The Life of Emile Zola

The Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author mile Zola, played by Paul Muni and directed by William Dieterle. It has the distinction of being the second biographical film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. It premiered at the Los Angeles Carthay Circle Theatre to great success both critically and financially. Contemporary reviews cited it the best biographical film made up to that time. In 2000, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Struggling writer mile Zola Paul Muni shares a drafty Paris attic with his friend, painter Paul Czanne Vladimir Sokoloff. A chance encounter with a street prostitute Erin OBrienMoore hiding from a police raid inspires his first bestseller, Nana, an expos of the steamy underside of Parisian life.Other successful books follow. Zola becomes rich and famous he marries Alexandrine Gloria Holden and settles down to a comfortable life in his mansion. One day, his old friend Czanne, still poor and unknown, visits him before leaving the city, and tells Zola that with his success he has become complacent, a far cry from the zealous reformer of his youth. ........

Source: Wikipedia