Word: kravitz
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...lines of worry and aggravation engraved on Cohen's face are all too common to middle-aged businessmen for me to question the truth of his counsel to the young Kravitz. In the dog-eat-dog world of business, the skeletons pile up rapidly in the closets of seemingly respectable men who expose themselves to the fluctuations of the marketplace...
...disgust, disappointed that Duddy had to forge a check to meet the final payment. Yes, we agree with the grandfather, Duddy committed a deplorable act. Yet at the same time, we excuse Duddy for the deed because in our minds he is no more than an unprincipled child. Duddy Kravitz never developed a set of principles as he lurched down the road of success. The conflict between ethical conduct and instinctual behavior is there, but only in subtle, sublimated forms, and it is only after the laughter has subsided (which takes a long time) that echoes of a deeper meaning...
...Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz in a Jewish suburb of Baltimore, and a large part of the audience consisted of middle-aged, middle class businessmen whose backgrounds could not have differed much from that of Cohen. It seemed a bit strange to me when these men chuckled at the rapid accumulation of bones by the capitalist whiz kid in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. How could people who agree with Cohen's statement, and who have similar experiences, laugh at a teenage boy who cheats, lies, threatens, and eventually forges checks in an effort to be a success in the business...
...audience's comic reaction is a measure of both the movie's appeal and its failure as a moral statement. Duddy Kravitz is a thoroughly lovable character. Richard Dreyfuss is superb in his portrayal of the poor mischievous Jewish boy who sets out to make his mark after his hunched-over bearded grandfather tells him, "A man without land is a nobody." Motherless since the age of six, left to fend for himself by his taxi-cab driving father, ignored by his rich uncle, and taunted by his peers, Duddy determines to win the respect of his grandfather...
...result, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz operates on a very different level than does, say, Save the Tiger, in which Jack Lemmon plays an all too aware salesman who realizes that the only way he can escape bankruptcy is to set his clothes factory on fire and collect insurance on the damage. The balancing of financial exigencies with the principles of fair play make for a far more sophisticated handling of moral tension than takes place in this movie about a boy "still soaking behind the ears...