The 1930s

For my first actual post, lets look at the films of the thirties and how they were related to or inspired by this time period. the people of the this time took part in the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century, which has proved to be the most identifiable aspect of the history of this time. it was at the core of thought for many people, and thus greatly inspired certain themes in the world of film.

The thirties also gave birth to what is commonly referred to nostalgically as "The Golden Age of Hollywood". During this period, new genres were created, new stars were born, and the studio system grew enormously. eight major studios collectively produced 95 % of all American films during this time. More than 7,500 films were made by the studios between 1930 and 1945 to eager audiences. More than eighty million people attended at least one film per week at the height of the cinema's popularity, despite the economic depression. This period also saw the introduction of the Production Code, B-Films, and the first animated feature of Snow White as well as the first color films. (Below is the first color short: "Flowers and Trees" a Disney animation from "Silly Symphony".)

The films of this time seemed to follow themes inspired directly from the Great Depression. These themes have been broken down into:

1.Gangsters
2.Urban Civilization
3.Anarcho-Nihilist Comedies (Comedies reflecting the bitterness and despair of the thirties; the purposefulness of chaos)
4.Musicals

Let's start with gangster films of the thirties. They all seemed to express a concern for law and violence as well as mobility and the failure of legitimate institutions. A good example of this would be the gangster classic "Little Caesar" that was produced at the beginning of the decade. It is primarily about the country boy turned gangster, Rico "Little Caesar" Bandelli, attempting to 'rise to the top'. This was a significant film because it was a sensory revelation that actualized the violence that had been suggested purely by visuals in previous gangster classics. At the time, the violence in this film was shocking and visceral. This was highly appealing to audiences at the time, which caused an explosion of similar films to be made. This is interesting in that this was a time in which violence, specifically racial, was surging in our country.

Lets move on to urban civilization. The shared aspect of movies of this theme was the moral corruption of the city. The idea was that the corrput evildoers lived in the city. This is a concept that stems from the popular hatred of people conceived to have money and power at the time. A good example of this concept embodied in film is "Lawyer-Man". The story is of a man who misues the law to work his way up the ladder to assistant prosecutor. Things end poorly for him, but he learns to straighten out his ways in the end.

Anarcho-Nihilist Comedies were important and prevalent during this time period specifically because of the reminder that chaos is important and can be good that they gave people. A very popular example of this style of comedy is the film "Duck Soup". It was considered to be one of the funniest comedies of the decade, and has a very absurd plotline. Even now, it is interesting and entertaining to watch.

The last category, musicals, is quite possibly the most important. This is because they served as an escape for the people of this time. They were considered to be very engaging at the time, and you can observe that they used very many visual aspects to capture their audience, and allow them to forget about the outside world. Examples of this include attractive women, elaborate costumes and sets, and the beginning of a more complex choreography in musicals.

I will post a clip of each movie mentioned as well as my sources of reference shortly.