Cinema Catala Hollywood Movie Review

Posts Tagged ‘Shirley Temple’

The early part of the 1930’s provided less in the way of Hollywood Movie Memories, and more in the way of memories of the Great Depression. In spite of the decades slow start, Hollywood would go on to have one of the most creatively and financially successful eras in motion picture history.

It was during the 1930’s that Hollywood film making really started to spread its wings. The use of sound in film production, both as background and dialogue, continued to advance. New sound techniques were created and mastered with several competing sound options now available. These sound advancements along with the ability to film in color immediately caused a revolution in motion picture production.

The color film process known as Technicolor became the most widely used in Hollywood right up through the early 1950’s. The Technicolor process produced super-realistic, dazzling color that was used with spectacular success in films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Singin’ In The Rain, The Wizard of Oz, and the animated Walt Disney classics Fantasia, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The evolution of film genres began to expand and now included gangster films (including the first prison drama), musicals, westerns, screwball comedies, and monster movies.  In addition, socially conscious reality films, historical biography’s, and newspaper reporting style movies were now being made. Many of the classic silent films of the 1920’s were being remade with sound, and 1930’s film production now included something called ’sequels,’ and ’spin-offs’. There even existed a psychological approach to movie making that produced a large number of adventure and fantasy films to help take the viewers minds off the Great Depression.

The 1930’s also produced probably the largest number of movie firsts than any other decade.  A few of these would include little known prop man and B-actor John Wayne’s first starring role in a major motion picture (The Big Trail), the creation of the Motion Picture Production Code (setting film guidelines for violence, sex, crime and religion), The Hollywood Reporter (the first daily newspaper for the film industry), legendary child star Shirley Temple, Three Stooges comedy films, and the first drive-in theatre in Camden, New Jersey.

What started out as a luke-warm film decade suffering from declining attendance as a result of the Depression, finished on a sizzling note with what many consider to be the most Golden Film Year of all 1939.

The 1930’s truly were The Golden Age Of Hollywood. 

As far back as the early to middle part of the 20th century, Hollywood produced a number of films that are remembered today as being classics. There is no doubt that these movie memories will continue, and deservedly so, to be thought of in this way. The time period stretching from the 1920s through the 1940s brought a great many changes to Hollywood and the motion picture industry.

The 1920s brought to film what is probably one of the most significant changes in movie history – sound. While the majority of motion pictures continued to be silent on the screen, the latter part of this decade would see a surge in the number of pictures being produced with sound. America loved going to the movies, and this was the beginning of a beautiful love affair that continues today. As with all love affairs, there were some bumps in the road. The stock market crash of 1929 brought to an end the financial security that many people had during the decade. Fortunately, Hollywood was not immediately affected by the economic changes.

The 1930s, although a difficult time economically, really defined a lot of what Hollywood has become. Sound in motion pictures was now commonplace and color began to show it’s glorious screen potential. The publics movie going imagination was being fueled by the likes of John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Shirley Temple, and a great many more all destined to become legendary. Unfortunately, the addition of sound to film was not kind to everyone. Many of the silent film stars were unable to successfully make the transition. The 1930s also helped to usher in some classic horror movies. Characters such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy continue to be popular with today’s monster movie fans.

With the 1940s came war. The United States, along with most of the world, was now immersed into World War II. Hollywood did their part in supporting the effort and the war movie genre exploded onto the scene. Many popular war titles, including Casablanca and The Battle of Midway, would earn a spot in classic movie history. Even after the wars conclusion Hollywood continued to produce postwar films such as The Best Years Of Our Lives that depicted the difficulties faced by many returning veterans.

It is these three decades that have had the most profound influence in shaping Hollywood as we see it today. In many ways the spirit of these decades still exists today, as this was an historic period in motion picture history and the Hollywood movie memories that it provided are destined to always be remembered but can never be duplicated.