Paul Muni stars as French writer and social activist Emile Zola in a biopic that won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (snagged by Joseph Schildkraut, who plays Capt. Alfred Dreyfus).The film tracks Zola through his friendship with Paul Cezanne (Vladimir Sokoloff), his efforts to expose social ills that plagued France's lower classes, and his battle against the anti-Semitic scapegoating of Dreyfus.