final Flashcards
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Directed by Frank Capra
Stylistic effects: traditional, Hollywood filmmaking. Optimistic.
Jefferson Smith and Senator Paine - Paine’s best friend was Smith’s father. Paine takes Smith under his wing and genuinely cares for him. He owes it to his friendship with Smith’s father. Paine is involved in some shady business and wants to keep Smith out of it and does everything he can in order to protect him. Smith is more concerned with the truth.
Jefferson Smith and Clarissa Saunders - Smith (country boy) and Saunders (city girl) come together in an overarching theme of bringing America together in a post-Great Depression era and at the brink of WWII.
Significant narrative events: Smith gets elected into Senate. He wants to build a boy’s camp. Paine and Taylor, along with others, want to use it for a dam. Smith fights it through a filibuster.
Key Themes:
Democracy in Action but also the political reality of American politics (“sitting and listening will get you re-elected”).
The corruption in the system, highly dysfunctional.
Media manipulation - Jim Taylor’s power over the newspapers
Historical Context: Democracy vs. Fascism/Communism/other political ideologies (Nazi Germany?). Smith represents the American everyday man. His will to do what was right gave hope to Americans that they can achieve anything they set their minds to.
Casablanca
Michael Curtis
1942
Deep Focus-Sam playing piano
Lighting- in Rick’s
Antihero
Film noir
Rick and Ilsa
Fighting for the greater good vs. personal desires
Power
War-each character represents one side of the war
Best Years of Our Lives
William Wyler, 1946
Sound in relation to flashbacks and memories, Using an actual wounded US veteran
Al, Fred, Homer: Returning veterans needing to cope with post-war life
Returning from war and adjusting back to home life, when he is on the airplane field, when Homer lets his girlfriend see his arms, when Fred finds out he is getting cheated on
Re-adjustment from post-war life. Effect of war
War films amidst war in the world
Big 5:
20th Century Fox
RKO Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Warners Bros
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
They all eventually had to give up their exhibition.
They had to be more selective with their films.
Vertically integrated.
Contracted with performers until the divestiture.
star system
studio system
-Distribution & Exhibition New York based
-New York HQ determines budget, type & quantity of films
-Big 5 control first run theaters
-Theater chains regional
-Theaters required 100+ films/year
-Big 5 share films to fill screens
-Little 3 supply “B” films
Big 5: 20th Century Fox
-socially conscious films and musicals
-Schneck and Zanuck after they left United Artists
-Will Fox vs. the Edison Trust
-1927 Fox Movietone News
-Fox Theaters-Western US
-1930-Fox forced out-convicted for jury tampering
-1930s-Fox in bankruptcy
-Fox loses control of his company after merger mania
-company had to pay off his huge debts
-people thought that was the end of Fox in early 30s-then Twentieth Century came in to buy and save Fox
Twentieth Century-Fox
-1935 - 20th Century
founded by Darryl F. Zanuck (worked for Warner as writer until 1932) and Joseph Schenck
-distributed films for United Artists
-1935-20th Century
-Darryl F Zanuck-writer at WB-but falling out with WB after refusing the 50% salary cut studios were doing in depression-so left-created own independent production company called Twentieth Century-allied himself with Joseph Schenck, who had been managing United Artists, happy to ally company that would provide films for Pickford, Chaplin to star in-they were both so well connected could borrow stars from any of the major studios
-films come out through United Artists, within a year or 2 pretty successful-by 1935 go to Chaplin and Pickford at UA and ask for a better deal-more stock in UA and a say in the direction of the company-but they said no-so left, arranged for takeover of Fox company-headless giant lacking top management-Zanuck becomes studio boss, Schenck is president of whole company
-first job is to pul Fox out of bankruptcy-need to build up star roster-Will Rogers was biggest star at Fox in early 30s-middle aged western star-killed in plane crash a few weeks after merger-but also discovered Shirley Temple, she had been in 12 films at Fox, she was cleaning up at the box office-so put her in more films, she replaces Mae West as biggest star in Hollywood-only negative about Shirley Temple was that every year she grew older-clock ticking
-cast a bunch of beautiful young people in movies to find new stars as Temple aged-ended up with a bunch of stars, that were big enough to carry Fox into the 40s, by the time Temple got too old
-Zanuck: studio boss with hands-on attitude
- Marilyn Monore
- Otto Preminger
- John Ford
- some auteur directors
Big 5: RKO Pictures
- distributed independent productions
- made low-budget horror films
- Walt Disney went to RKO after leaving United Artists and did pretty well
- RCA Photophone (David Sarnoff)
- FBO
- Keith-Albee-Orpheum
- studio is formed in 1929: theater chain enters bankruptcy first
- 1935 owned by Floyd Odlum; 1948 Howard Hughes; 1955 General Tire and Rubber
- 1957 end of production and distribution
- RKO lot: Culver City and Melrose/Gower (now owned by Paramount)
- RKO backlot: 40 Acres & RKO Movie Ranch in Encino
- Radio City Music Hall
- last one of the Big 5 to be created, and the only one to essentially go out of business
- Photophone sound on film patents
- RKO born when acquire RCA radio
- about 150 theaters, mostly in NYC-least theaters out of any studios
- Radio City Music Hall-very famous-centerpiece of the studio
- lack of continuity of management-change studio bosses every couple of years
- run into bankruptcy in Great Depression-RCA cuts it loose-then taken over by a millionaire, Floyd Odium, succeeded from another millionaire Howard Hughes-wasn’t much of a studio boss-sold remnants of company in 1955 to General Tire & Rubber, that was trying to get more film for it’s TV station
- 1957-End of production and distribution-still have something called RKO, owns rights to some of the films, but they basically died
- had studios in RKO and Hollywood (melrose)
- David O’Selznick-studio head for a bit-tried to make them into big studio-built up star roster-brought in Katharine Hepburn from stage
- Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers-work together in musicals-big hits-big ballroom dance films-original musical scores
- because RKO changed management every few years, some unusual films made every few years because no one really watching to make sure their kind of movie-so got Citizen Kane, King Kong
- Orson Welles-2 films with RKO then falling out
- Nicholas Ray-socially conscious films
- made a lot of B movies-esp. westerns, horror films-hired Val Lewton for low budget horror films
- many B units
- Lupe Velez-The Mexican Spitfire
- The Falcon-George Sangers and Tom Conway
- Katharine Hepburn
- low budget horror films:
- Lupe Velez: The Mexican Spitfire; George Sanders & Tom Conway: The Falcon
Big 5: Paramount Pictures
-biggest
-cartoons
-produced sophisticated movies
-based in Chicago
-did not do well during the Depression
-Adolph Zukor
-1912- Famous Players
-1916– FP & Paramount merg
-1966- Gulf & Western
→ classy films for classy audiences; sophisticated comedies
-Fleischer Cartoons
-Paramount News
-Live Action Shorts
Big 5: Warners Bros
- democratic
- fast-paced action movies
- some cartoons (witty, tough-talking unlike cute disney cartoons)
- 1914 - Warner Bros Feature Distribution
- 1917 – MY FOUR YEARS IN GERMANY
- President Harry Warner
- Studio Boss Jack Warner
- First National - Burbank Studios
- Gangsters & working class heroes
- Busby Berkeley musicals
- famous for Vitaphone/synchronized sound in 20s
- too over First National in 1929
- acquired large studio lot in Burbank
- most oriented towards the working class-capture spirit of the Great Depression
- working class heroes, gangster, big city folk
- stars exemplify this-Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney
- most successful films built around synchronized sound-then gangster films-then Busby Berkeley working class musicals
- low budgets compared to other studios
- Michael Curtiz (big projects, fast moving) and Raoul Walsh (manly-comes out of silent films-associated with the “He-Man” at WB-directs some of the toughest films, most manly actors)-famous Fox directors
- never had a successful newsreels-had some successful shorts, esp. on American history-and did well on cartoons-Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies-got some of best animation talent in Hollywood that weren’t at Disney-like Chuck Jones-the stars of animated WB films are much like the live action stars-tough talking, wise cracking, smart alecks
- 500+ Theaters – Pennsylvania & New Jersey
- Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies
Big 5: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
- did not lose money during the Depression
- considered a top-down production system
- not much creative control for the directors
- targeted family audience
- conservative
- Loew’s Inc
- Marcus Loew buys Metro & Goldwyn
- Nicholas Schenck
- Louis B. Mayer (studio boss);
- Irving Thalberg (head of production)
- 1969 - Kirk Kerkorian
- smallest theater chain → even during the Depression MGM made a profit
- Paramount’s biggest competitor; most conservative studio; most producerdominated of the the major studios
- “More stars than there are in Heaven”
- Hearst Metrotone News
- Hal Roach Shorts
- Hanna & Barbera Cartoons
Little 3
Universal Pictures -monster horror films Columbia Pictures -didn’t lost money during the depression United Artists -They owned few or no theaters. -didn't own theaters-just prod. and dist.
Describe the relationship between HUAC and the American film industry. What factors, events, and people led these 2 institutions to come together? What were the effects?
Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals-anti foreign ideas-anti-communism, anti-Nazi, etc.-after war became purely anti-communist-denounced communism in Hollywood-got HUAC to come back to Hollywood in 1947 to expose communist influences in American film-target leadership of Communist Party.
October 1947-The Hollywood Ten trials: Trials allotted to congress to expose possible Communist and anti-government propaganda within films. Induced certain filmmakers to get more “bad publicity”, which resulted in their motivation to create more original content.
“friendly witness”-members of Motion Picture Alliance
moguls (studios) to testify-to torment them for making communist propaganda-pointed out pro-Soviet films of WWII during their alliance-lots of communist writers in Hollywood
Jack Warner spoke for moguls-argued yes communism bad, communist writers bad, but Hollywood not a writer-dominated system-don’t get their ideas on the screen-producer dominated system that controls what goes on screen-so even if started out communist propaganda changed so much but by end not-But HUAC not interested in that, interested in discrediting Hollywood and its liberal and leftist perspectives
”unfriendly witnesses”-leaders and key figures of Hollywood and of Communist Party-mostly writers-the Hollywood 10
led by John Howard Lawson-leader of Hollywood Communist Party-successful Hollywood writer-saw what HUAC was out to do-discredit the cause and destroy their lives-the Hollywood Ten decided they would not answer “are you now or have you ever been a communist”-because would immediately discredit them-stood on institutional right to have private opinion on anything-lecture committee on their right as Americans-gaveled instantly into silence-cited for contempt of Congress-physically removed by US marshals-tried and convicted, jailed
Committee for the First Amendment-formed by Hollywood leaders that were horrified at what HUAC was doing-can’t let HUAC and federal gov. suppress our political ideas and denounce Hollywood for putting out communist propaganda because that’s not true-marched to HUAC hearings in DC with intention of protecting the Hollywood Ten-but angry that the Hollywood ten didn’t tell truth and refused to admit to being communists-so they dissolved, went back to Hollywood
blacklist: moguls of all majors-held big meeting in NYC at Waldorf Astoria, tried to decide what to do-box office dropping off, Hollywood discredited-couldn’t take these boycotts or attacks-so Hollywood issues the Waldorf Statement-Hollywood will no longer knowingly employ communists-blacklisted communists-all of the Hollywood Ten-for 10 years-couldn’t get a job under their real names in Hollywood
HUAC comes back, stron1951 HUAC trials: ger than ever-world events have supported the anti-communist cause-HUAC cast nets wider, hundreds of witnesses, ask defendant to name names of other people saw at communist meetings-blacklist greatly expands-terrible time for Hollywood-used to be very diverse-but now wedge in Hollywood, bad feelings that pretty much lasts for the rest of 20th century
collapse of the blacklist: 1959 director Otto Preminger hires blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo-one of Hollywood Ten-makes film Spartacus-blacklist collapses
How did independent production and talent agencies become more powerful during the decline of the studio system? Use specific examples of relevant companies, people, and their strategies.
Outside companies acquire movie studios.
Sony bought Columbia
Time Warner Cable bought Warner Bros.
Lew Wasserman buys Universal in 1963 and sells his talent agency.
1948 Supreme Court Decision USA v. Paramount Pictures
Shutdown of block booking and ownership of theater chains by film studios, saying it constituted anti-competitive and monopolistic trade practices
gave more power to independent producers
studio moguls lost their ability to control the studio system
MCA/Universal
Lew Wasserman’s talent agency (Music Corporation of America)
create stars and make them more powerful
Jimmy Stewart
Makes a couple of movies in 1950 in which he gets a cut of the profit instead of a salary.
established precedent for other stars to follow suit
- Stars started forming their own production companies
- Income tax could be up to 90% and if they produced their own movies, they could write off the salary they made as a business expense and pay less tax.
- United Artists
Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin buy it in 1951. They had previous experience with film distribution from Eagle-Lion.
High Noon
The African Queen
Bwana Devil
Won more Academy Awards than any other company
Hollywood Studio
- Hollywood production lots, backlots & ranches
- Studio Boss: in charge of production; negotiating contracts; liaison to the NY offices
- Head of Production: e.g. Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg collaboration at MGM; overseas producers and story department
- Story Department: longterm contracts, NY and London offices (plays, novels, short stories, radio shows, European shows → so that studios could buy story material)
- Hollywood Stars: star system
Hollywood Star
- Star System → star making apparatus; long term option contract (way of binding their talents to the studio; type casting; offcasting; no creative control; no percentage of the revenue); publicity department: puts out PR material; Hollywood was 3rd largest news source (after D.C. & NY); best still photographers
- Long Term Option Contract
- Publicity Dept
Fox shorts
- did newsreels better than anyone else-Fox Movietone News
- but live action shorts of cartoons not thought well of-lame comedy-animation was run by Paul Terry-making Terrytoons-main character was Mighty Mouse-people critical of Mighty Mouse in Hollywood-just Mickey Mouse x Superman
Walt Disney
- RKO distributed Walt Disney’s films (distributed his films through UA before, wanted more important position with UA but Chaplin and Pickford turned him down:
- 1938 Snow White
- 1940 Fantasia
- 1941 Dumbo
- 1942 Pinocchio
- 1950 Cinderella
- Alice in Wonderland cartoons
- comes to prominence in late 20s
- first animator to really plunge in and make fully animated synchronized sound films-like Steamboat Willy
- so successful, steps up and gets distribution through United Artists
- Mickey Mouse
- adds Donald Duck and Goofy
- makes deal with Technnicolor- first animator to use full color
- starts winning Academy Awards, Micky Mouse and Disney famous worldwide
- asked for better deal from United Artists, said no, so Disney went to RKO
- Snow White released in 1938-smash hit-biggest moneymaker in film history-surpassing The Singing Fool-but then quickly surpassed by Gone with the Wind
- then about every year Disney distributed a feature film to RKO-RKO’s biggest hits
Little 3-Universal
-Carl Laemmle/IMP
-battle Edison and patents
-1914-Universal City
-Carl Laemmle Jr
-expanding-then Great Depression-disaster-have to borrow money, bankruptcy
-1936-Standard Captal-loans them a lot of money-never pay back-Laemmle loses control of company, so Standard Capital seizes it-they cut out most of the A films and just want B films
-All Quiet on the Western Front-anti war production-first Universal film to win Best Picture
-Universal Monsters-Dracula-huge surprise hit-so they do a bunch more-Frankenstein-descend into B movies cuz of Standard Capital
-James Whale
-Long Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr (all playing monsters), Deanna Durbin (singer, worldwide sensation in 30s, wholesome), Abbott and Costello (radio and vaudeville comedians)
Universal Series fIlm
-Sherlock Holmes
-Ma & Pa Kettle
-Francis the Talking Mule
Universal
-Universal News
-Walter Lantz’ Woody Woodpecker
-Serials-ambitious-westwen and science fiction
Little 3-Columbia
- Harry & Jack Cohn-had worked for Universal, learned about low budget movie making-made C films, B westerns-made fun of
- changed name to Columbia
- studio on Poverty Row (Gower St.)-so many low budget companies there that were failing
- pure B movie company but just kept growing-never a bad year, even during Depression
- made more movies than any other companies-60 films a year instead of 60
- almost no stars under long term contract-made films cheaper
- films shorter
- paid themselves the lowest executive salaries in Hollywood
- kept Columbia going
- usually had at least 1 female star under contract per decade
- Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Kim Novak, Glenn Ford, William Holden, Jack Lemmon, Larry Parks, The Three Stooges
- no newsreel, animation never took over
- but good live action shorts-with The Three Stooges-made 191 shorts at Columbia from 1935-1957
- loads of B series often based on comic book characters, Blondie, Boston Blackie-western series
- great ranch out in Burbank in 1953
Frank Capra
- hired in late 20s
- had worked for Keystone under Sennett-made slapstick comedies as a director
- directs dramas, war pictures at Columbia
- makes deal with Cohn in 1935-said would do whatever Cohn does as long as can make 1 film wants a year using star from another studio-It Happened One Night (1934) was one of the first ones-smash hit-won Oscar
- beginning of sleeper hit-low budget hit that goes in by stealth, no one thinks will do anything, then it’s huge hit-It Happened One Night is first example
- shows the anxiety of Great Depression, drive to do well, in films
United Artists
- 1919-Distribution of Independent Producers
- Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, DW Griffith
- Joseph Schenk, Gloria Swanson, Disney, etc.-eventually all got better offers from other studios and left
Republic
- another small studio-not little 3
- Herbert J Yates
- Nat Levine
- Consolidated Film Industries
- Mascot & Monogram
- made over 400 movies-the most outside the big 5
- Herbert J Yates-founded film lab in 20s for low budget filmmakers to process their film-then started company Mascot to make films-then in 30s a bunch of lower budget B movies companies owed money to Consolidated Film Laboraties-he foreclosed on a lot of them, seized their assets, and created a giant B movie company, Republic
- Nat Levine
- specialized in “B” Westerns-esp. Singing Cowboy-Gene Autry-founds the genre-replaced by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans during war-and occasionally John Wayne
- made a bunch of low budget Serials-comic book and pulp superhero types-Batman, Zorro
- very successful during WWII so made a few quality films after-none really panned out except The Quiet Man
- studio out in the valley-lots of western like streets on it-used for westerns a lot and later for TV
Hollywood & World War II
-during WW2, Hollywood returns to profitability
-FDR liked film, so didn’t place too many restrictions-thought movies good for morale
-a lot rationed during that era-gas, red meat
-no new cars-assembly lines turned to make military vehicles and aircrafts
-but movies would continue and become more successful in this period
-not only movies boomed during WW2-all forms of entertainment and mass communication boomed during this period-radio, newspapers, magazines, books, comic books
-best years 1941-1946
-movies so successful there started to be changes:
-long runs-used to be a week for first run, if really popular moved to another theatre for a second week-now started to run 6 weeks or more
-studios started to reduce the number of films they made since films could stay in theaters loner, didn’t need to be immediately replaced
delayed release-a lot of films were shelved for later if not on current topic-as much as 2 years if no topical content-no room in theaters, no ned to release them yet
-troop screenings-screened worldwide for american troops-for free-often before even seen in US
Hollywood’s War Effort
- War training films-often using stars
- WWII in newsreels
- War Bond tours-way gov. financed both world wars
- the USO-United Service Organization-entertains American troops worldwide-very active during WWII
- The Hollywood Canteen-Bette Davis and John Garfield-only admitted servicemen in uniform-many soldiers passing through on way to Pacific front, could have 1 night in Hollywood, be entertained by a singing group
- pin-up girls of WWII-of female stars-images circulated to troops
- War Activities Committee-organized by Hollywood community as liaison for gov. to tell Hollywood what it wanted it to do
WWII in Films
- made movies about WWII
- a battle would be thought, 6 months later Hollywood would have a film about that battle in theaters
- the war genre was never the dominant genre, even in the WWII period
The Office of War Information-OWI
-FDR administration very concerned about the flow of info concerning the war-wanted to be presented to public in a consistent fashion-we have lots of mass media, but didn’t have a ministry of propaganda-so FDR administration created OWI-they were intermediaries, supposed to manage/regulate how the news on world events and war efforts were presented to the public-films had to follow guidelines, in addition to Hays code-didn’t want false heroics, or stereotyped of the enemy-so that the enemy (Japan and Germany) were subhumans that could easily be conquered by the Americans-wanted to prepare America for a long, hard, costly war
Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA) The Good Neighbor Policy
- important to FDR administration that Latin America stayed neutral
- some sympathy for fascism there, some German expatriates-US didn’t want them to shift to the Axis’ side, join the Axis-extremely sensitive about any raw materials from Latin America getting to the Germans or the Japanese-oil and uranium in particular
- so set up the OIAA and established the Good Neighbor Policy-tried to make nice to Latin America-establish bonds between Latin America and US
- one small part of this effort was Hollywood-portray latin americans in films, portray them in a positive light-so flood of films set in Latin America, supposed to establish connections between Latin America and North America
- Rockafeller-associated with RKO-so they esp. put out films like this
- RKO sent Orson Welles down to Brazil as part of this to make a film-but ended up being a disaster
- at Fox, major latin american star-Carmen Miranda-comedian
pro-soviet films
- Soviets and Germany invade Poland, staring war, allied-but by the time the US enters the war, the Nazis have turned on the Soviets, and the biggest battles of war took place in Soviet Union-so US allies with Soviets when enter war
- to help this, made several pro-soviet films-usually assigned to Hollywood communists to write the scripts
- 1943 The North Star
- 1943 Mission to Moscow
- 1944 Song of Russia
- 1944 Days of Glory
- these films will come back to haunt hollywood during the red scare and blacklisting
