Monday 23 January 2012

The Glowing Era of Television

By Karri Owens


As outlined by many experts and people the golden era of Hollywood was during 1930's and 1940's if the industry was thriving. But some experts agree that although 30's created the commercial success though the actual golden age from artistic standpoint began in 1920s itself when it drew talent from all around the world. Before this period Hollywood only agreed to be like any other film making locations however it was after First World War that it created a niche for itself on the planet. The obvious reason was the magnitude of injury the European countries suffered in the World War and subsequent economic hardships faced by them thus affecting the film industry. Prior to the advent of Hollywood as a top destination Germany was the most used destination known for its artistic excellence. America benefited from the fact that it suffered relatively less casualties and loss in property compared to European Nations.

The most popular names during the Golden Era were Clark Cable, Bette Davis, Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Spencer Tracy, Bob Hope, Ingrid, Judy Garland, Bergman, James Cagney, Jennifer Jones, Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor and Cary Gran, the list is endless. These actors took over as the house hold names throughout the country in 1930's and 1940's. The film industry during this era was so wealthy and powerful that studios like Paramount, MGM, Universal, Twentieth century Fox and RKO kept adding more buildings with their studios. More than 7,000 films were released by these studios throughout 1930's and 1940's. More than 75 million people flocked to find out at least one film in a week during the peak years of Hollywood.

Also within this era the nation saw threats as a result of Second World War. When soon this threat turned into reality the presidents of these studios took this as a possible opportunity to make films that will bond countrymen together during these tough and dreadful years. They made many patriotic movies involving actors like Betty Grable and Van Johnson. These movies you might say also helped the war efforts. Apart from the movies there were numerous short films and documentaries made.

A few of the famous movies of the golden era include Memphis Belle: A tale of a Flying Fortress directed by William Wyler, Howard Hawks directed movies Sergeant York, To get and Have Not. The commonality of all the movies of golden era was that most the movies ended on a happy note and patriotic ardor, which was liked by the people also. The films made during the 1940's are called "film noir" which in the literary context means "dark films". The films were mostly pessimistic with tough male protagonist who was also a cynic and female protagonist can be attractive woman leading the males to a disastrous situation. Few samples of the Film Noir are Stranger around the Third Floor directed by Boris Ingster, High Sierra directed by Raoul Walsh, Shadow of a Doubt directed by Alfred Hitchcock and also the Maltese Falcon directed by John Huston.

The comedies were also popular in that era, the main feature from the comedies were duos forming during this period. Many of the famous duos of actors were Bob Hope and Bing Crosby famous for their movie Road to Singapore, Abbott and Costello, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The films that portrayed the lives with the westerns during the era were also popular with the people some of the examples being Fort Apache and she or he wore a Yellow Ribbon. But by the time these movies were released the downfall of the Hollywood has already begun due to the effects of the war, depression and arrival of television simply to be not able to recover again.




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