Love ‘Springtime for Hitler’? Then Here’s the CD for You

October 9th, 2006 | admin | No Comments | Categories: Blog, Press

  • Sacha Baron Cohen, meet Irving Berlin.

    Jokes that compare Jews to cockroaches have left some viewers of Mr. Cohen’s farcical new film, ”Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

    But probably few of those shocked by the movie realize that long before Mr. Cohen shed his Ali G persona for Borat’s ill-fitting suit — in fact, long before the 1929 stock market crash — Berlin, the songwriter behind ”White Christmas” and ”God Bless America,” was reeling off satirical songs about Jews that might seem dodgy on the ”Borat” soundtrack. One such Berlin number, ”Cohen Owes Me Ninety-Seven Dollars,” from 1916, concerns a businessman on his deathbed who cannot stop fretting over his unrepaid i.o.u.’s.

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