Ross and Mervyn LeRoy, and starring Frank Sinatra. Made to oppose anti-Semitism and racial prejudice at the end of World War II, it received an Honorary Academy Award and a special Golden Globe award in 1946.
In 2007, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
[edit] Plot
Sinatra, apparently playing himself, takes a "smoke" break from a recording session. He sees more than 10 boys chasing one boy and intervenes, first with dialogue; then with a little speech (including some guided imagery). His main points are that we are "all" Americans and that just one American's blood is as good as another, all our religions are equally to be respected.
[edit] Title song
In the film, Sinatra sings the title song, and his recording became a national hit. The lyrics were written in 1943 by Abel Meeropol under the pen name Lewis Allen. (Meeropol later adopted Michael and Robert, the two orphaned sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg after the 1953 execution of the couple.)
Meeropol was enraged that in the film, the second verse was cut. Meeropol protested against the deletion of the verse referring to "my neighbors white and black" when Sinatra's movie was first shown.
The music was written by Earl Robinson. Robinson was later blacklisted during the McCarthy era for being a member of the Communist Party. He also wrote campaign songs for the presidential campaigns of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Wallace, and, in 1984, Jesse Jackson.
The song was memorably covered in later years by Paul Robeson, Mahalia Jackson, and Josh White. Sinatra continued to include it in his repertory, performing it in the Nixon White House and at the 1985 inaugural ceremonies of Ronald Reagan. Bill Cosby used a recording to open some of his shows in 2002.
The song figures prominently in Arch Oboler's radio play "The House I Live In," which aired on April 26, 1945.
[edit] External links
Film:
- The House I Live In at the Internet Movie Database
- The short film The House I Live In is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
Song:
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