Product: Julia (1971)
Rating: 5.0
The Lillian Hellman/Muriel Gardiner Contraversy
Decades had passed before it was known that Hellman hoodwinked the literary public with her story of Julia in 1974. It is now known that the actual 'Julia' was a political activist named Muriel Gardiner. Hellman never knew Gardiner, nor did Hellman smuggle money into Germany, or look for Julia's missing child during the war. Visa documents state that Hellman was in Spain for the 3 year period that the Julia story was supposed to have happened. It is believed that Hellman heard about the original story of Gardiner from their mutual attorney in New York, who told Hellman about his remarkable client who smuggled money and passports into Germany to buy political prisioners their freedom at the onset of the war. Hellman took the fascinating story of Muriel Gardiner and wove it into her own false 'recollection' of the events and thus wrote 'Pentimento' as her own memiors, which of course was primarily a contrivence and fabrication. Many notable writers considered Hellman a fraud and liar, and this is but another account of her deception and incredulity. If you want to know the REAL story of "Julia" get a copy of Gardiner's autobiography 'Code Name Mary'. I got my copy through Amazon.Although Hellman's account of 'Julia' is mostly fiction held together with a few threads of truth, it is still a fascinating story and a beautifully made film. Fonda is utterly marvelous...it is one of her best works. In fact, the film 'Julia' is one of my top 3 all time favorites. You need to see the movie and then get the book "Code Name Mary" and decide for yourself!