A little old woman in pink stole the hearts of the audience after a screening of Gentleman's Agreement last Saturday. Celeste Holm, co-star of the film and recipient of Sundeis' Lifetime Achievement Award, was on hand at the Wasserman Cinematheque to talk about what it was like to work on one of the most important films of all time. Gentleman's Agreement won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1947 thanks to its ground-breaking treatment of the subject of anti-Semitism. In the film, journalist Phil Green (Gregory Peck), pretends to be Jewish to offer a unique perspective for an article on the presence of anti-Semitism in an affluent society.

In the process, Green discovers that he is subject to considerably different treatment as a supposed Jew. He suffers cold shoulders from hotels and doctors, and becomes an object of scorn and humiliation. His experiment hurts the people closest to him, including his fiance Kathy (Dorothy McGuire) and son (Dean Stockwell) When his story is finally released, it sends a shockwave of awareness through his readers.

Holm plays Anne Dettrey, a co-worker, close friend and secret admirer of Green. For her work in the movie, she rightfully won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Still humble, Holm described herself as being completely stunned when she won the Academy Award. Never having expected the honor, it did not hit her until she started to walk down the aisle.

The veteran 86-year-old actress appeared delicate on stage, but her responses were powerful and resonant. "Theater is the best way of impregnating the audience with ideas," Holm said. Gentleman's Agreement, although controversial during her time, helped to uncover the truth behind contemporary social conventions-a concept on which Brandeis thrives. It is no surprise that the SunDeis Film Festival would celebrate Holm and her performance in this movie.