Horst_In_Translation Review of The House I Live In

The House I Live In (1945)

Slightly shoddy in detail, but good intentions and good music make up for that

[6/10 · 19 March 2017]

"The House I Live In" is an American live action short film from 1945, so this one is already over 70 years old. It runs for 10 minutes and even if the producers, writers and directors here are all Oscar nominees, the star is of course lead actor Frank Sinatra. It is a black-and-white film, but of course they had sound already during that time. So yeah, Sinatra is the grown-up in the center of the action here and he teaches a lesson to American kids who discriminated against a Jewish boy because of his religion. Sinatra's two stories both have military plots to them and this film is a statement in favor of freedom of religion, of course a crucial subject back then, especially when it comes to Jewery. I cannot say I am surprised the film won a Golden Globe and received a special unofficial Academy Award as well. Still there is no denying the stories seem a bit for the sake of it and random, but it's all good. The message is more important and you have to give them a thumbs-up for this emphasis on tolerance. Music's fine too, especially when Sinatra sings the title song in the end. I recommend checking this one out.