My mother Ruth once told me a story of how her marital plans were bandied about in Fullerton, Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

Mom grew up in Fullerton when it had its own post office. For a time, her father, Harvey P. Hartman, was postmaster.

She’s marrying “some big Jew from Allentown,” is what Ruth Frederick Hartman said people were saying about her impending 1943 vows to Paul August Willistein.

My parents were married as Lutherans, the Christian denomination to which each belonged. My dad wasn’t particularly tall nor physically-imposing. He was an independent businessman.

The family anecdote came to mind while watching the movie “Nuremberg” when “The Nuremberg Doctrine” was mentioned.

On Sept. 15, 1935, the Nazi Germany regime promulgated laws about a person’s race. According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia website of the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.:

“The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor was a law against what the Nazis viewed as race-mixing or ‘race defilement’ (‘Rassenschande’). It banned future intermarriages and sexual relations between Jews and people ‘of German or related blood.’

“According to the Nuremberg Laws, a person with three or four Jewish grandparents was a Jew. A grandparent was considered Jewish if they belonged to the Jewish religious community. Thus, the Nazis defined Jews by their religion (Judaism), and not by the supposed racial traits that Nazism attributed to Jews.

“The laws also categorized some people in Germany as ‘Mischlinge’ (‘mixed-race persons’). According to law, Mischlinge were neither German nor Jewish. These were people who had one or two Jewish grandparents.”

The Nuremberg laws reference in the movie, “Nuremberg,” caught my attention because at least one of my grandparents may have been Jewish.

My father’s mother may have been Jewish and converted to Christianity. My paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States before the turn of the 20th century. I never met them. My maternal grandparents, with whom I was close, were Pennsylvania-German.

So, there may have been a bit of truth to the racial or ethnic slander that my mother faced in Fullerton. Because of my surname, in later years I wondered if I unwittingly was subjected to prejudice in grade school, high school or college.

Jewish lineage is explored in “Nuremberg.” I won’t reveal the scene because it is a potent plot twist in the film.

“Nuremberg” reveals many facts, insights and perspectives, big and small. One of the most interesting aspects presented in the film is the apparent debate about organizing the Nuremberg Trials, a first in history.

The Nuremberg Trials, Nov. 20, 1945, to Oct. 1, 1946, officially the International Military Tribunal, tried 22 surviving leaders of Nazi Germany. The Tribunal is said to mark the onset of international criminal law.

In the movie, “Nuremberg,” the Nuremberg Trials are seen primarily through the eyes of Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, and the lead American prosecutor at Nuremberg who is depicted as spearheading the tribunal at the insistence of U.S. officials.

The secondary, but equally, if not more important perspective in the film is that of Lt. Col. Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), an Army Military Intelligence officer and psychiatrist at Nuremberg Prison who ascertained the mental competency of the Germans on trial. Kelley wrote a book about his work, “22 Cells in Nuremberg.”

The third main viewpoint in the film is that of Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe), said to be second only to Adolph Hitler in command of the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945.

The film, “Nuremberg,” is based on the 2013 book, “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist,” by Jack El-Hai.

Russell Crowe (Oscar winner, actor, “Gladiator,” 2001) is monumental in his portrayal of Hermann Göring. Crowe navigates a fine line between charming and repulsive.

Michael Shannon (two-time Oscar nominee, supporting actor, “Nocturnal Animals,” 2017; “Revolutionary Road,” 2009) is solid as Robert H. Jackson, the prosecutor who won’t quit.

Rami Malek (Oscar winner, actor, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” 2019) is a nervous wreck as Douglas Kelley, the psychiatrist who seems to need some counseling of his own.

Richard E. Grant (Oscar nominee, supporting actor, “Can You Ever Forgive Me,” 2019) is memorable as British prosecutor Sir David Maxwell Fyfe.

The cast includes Leo Woodall (Sgt. Howie Triest, an aide and interpreter for Kelley), John Slattery (Col. Burton C. Andrus, commander of Nuremberg Prison), Colin Hanks (Gustave Gilbert, a psychiatrist), Lydia Peckham (Lila, a newspaper journalist) and Lotte Verbeek (Emmy Göring, wife of Hermann Göring).

“Nuremberg” is directed efficiently and effectively by James Vanderbilt (screenwriter, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” 2012, and 2014 sequel; screenwriter, “Zodiac,” 2007) in his feature film directorial debut from a screenplay he wrote.

The cinematography by Dariusz Wolski (Oscar nominee, cinematography “News of the World,” 2021) is dark and intense.

The soundtrack by Brian Tyler is appropriately grand and dour.

Be forewarned: Although you may have previously seen the graphic black and white newsreel films of the victims of the Nazi concentration camps, which was screened during the trials, it is included in the film, “Nuremberg.”

“Nuremberg” is an important and powerful film. Look for multiple Oscar nominations. It’s a must see for history buffs, fans of Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Micheal Shannon and those who want to learn more about the Nuremberg trials.

“Nuremberg,” MPA rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13) for violent content involving the Holocaust, strong disturbing images, suicide, some language, smoking and brief drug content; Genre: Biography, Legal Drama; Run time: 2 hours, 28 minutes. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Credit Readers Anonymous: “Nuremberg” was filmed February to May 2024 in Budapest, Hungary.

At The Movies: “Nuremberg” was seen in the standard digital format at AMC Center Valley 16.

Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, Nov. 21 - 23: “Wicked: For Good,” starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, zoomed to No. 1, opening with $147 million in 4,115 theaters.

That’s a bigger opening than “Wicked,” part one of the two-part musical, which opened with $112.5 million domestically Nov. 22, 2024.

“Wicked: For Good” is the second-biggest opening for 2025, behind “A Minecraft Movie,” which opened with $162.8 million.

2. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” dropped one place from its one-week No. 1 run, with $8.9 million in 3,403 theaters, $36.6 million, two weeks. 3. “Predator: Badlands” stayed in place, $6.5 million in 3,100 theaters, $76.5 million, three weeks. 4. “The Running Man” dropped two places, $5.7 million in 3,534 theaters, $26.9 million, two weeks. 5. “Rental Family,” starring Brendan Fraser as an American actor in Tokyo working for a Japanese “rental family” agency in the Comedy Drama, $3.3 million in 1,925 theaters, opening. 6. “Sisu: Road to Revenge,” starring Stephen Lang in the Action War film sequel, $2.4 million in 2,222 theaters, opening. 7. “Regretting You” dropped three places, $1.5 million in 1,754 theaters, $47.3 million, five weeks. 8. “Nuremberg” dropped one place, $1.2 million in 1,010 theaters, $10.9 million, three weeks. 9. “Black Phone 2” dropped four places, $1 million in 1,227 theaters, $76.4 million, six weeks. 10. “Sarah’s Oil” dropped two places, $801,269 in 1,347 theaters, $10.3 million, three weeks.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of Nov. 23 is subject to change.

Unreel, Nov. 26:

“Zootopia 2,” MPA rated PG; 1 hour, 48 minutes. Jared Bush and Byron Howard direct the animation and the voice talents of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Andy Samberg, Shakira, Idris Elba, Ke Huy Quan, Bonnie Hunt, Danny Trejo Patrick Warburton, Patrick Warburton and Fortune Feimster in the Adventure Comedy.

The plot pertains to rabbit cop Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), who team up again to solve a new case centered on Gary De’Snake. This time, the mammals are joined by reptiles.

The film is a sequel to “Zootopia,” released in 2016. Jared Bush and Byron Howard, who directed the original Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film, direct the sequel.

“Eternity,” MPA rated PG-13, 1 hour, 52 minutes. David Freyne directs Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in the Comedy, Drama, Fantasy. In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) must choose between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

Unreel, Nov. 28:

“Tinsel Town,” No MPA rating. Chris Foggin directs Kiefer Sutherland, Rebel Wilson, Alice Eve and Derek Jacobi in the Comedy. A washed-up Hollywood action hero takes a role in a small English village’s Christmas pageant, where he finds unexpected inspiration through the show’s straight-talking dance instructor.

Movie opening dates from Internet Movie Database as of Nov. 23 are subject to change.

Four Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes