The 1940s

The first post was about the film history and themes of the thirties. I chose to start with this decade, because it was the time period that defined the starting point for a standardized film industry, in that films had to start following certain rules and guidelines. It was also the beginning of fully colored films. I thought, therefore, that it would be appropriate to make my next post about the forties to hit on some of the early themes found in Hollywood's history. I don't want this to be a boring history lesson, but I think it's important to first look to our past to understand how the historical events and culture of the time shape the industry of film.

So let's begin. At this time, the nation was fighting a monumental battle overseas: World War II, the defining event of the decade for the movie industry and the nation at large. The interests of the nation and the industry and never been so closely aligned, and never had the industry's status as a national cinema been so important. From the years of 1942 to 1945, the industry produced a large amount of war films, for obvious reasons. Hollywood became very successful, and enjoyed what may have been its finest hour as a social institution and a cultural force. This is an important decade for Hollywood. This period of time pushed box office revenues and studio profits to record levels. The entire decade was not this way though.The 40s, in terms of the film industry, is usually  broken down into three distinct parts: the prewar, wartime, and postwar periods.

Lets start with the prewar period (1940-41). The end of the thirties was considered to be the flowering of the "golden age" of Hollywood, which is ironic in that the industry itself was sinking economically. Films such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Gone With the Wind were released right at the turn of the decade, and are considered to be some of the most memorable films of the time. The beginning of the war shifted Hollywood into a different gear. The production of many war-related films ensued, and in a lot of ways prevented the industry from degrading into something completely different.

The wartime period was a time in which a lot of war movies were produced, although the biggest blockbusters and the most memorable films of this time, for the most part, were films, indirectly related to the war, that allowed audiences an escape from a world consumed with fighting. 1942 was the year that Casablanca was released in theaters, for example. It is widely considered to be one of the most, if not the most, monumental films of the decade. Some of the most popular escapist films that were released during this time were produced by Disney. These films included Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi. Most of the films released during this time are still widely known today as opposed to the previous decade in which the average person would not recognize many of the movie titles. This period of time saw record numbers of people in theaters viewing the most recent hit movies, as well as many people going to the theaters to view the same movie multiple times. All these things contributed to films becoming widely popular and well-known. This is thought to have been a time in which a multitude of classics were born.

The postwar era of the forties is the last time period that I want to examine. At the end of this decade, reeling from depression, war, problems involving the return to peacetime, and the ominous arrival of the atomic bomb, the world was a more cynical, chaotic, economically-unsure and "film-noirish" place. Studios were also forced to re-evaluate their roles and approaches, with lawsuits that stripped the studios of their lucrative practices. By the late 1940s, the motion picture industry surely faced its period of greatest crisis and challenge, with the depressing bleakness of the Cold War on the horizon.


Here is a clip of the film Casablanca, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Sources:
History of the American Cinema Vol. 6 by Thomas Schatz
http://www.filmsite.org/filmh.html