In Nazi Germany, Sol Nazerman, a German-Jewish university professor, is sent to a concentration camp along with his family. In 2008, The Pawnbroker was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'. Although it was publicly announced to be a special exception, the controversy proved to be first of similar major challenges to the Code that ultimately led to its abrogation. It was among the first American films to feature a homosexual character and nudity during the Production Code, and was the first film featuring bare breasts to receive Production Code approval. It earned international acclaim for Steiger, launching his career as an A-list actor. The film was the first produced entirely in the United States to deal with the Holocaust from the viewpoint of a survivor. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant. The screenplay was an adaptation by Morton S. The Pawnbroker is a 1964 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez. $2.5 million (US rentals), over $4 million global
