1939 – 1941: Last Best Years
Early Eight Studios: At the start of the 1940’s there were 8 main studios that controlled almost all of the films being produced, thus the nickname Big Eight Studios. According to Lewis the studios that were a part of this large conglomerate were “Columbia, MGM, Paramount, RKO, 20th Century-Fox, United Artists, Universal, and Warner Bros”(Lewis, pg.149). The studios that made a majority of the revenue from the big 8 were MGM, Paramount, and Fox. Due to the fact that these studios were at the top of American film and media, almost all of the studios averaged 45 films a year which is nearly one film per week. (Lewis, pg.149 – 151)
Gone with the wind: in any way that could be measured from box office sales to both public and critic review Gone with the wind is the biggest American film of the first half of the 20th century. This film’s success is said to have been from its producer David O. Selznick. Before the film had started advertising it had already caught the attention of the public eye since Selznick set a warehouse on fire which in turn made the press interested. This allowed Sleznick to start a campaign saying that it was going to be the biggest film ever which allowed for more advertising to put it in that light. This then caused thousands of filmgoers to watch this film in December of 1939. This film ended up being the most successful film for over 30 years until The Godfather dethroned it. Gone with the Wind won multiple academy awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. (Lewis, pg.154 – 157)
Citizen Kane: When the film was first released its potential revenue was hit hard since Hearst refused to carry ads for the motion picture and denied any reviews of it from his papers. However this did not stop others from going to see this film and instead it was still successful. When many first watch this film one thing that many notice is its parallel narrative structure. This does make the film more interesting, but it is not the main reason why it is successful. The film’s use of mise-en-scene is what made it explode in positive reviews and popularity. The director of Citizen Kane used deep-focus compositions in order to render depth inside of the film space. One such example is having a character being closer to the camera comparative to another character in order to show their emotional distance. Even though Wells is an important person in American film, Citizen Kane was his only successful film.
War of the World
Frank Capra and Why We Fight: During World War II the US military enlisted Frank Capra to create multiple pictures under the name Why We Fight. These pictures would be war propaganda in order to encourage the US citizens to pick up arms and fight the enemy countries. These films depicted the enemies as monstrous aliens which needed to be defeated since if they were not American life would cease to exist. Why We Fight showed how persuasive Hollywood filmmakers could be. (Lewis, pg.164 – 165)
Now, Voyager: Since many men were shipped out of the country at the time some films started to target the younger women of America. The film Now, Voyager focused on a woman’s autonomy since at the time women were seen to be reliant on men, but since men were off at war many women that lived in America could relate to this film. (Lewis, pg. 173 – 176)
Preston Sturges: The war was depressing for many Americans at the time since many American soldiers were either dying or getting scarred for life, but that is when Preston Sturges came into the scene. He was a director that aimed towards making comedy movies. Sturges’ films helped many Americans throughout the country since his films offered an escape from the horrid world that they were living in. Some of Sturges’ comedy always had a hint of truth to it, but mostly the jokes/funny scenes were for the gag. (Lewis, pg.176 – 179)
Early film Noir: as the war progressed and only more disheartening news appeared, thus filmmakers wanting to portray their emotions and film goers wanting something to relate to caused morally ambiguous urban melodramas with low contrast cinematography type of films started to break out. This was the start of film Noir with dark lighting and urban landscapes that showed humans as evil and horrid by nature. Noir also took inspiration from German expressionism which led to more movies in America to also take on that type of style as well. (Lewis, pg.181 – 184)
Three Key Films
Casablanca: is one of the films that was produced in America that is very recognizable. The advertisements showcased the film as an adventure film, even having a person be gunned down by police for having outdated papers. This film then showcased itself as a war-themed adventure with suspense being built up around it, which fits what was happening at the time since many Americans were scared of either being drafted for the war or having one of their loved ones drafted for the war. Casablanca also showed itself to be a noir film which was on the rise for popularity in America at the time. At the end of the film the main character suggests becoming a part of the war effort which shows that during this time America was still using holly wood to try and bring in more recruits for its army. (Lewis, pg. 187 – 190)
Meet me In St. Louis: Musicals were a thing before Meet me in St.Louis, but this film is one that gained heavy traction in America when it was released. Minnelli also made some parts of the musical numbers as extensions of his own personal life. This gave the film a more human feeling which many audience members needed at the time since the world war caused many Americans to be scared. (Lewis, pg.190 – 193)
The Best Years of our Lives: The film that gained the most amount of traction right after the war was The Best Years of our Lives. This film was able to hold the number one film at the box office right after the first year after the war. This film was able to capture the hearts of many American soldiers since it is a melodrama about how hard it is to readjust to civilian life. Many American audiences were moved by this film and its heartfelt message, but both congress and Hollywood started to halt studios to stop them from producing messaged films since they were going into the cold war. (Lewis, pg.194 – 195)
Works Cited
Lewis, Jon. American Film: A History. 2nd ed., 2021.