Classic Hollywood cinema was a stage of American cinema full of dreaminess, glamor, and excess, which made the American film industry a global icon. This period spans from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s, a time that many have idealized and boasted about over the years.
Although, indeed, many of the most fascinating films in the history of cinema were made during this period, the truth is that a certain tyranny reigned within the most important film studios of that time. Classic American cinema gave off immense creative current and great innovations, but it is also true that a certain totalitarianism and monopoly was reigning in that Hollywood.
Throughout this article, we are going to investigate the most outstanding points of classic Hollywood cinema, the characteristics and innovations that were carried out, the rules imposed for actors at that time, and some of the most influential directors of Hollywood. said period. The idea of this article is that you have a fairly broad idea of what this particular period meant for the seventh art, and to know the most outstanding elements of it. At the same time, we will talk about several of the most legendary and influential creators of said Hollywood period.
History of the golden years of Hollywood
The classic cinema period or as some call it (the golden age of Hollywood) began with the introduction of sound in cinematography. Although there is some disagreement about when the sound era officially began, the release of The Jazz Singer (1927) signified a radical change in the film industry. For the first time, the sound is played through loudspeakers surrounding a cinema while images play on the screen. By 1929, almost every movie released used to sound.
During this time, there were a handful of genres that were gradually introduced to the sound world; genres such as the western, slapstick comedy, or musicals were some of the genres that began to use sound in their films, after having reaped a glorious period in silent cinema. A large part of the American population in the late 1920s found refuge in movie theaters where they could wait out the great economic crisis that the country was suffering.
Not only did they use movie theaters as an escape, but they also searched for meaning in those wonderful stories. The films of these years frequently used elements such as desire or loss to build their plots; plots with which the public of those years of recession could identify.
Hollywood pinnacle moment
Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Twentieth Century Fox, and Paramount were the industry's leading film production companies, making most of the major films of that period. However, with the union of sound and images, many film critics argued that the artistic quality of films during this era suffered a decline.
It took until the late 1930s for the cinema to gain a foothold in modern technology and begin to produce films with the same creative aesthetic as when silent films were still around. fundamental to storytelling. In the year 1939, Hollywood cinema reached popularity like never before.
Premieres such as Wuthering Heights (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Casablanca (1942), opened a new period of fullness in the Hollywood industry. All the films released during these years were characterized by the different advances they presented.
Three main elements marked the cinema of these years: the cinematographic devices that began to be used, plots with a much more solid narrative construction, and more cutting-edge technology.
Hollywood during World War II
With the start of World War II, Hollywood suffered great economic damage that limited the productions that had been carried out until then. Movie studios had to prepare for civil defense and erect elaborate bomb shelters. Filming from the sea or near military installations was prohibited. The curfews that were imposed in the nation prohibited filming at night; so it was not only an economic hit, but also limited the filming of movies.
In 1942, new laws went into effect in the United States, forcing Hollywood studios to cut costs, recycle equipment, and find creative and inexpensive ways to produce movies. Many big-name movie stars enlisted in the US military. Stars of the stature of Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, and Mickey Rooney, were some who enlisted. On the other hand, war efforts were rewarded with things very typical of the patriarchal society of that time.
Hollywood actresses like Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable, and Lana Turner were some of the movie figures who supported the nation by becoming models for those soldiers hungry for love. Most of the classic Hollywood movie stars used their fame to help sell millions of war bonds.
Hollywood during the Cold War
During the Cold War, paranoia grew in Hollywood and the rest of the United States about communism. In 1947, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (an organization that investigated possible communist links), decided to investigate communism in movies. At least 40 people from the film industry were called to testify. Ten directors and screenwriters, known as the Hollywood Ten, chose to challenge the legality of the committee's actions.
They claimed that the investigation violated their civil rights; however, their efforts failed when they were tried for contempt of Congress, fined, and ultimately jailed. After the tragedy of the Hollywood Ten, anyone else in the industry suspected of supporting communism was blacklisted and denied work. Hundreds of actors, musicians, writers, producers, and directors were affected by this, including the likes of Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, and Lloyd Bridges.
