Diritto d'offesa

Jake Blues said it best... "I hate Illinois Nazis."

This film is based on actual events that occurred around 1977-1978 in the small village town of Skokie which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. It is a story about a group of National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U. S. 43 (1977), arising out of what is sometimes referred to as the Skokie Affair, which was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court dealing with freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

The film concentrates more or less on the disgust of the majority of the towns residents who wanted no part of the likes of the National Socialist Party who threatened to lead a parade through the village of Skokie in their Neo Nazi uniforms wearing swastikas.

As like most people who have learned about the Holocaust I can appreciate how any reminder of that period of time in our history although never to be forgotten should not be glorified by any party or individual. This may be a film that circles the drain about free speech, but the only speech that was prevalent was angry and long winded and took away from the critical point between two groups of very different opinions.

Some very distinguished actors provided the film its credibility but I believe the film would have been better with fewer long winded speeches from only one side of the conversation.

I give the film a passable 5 out of 10 IMDb rating.

If you are a lawyer or a judge that is interested in a documentary movie that talks about a case and what happened, this you will like Skokie. There really isn't any great acting in it, in fact a lot of the dialogue of Kaye is cheesy and overly dramaiszed. Most roles are one dimensional and overplayed, but the director did convey the message of the trial and the consequences that followed.

If you need to do a report on the Skokie trial, and you want your research to be somewhat entertaining then this movie may serve you a very good purpose, other than that I wouldn't recommend it.

Danny Kaye again showed his talents as a brilliant dramatic actor in this 1981 television movie.

He plays a Holocaust survivor who has settled in Skokie, Illinois after the war. Skokie has become a predominantly Jewish town and the serenity of the area is threatened with the Nazi garbage threatening to march through the town to cause the reopening of nightmarish wounds, fear and trepidation among the Jewish citizenry of the town.

As the spokesman, Kaye conveys those fears but is adamant that the garbage shall not march. His voice is etched with unbelievable feeling as he will do anything in his power to thwart the threatened march.

As the Nazi leader leading such a march, George Dzundza is quite effective as Nazi Frank Collin. Filled with hatred, and contempt for humanity, Dzundza also etched an unforgettable character. Of course, the picture belongs to Kaye and he received an Emmy nomination for best actor for it.

There is only so much that an afflicted people can take- 1st amendment rights or not.

He could have his pick of them but this is the only film role Danny Kaye took after a 12 year retirement of sorts.

He managed to sandwich in Skokie amid a slew of TV specials, tributes, and various other glorified career retrospectives. It would be his last significant work before the cameras, and it proved to be some of his finest.

The subject matter may seem corny or outdated to a young person, but not to anyone who knows the dark side of history the Nazis created.

And now here in a land where liberal communist sympathizers had been attacked at every turn for decades by the authorities, the conservative neo-Nazi party was enjoying a blind eye being turned to them. They were allowed to run rampant, particularly in America's East, and specifically in Illinois.

The cast, including the late Mr. Kaye, Kim Hunter, Ed Flanders and Lee Strasberg, is excellent and all turn in the fine performances that one would expect of actors of their sterling talent.

Naturally the old racist line turns up that goes "the only trouble with Hitler is that he didn't finish the job." But yes, that fact actually did mean not only "trouble" for his party, it meant the downfall of his entire regime - as well as the echoes of it here in America. Do not ignore the past, Skokie is saying, lest our apathy be mistaken for weakness.

These days, though, two decades after Skokie was filmed, we're keeping a much closer eye on Oregon than Illinois, but the message is the same - maintain constant vigilance upon those who would hide behind the Constitution in order to further the sickness of bigotry.