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Post by topbilled on Jun 29, 2023 17:01:50 GMT
Audiences, eager to put the past few years of war behind them, flocked to the movies. There were splashy Technicolor musicals to enjoy, and gritty crime dramas which would come to be known as film noir. Soon studios were reporting record profits, due to ticket sales in excess of 80 million per week. It was an optimistic time for Hollywood.
But it would not last long. Federal government lawsuits were being revived, in order to break the monopolies the studios had on film exhibition. Big movie companies were in the habit of dictating prices and how long certain motion pictures were scheduled to run in theaters. But exhibitors were now refusing to abide by these terms.
The International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) decided to strike again. Only a year earlier, the group which controlled studio technicians, had gone on strike for 34 weeks. At stake was a policy being enacted by studio bosses to restrict their salaries. The issues had not been fully resolved, bringing about the second strike. Ultimately, a new salary plan and fringe-benefits had to be implemented across all studios to satisfy the IATSE.
While these business problems were sorted out, studios continued to make motion pictures that demonstrated excellence. The year’s top films included GILDA, a sizzling crime yarn produced by Columbia Pictures with Rita Hayworth; and MGM’s production of THE YEARLING, which was based on Marjorie Rawlings’ heartwarming bestseller from 1938. Metro had several false starts with the picture but persistence paid off; with the finished product doing quite well with audiences. It made Claude Jarman Jr. a star; his performance earned a special Academy Juvenile Award.
Meanwhile, Sam Goldwyn’s postwar masterpiece, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, hit screens and resonated with moviegoers. The independent producer had hired William Wyler to direct the adaptation of MacKinlay Kantor’s novella. It was a huge success commercially and artistically; it swept the Oscars for 1946, winning in all categories nominated except one. Harold Russell, a war veteran who had lost both his hands, earned two awards for his participation in the film.
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Post by topbilled on Jul 1, 2023 17:57:20 GMT
Four years had passed since Howard Hughes completed filming of his relatively tame western THE OUTLAW, starring Jane Russell. However, it had yet to go into wide release for the moviegoing public. The reason for this was because the production code office refused to grant the film its stamp of approval. It wasn’t that they objected to the content of the film as much as to the provocative advertising Hughes employed to promote the picture.
Determined to beat the code at its own game, Hughes filed suit against the Motion Picture Association of America, claiming the MPAA was restricting trade. He lost. And because he lost, he began to set his sights on finding a movie studio he could buy to distribute it anyway.
Meanwhile, so-called communist elements in Hollywood found themselves purged from the movie industry. The idea of a blacklist began to formulate, though some of the more liberal studio bosses were against it. Those opposed included Darryl Zanuck at Fox; Dore Schary at RKO; and independent producer Samuel Goldwyn. In July 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) announced that it intended to conduct a full-scale investigation of communist links to the motion picture business.
Actors, directors and writers were targeted. They would be served subpoenas to testify in front of the committee. Official hearings did not begin until October 20th. Under pressure, ‘friendly’ witnesses began to corroborate far-fetched allegations and substantiate hurtful rumors, bigotry and accusations lobbed at those suspected of leftist activity. Witnesses who did not cooperate with the committee were seen as communist sympathizers and deserving of national scorn.
While all this was going on, studios turned out motion pictures with stories that seemed analogous of the witch hunts that were being waged. At 20th Century Fox, director Henry King filmed a lively account of the Spanish Inquisition and a fugitive’s hiding out in Mexico, known as CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE. Tyrone Power played the fugitive and Jean Peters was the girl who helped him. John Sutton was cast as a villain who espoused religious fervor and sadism, not too unlike some leaders of the House Committee.
Another noteworthy production in 1947 was RKO’s adaptation of Richard Brooks’ story about mindless bigotry, entitled CROSSFIRE. Edward Dmytryk directed the noir drama that showed a military man (Robert Ryan) to be anti-semitic and lashing out against a fellow Jewish soldier (Sam Levene). Robert Young played an investigator looking into a murder that resulted.
Soon after CROSSFIRE was released, Edward Dmytryk and producer Adrian Scott would be called before HUAC. When they refused to cooperate, they found themselves jailed for contempt.
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Post by topbilled on Jul 3, 2023 2:02:27 GMT
As expected, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) continued to hold hearings that put various Hollywood figures in the hot seat. At issue was whether they had ever been affiliated with the Communist party. Most of the ‘friendly’ witnesses were given little opportunity to prepare or fully state their views. Prepared statements were deemed inadmissible by the committee. Also, the ones that were targeted directly usually had no chance to cross-examine their accusers. When ten prominent liberals had been identified at the end of 1947, the hearings were for a time suspended.
But there would be more troubles for studios in the new year with regards to this matter. The American Legion and other patriotic groups across the country believed the charges of the committee. They threatened to boycott movies directed by or written by the Hollywood Ten. In 1948, producers like Darryl Zanuck and Dore Schary were pressured by their stockholders to go along with the blacklist.
As a result, the Ten were fired by the studios that had employed them before the committee hearings began. More importantly, all of them had been fined by the committee for being in contempt and given one-year jail sentences. Nine of them served their full sentences: Adrian Scott; Ring Lardner Jr.; Alvah Bessie; Dalton Trumbo; Herbert Biberman; John Howard Lawson; Sam Ornitz; Albert Maltz; and Lester Cole.
One of them, director Edward Dmytryk, only served two months, then decided to cooperate with the committee and was released. By the time all was said and done, the careers of the nine who did not cooperate were seriously destroyed. Plus there were about 300 more– actors like Jeff Corey and various directors and writers– that were also blacklisted when they invoked the Fifth Amendment during the hearings. For many, their careers would stall indefinitely. A select few continued to work, either by joining foreign film companies; or by using fronts. Most had no choice but to wait out the storm which lasted at least ten to fifteen years.
But let’s discuss the nine who served a year in prison and had their contracts invalidated by the studios that had employed them. Several of them sued the studios. Adrian Scott, Ring Lardner and Lester Cole each brought a civil suit against their former studios and won. However, the rulings were reversed on appeal in the upper courts. Later, the suits were re-won and then re-reversed. Ultimately, the cases wound up being settled out of court but probably not to the satisfaction of the plaintiffs.
With the turmoil that was going on because of HUAC, it is amazing studios were able to turn out noteworthy product for audiences. But that is exactly what they did. Columbia produced THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI, a drama built around its major star, Rita Hayworth. This time, she was paired with her real-life husband Orson Welles, who directed and costarred.
Studio boss Harry Cohn, who perhaps sensed that the crippled attorney character played by Everett Sloane was modeled after Cohn himself, disliked the end result. He claimed the cynical thriller made Hayworth look so conniving and deceptive that it damaged her box office appeal as a sex symbol. The stars probably didn’t have much time to worry about Cohn’s comments, because when the picture wrapped, Welles and Hayworth were not on speaking terms and headed for divorce.
Across town, RKO had a modest hit with John Ford’s FORT APACHE. Though Ford had been a much-lauded director in the late 1930s and early 1940s, his career had been affected by the war, and his reputation was now not what it once was. Some critics were quick to find faults with FORT APACHE. But the film still holds up today as a testament of Ford’s Catholic faith and his belief in strict military discipline. The symbolic ending of the movie bears that out. |
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Post by topbilled on Jul 5, 2023 14:31:03 GMT
A few things that began in 1948 carried over into 1949. Perhaps most critically to the motion picture industry was the fact that the recent presidential election had been telecast, for the first time in history. This meant television was no fad; its immediacy and direct impact on audiences could not be ignored and as more broadcast stations sprang up around the country, TV would undoubtedly cut into the movie business.
Ticket sales had been averaging around 90 million per week, but in the new year, movie attendance dropped down to 62 million. Eventually, it climbed back up to around 70 million where it stayed. The studio bosses knew they were facing an uncertain time. Some like Hal Roach decided the future was in television and quickly began to transition over to TV production.
Meanwhile, Floyd Odlum of RKO decided it was time to get out of the picture business altogether. He put the studio up for sale, with the most serious offer coming from independent producer Howard Hughes. For the past several years, Hughes had experienced great difficulty getting his condemned western THE OUTLAW distributed, and he felt that if he bought RKO he could ensure that his movies would be played.
When Hughes assumed control of RKO, he had very little regard for its history or its film library. He quickly alienated producer Dore Schary who soon left for MGM. And more than half the executive staff had exited by 1949, in what amounted to a huge shake-up. The studio would never be the same; Hughes’ purchase signaled the beginning of a long death for RKO.
Across town, United Artists was going through its own upheaval. UA was dealing with a severe budget crisis, and many of their more prestigious independent producers were bailing. Roach was heading into television, while others like John Ford and James Cagney were going back to work for major studios. Another problem was that some of the product UA turned out in the late 40s began to seem outdated, since the postwar trend had been towards social realism. The conservative escapist entertainment that UA produced wasn’t selling.
At this time, David Loew had set up a company with John Garfield called Enterprise Studios, which leaned toward producing more socially conscious films. The venture attracted people like Robert Rossen, Robert Aldrich and Abraham Polonsky. Of course, many of these people would soon be blacklisted, but for a time in the late 40s, this group prospered and turned out some of the best progressive cinema Hollywood ever made– films like BODY AND SOUL and FORCE OF EVIL, both with Garfield in starring roles.
While this was going on, there was a changing of the guard at some of the major studios. Longtime stars were finding that their contracts were not being renewed. And some, such as Bette Davis, left their home studios after arguments over the scripts being offered. Davis had been with Warner Brothers for 17 years.
Meanwhile, producer Henry Blanke refused to leave Warners, because he had a 25 year contract at $5000 per week. But with television cutting into the movie business, Jack Warner was eager to save money and get rid of Blanke, who was very expensive at this point. During the standoff with Warner, Blanke would only visit the studio with his lawyers. |
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Post by topbilled on Jul 9, 2023 1:31:15 GMT
Taking a slight break...but I will start posting the 1950s next week...check back!
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Post by topbilled on Jul 11, 2023 15:53:44 GMT
The Hollywood motion picture industry was now in a fight for survival. Almost twenty percent of American homes already had television, and this number was growing rapidly. As more people stayed at home to watch entertainment programs on TV, they went to the cinema less frequently. As a result, weekly admissions fell to 60 million.
Studios responded by trying to soak up the new medium in strategic ways. Large screen TV sets were installed in theaters to show live news and sporting events between movies. And some experimental markets were offering stay-at-home viewers the chance to see recent movies on the tube for a small fee. It was the beginning of Pay TV.
Among the first feature films to be shown on Pay TV in 1950 were Paramount’s WELCOME STRANGER; MGM’s HOMECOMING; and Warner Brothers’ APRIL SHOWERS. Zenith was the company that partnered with studios to provide the unique service to customers. The first group to use Pay TV included three hundred subscribers in the Chicago area.
Meanwhile, the Technicolor Corporation faced sudden legal reversals and began to lose its monopoly on color stock and color processing. A court ruling forced Technicolor to relinquish 92 of its patents to producers. As for the remaining 12 patents that were still allowed, Technicolor was ordered to share those technologies at a more reasonable rate. Because of these decisions, Technicolor’s considerable power diminished.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) was now dealing with the personal lives of stars. References to actors’ real-life love affairs could no longer be made in the advertising of films.
The situation that brought this to a head was one involving Ingrid Bergman. She had recently left her husband for director Roberto Rossellini. The MPAA forbade RKO from mentioning the Bergman scandal in ads for her latest film, STROMBOLI, in which she had been directed by Rossellini. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jul 11, 2023 19:46:55 GMT
One thing I've learn over the years is that nearly every invention started decades before it was really adopted/became popular, as with this one:
"And some experimental markets were offering stay-at-home viewers the chance to see recent movies on the tube for a small fee. It was the beginning of Pay TV."
I had no idea some early form of Pay TV went back to 1950. That is very cool information, but it does fit the pattern for just about every new technology.
TV itself had been kicking around since the late 1920s, and was even installed in some areas in the 1930s. I've even seen working TVs shown in some British films from the 1930s as Britain was further along than the US with its TV rollout in the pre-WWII years.
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Post by topbilled on Jul 18, 2023 14:36:54 GMT
Since the end of World War II, European cinema had undergone a renaissance period. This led to the start of ‘art house’ movie theaters in the United States, which catered to a growing interest in foreign films from Italy, France and other countries. One picture that did well on the art house circuit was a neo-realist fable by Vittorio de Sica.
In addition to television, as well as recent economic setbacks caused by the beginning of the Korean conflict, Hollywood had to contend with strong competition from overseas production companies. These issues were only compounded by the change in film exhibition, since the U.S. government had effectively put an end to studios owning theater chains. The entire business model was overhauled. And nobody understood it better than producer Dore Schary.
Schary had left RKO after Howard Hughes’ takeover and returned to MGM, where he previously worked under Louis B. Mayer. But this time, Schary had considerably more power, which Mayer deeply resented. The two men were frequently at an impasse over the direction of the studio and the types of pictures that would best serve the needs of audiences in these changing times.
A huge fight erupted between the two men in 1949 over Schary’s decision to make the war film BATTLEGROUND, which Mayer vehemently opposed. When BATTLEGROUND proved a hit with critics and audiences, Mayer lost a key battle in the war with Schary. Stockholders now believed Schary had the vision to lead them into the new decade.
By 1951, Mayer’s power had decreased even more, and Schary was essentially running the studio at this point. Mayer, knowing he was being pushed out, abruptly resigned and cashed in. He was paid almost $3 million for stories and other MGM properties in which he still held a major interest. But Mayer wasn’t done in Hollywood. After he left MGM, he financed the TV version of Jack Webb’s crime drama Dragnet, and he invested a substantial amount of his MGM payoff in Cinerama, which turned out to be a good decision.
Meanwhile, Hollywood was beginning to realize that an important new demographic was developing in the post-war era. There were now a substantial number of affluent teens in these years of prosperity, and they would become an even wealthier group when they reached their twenties. As a result, studios and independent production companies were turning out motion pictures geared towards them. This generational shift was reflected in the proliferation of drive-in movie theaters; there were now over 2,000 of them across North America.
As the industry changed, some movie stars were finding their standing in jeopardy at their home studios. At 20th Century Fox, Tyrone Power and Betty Grable were both placed on suspension when the new president of the studio found them unreasonable in their demands. At Universal, Shelley Winters was also suspended without pay when she fought with her bosses over costume fittings. And Kirk Douglas was having such conflict with Jack Warner that he shelled out $100,000 to break his contract with Warner Brothers. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jul 18, 2023 16:13:52 GMT
Since the end of World War II, European cinema had undergone a renaissance period. This led to the start of ‘art house’ movie theaters in the United States, which catered to a growing interest in foreign films from Italy, France and other countries. One picture that did well on the art house circuit was a neo-realist fable by Vittorio de Sica....
The above line, in particular, caught my attention because I've seen so many of those "art house" movies on "TCM Imports," which is IMHO a tiny gem tucked inside TCM that gets very little attention. Without it, I wouldn't have seen many of these movies. If TCM or "TCM Imports" goes away, I'm going to have to find a way to identify and then find these movies, but hopefully, that won't happen. |
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Post by topbilled on Jul 20, 2023 14:03:25 GMT
The blacklist was still in effect, with no sign of letting up. Columbia had a popular star, Larry Parks, who wowed audiences in two very profitable movies about Al Jolson. But Parks’ liberal political views had become problematic for the studio.
Harry Cohn decided to remove the actor from a new film that was scheduled to go before cameras, and when Parks was officially blacklisted, Columbia severed all ties with him. Another movie Larry Parks had made on loan out to MGM saw its release delayed by over a year. Very quickly the actor became persona non grata in Hollywood.
Parks wasn’t alone. Other performers were also fired, because of leftist leanings. Character actor Howard Da Silva had been working in the movies for fifteen years and was now blacklisted. A film he had completed for RKO had scenes reshot with someone else in his place. Howard Hughes claimed Da Silva’s presence in a studio picture was now unacceptable. According to Hughes, nobody with suspected communist ties could be employed at RKO in any capacity.
Blacklisted directors had just as tough a time. Many headed off to Europe to find work. These people included Joseph Losey, Cy Enfield and Jules Dassin. Their names, along with the names of blacklisted actors and writers, were printed in a publication called Red Channels that would mention artists who should no longer be employed in Hollywood. A few that were in danger of being placed on the list managed to hang on, if they toed the line and distanced themselves from their previous political affiliations. Producer Stanley Kramer was one such individual who kept from being blacklisted.
The Technicolor Corporation continued to lose its firm grip over color film processing in Hollywood. Rival companies like Eastman-Kodak and Ansco were doing business with the studios now. Both these outfits won technical Oscars in 1952, signaling the end of Technicolor’s dominance. Studios saw the benefits of using Eastman-Kodak and Ansco, since these newer processes did not require the expensive printing that occurred with Technicolor. In a relatively short time Eastmancolor became the trend.
Corporate shake-ups took place at two major Hollywood studios. A year earlier, the Decca Records company acquired 28% of Universal-International’s stock from J. Arthur Rank. By 1952, Decca had bought additional shares and now had a controlling interest in Universal. Decca’s president quickly assumed the top spot at the movie studio.
Over at 20th Century Fox, a new president had also taken the reigns. Previous chief Darryl Zanuck was demoted to Vice President when the board of directors voted for exhibitor Spyros Skouras to become their top boss. Since Zanuck had less power now, he was forced by Skouras to release films that could have benefited from re-editing when they didn’t test well with preview audiences.
Zanuck was often frustrated, but he forged ahead. One of the projects he was working on would soon lead to a major industry revolution. What was it? CinemaScope. |
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Post by NoShear on Jul 20, 2023 15:13:23 GMT
Since the end of World War II, European cinema had undergone a renaissance period. This led to the start of ‘art house’ movie theaters in the United States, which catered to a growing interest in foreign films from Italy, France and other countries. One picture that did well on the art house circuit was a neo-realist fable by Vittorio de Sica.
In addition to television, as well as recent economic setbacks caused by the beginning of the Korean conflict, Hollywood had to contend with strong competition from overseas production companies. These issues were only compounded by the change in film exhibition, since the U.S. government had effectively put an end to studios owning theater chains. The entire business model was overhauled. And nobody understood it better than producer Dore Schary.
Schary had left RKO after Howard Hughes’ takeover and returned to MGM, where he previously worked under Louis B. Mayer. But this time, Schary had considerably more power, which Mayer deeply resented. The two men were frequently at an impasse over the direction of the studio and the types of pictures that would best serve the needs of audiences in these changing times.
A huge fight erupted between the two men in 1949 over Schary’s decision to make the war film BATTLEGROUND, which Mayer vehemently opposed. When BATTLEGROUND proved a hit with critics and audiences, Mayer lost a key battle in the war with Schary. Stockholders now believed Schary had the vision to lead them into the new decade.
By 1951, Mayer’s power had decreased even more, and Schary was essentially running the studio at this point. Mayer, knowing he was being pushed out, abruptly resigned and cashed in. He was paid almost $3 million for stories and other MGM properties in which he still held a major interest. But Mayer wasn’t done in Hollywood. After he left MGM, he financed the TV version of Jack Webb’s crime drama Dragnet, and he invested a substantial amount of his MGM payoff in Cinerama, which turned out to be a good decision.
Meanwhile, Hollywood was beginning to realize that an important new demographic was developing in the post-war era. There were now a substantial number of affluent teens in these years of prosperity, and they would become an even wealthier group when they reached their twenties. As a result, studios and independent production companies were turning out motion pictures geared towards them. This generational shift was reflected in the proliferation of drive-in movie theaters; there were now over 2,000 of them across North America.
As the industry changed, some movie stars were finding their standing in jeopardy at their home studios. At 20th Century Fox, Tyrone Power and Betty Grable were both placed on suspension when the new president of the studio found them unreasonable in their demands. At Universal, Shelley Winters was also suspended without pay when she fought with her bosses over costume fittings. And Kirk Douglas was having such conflict with Jack Warner that he shelled out $100,000 to break his contract with Warner Brothers. Maybe the most interesting one of these you've offered thus far - at least to me, TopBilled... First, you, though: I like the battle lines you drew for Louis B. Mayer and Dore Schary, and the mention of the Korean conflict in the context of film was, I think, apropos to you as that war eventually yielded favorites of yours such as M*A*S*H. For me, I didn't know how far-reaching Louis B. Mayer's indirect impact had on me. Yeah, there's his studio, of course, and I knew of his inspirational pushback at Norma Shearer which taught the starlet to stand up for herself against dictatorial directors, but I don't recall knowing of Mayer's financing of DRAGNET, which eventually yielded the reboot of DRAGNET to the point, nor did I recall knowing of his investing in the CINERAMA process which led to one of the theaters of my life, the CINERAMA dome.
Thank you for the writeup, TopBilled.
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Post by topbilled on Jul 23, 2023 16:19:57 GMT
The blacklist continued, and HIGH NOON– a film that some regarded as a comment on the communist witch-hunts– had become the center of attention. In early 1953, its star Gary Cooper was named Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Cooper played Will Kane, a sheriff that stood by his principles and refused to run off in the face of adversity.
Gary Cooper’s career had gone into decline in the late 1940s, and instead of taking his usual paycheck for HIGH NOON, he opted for a share of the profits. It proved to be a wise decision, because the film only cost $750,000 to make, and it raked in millions at the box office. Its success and Cooper’s Oscar led to a career comeback for the actor. He went on to make many more important western motion pictures in the 1950s.
Two important technological innovations in Hollywood proved to be revolutionary. In response to the competition posed by television, studios were looking for new ways to entice audiences back to movie theaters. One of these was the use of three-dimensional (3-D) images. In reality, 3-D was not a new technology, and it had been used all the way back in the 1910s. But now, for a while at least, it became the trend among several studios to photograph stories using this technology.
What made 3-D noteworthy was how it allowed viewers to see images with greater depth, when using specially made spectacles. The separate lenses were able to pick up two separate images on screen at the same time. Warner Brothers’ horror film HOUSE OF WAX was one of the more popular mainstream pictures to use 3-D in 1953.
The second innovation concerned the use of widescreen images. Just a year earlier, Cinerama began to lead the way for studios to show films in widescreen with the much-heralded release of THIS IS CINERAMA. And while Cinerama was the latest sensation, Darryl Zanuck over at 20th Century Fox, was working on his studio’s own widescreen process, called CinemaScope.
Zanuck knew CinemaScope would be revolutionary, because it had distinct advantages over 3-D and Cinerama. First, it did not require a set of glasses like 3-D did; and also, it consisted of one main image, not three images that were projected side by side like Cinerama.
After more than a year of tinkering, Fox’s CinemaScope was ready for audiences to enjoy. On September 17, 1953, the studio unveiled CinemaScope with Henry Koster’s biblical epic THE ROBE. Soon, biblical epics became even more popular, and other studios were eager to pay Fox to borrow the CinemaScope technology for their own productions. Movie attendance increased, and it looked like the motion picture business might be able to keep television at bay.
As CinemaScope began to take hold in late 1953, there were some studios that did not wish to borrow the technology from Fox. Instead, they began to formulate their own widescreen processes. Chief among these– Paramount, developing a technology called VistaVision. Meanwhile, producer Mike Todd introduced his own Todd-AO, which exploited 70 mm film.
Another process that combined 35 mm and 70 mm filmmaking known as Technirama was soon available. But exhibitors were not always enthusiastic about the cost of re-equipping their theaters to accommodate the newer technologies. In fact, many theaters were not upgraded, and despite advertising to the contrary, the films were shown in flat form with alternate prints. |
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Post by topbilled on Jul 26, 2023 15:04:33 GMT
A new feature on labor issues made by blacklisted artists, called SALT OF THE EARTH, was causing a great deal of anxiety in Hollywood. Howard Hughes, who was still in control of RKO, refused to distribute it. In a fanatical anti-Communist rage, he contacted the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and shared his ideas for blocking the release of SALT OF THE EARTH in theaters across the country. Only a year or two earlier, Hughes had temporarily shut down RKO, in order to purge the studio of all personnel suspected of having ties to communism.
Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox continued to offer films in its new CinemaScope format. But not all theater owners were happy about the expense involved with converting their businesses so the new widescreen pictures could be shown. They were already upset about upgrades they had to make for stereo sound systems. But because the CinemaScope pictures were doing well with moviegoers, they had no choice but to adapt.
Back in Hollywood studios were now hiring more non-star actors to appear in the widescreen features. The epic was the real star now, not the people who played in them. Exhibitors were used to selling pictures to customers that had big movie stars, but now everything was different. The size of movies was different, the subject matter was different, and the way to sell a movie was suddenly different.
Studios that had relied on the 3-D craze to help them compete with television were in for a rude awakening. The fad did not last long, and by the end of 1954, many features that had gone into production as 3-D entertainment were now screening in cinemas in the old flat format. MGM had shelled out considerable expense to make its musical KISS ME KATE in 3-D, but when it was not attracting audiences (who were tired of wearing special glasses for such pictures), the film was quickly reissued and re-advertised as 2-D.
A new genre was developing at the movies. A year earlier, MGM had a massive hit on its hands with the behind-the-scenes drama THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Because of its success, and the earlier success of SUNSET BOULEVARD, the quasi-expose had quickly become a popular way to tell stories. This new narrative structure, combined with the younger generation’s fascination for motorcycles, gave birth to an iconic motion picture in 1954.
It was Stanley Kramer’s THE WILD ONE, starring Marlon Brando as a charismatic anti-hero. The story examined a breakdown in law and order when Brando’s motorcycle gang takes over and terrorizes a wholesome small American town. Though the film was denied release in Britain, it became a cult classic in many other countries. It firmly established Brando in the minds of moviegoers as a masochistic sex symbol. |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 3, 2023 15:17:34 GMT
This was the year Howard Hughes sold RKO. For seven years Hughes had misunderstood the history and potential of the studio and nearly run it into the ground. Its glory days long since over, and Hughes itching to dump the studio, RKO was put up for sale.
Eventually, the studio was purchased by the General Tire and Rubber Company, which created a subsidiary called General Teleradio. At first General Tire said it would continue producing motion pictures, but that quickly changed after the deal with Hughes had been completed. The studio lot was closed, and the RKO library was handed over to the C&C Television Corporation for $15 million. C&C would take the studio’s features– 740 of them, plus its 1,100 shorts– and make them available for television broadcast.
The massive flood of RKO sound films on television prompted other studios to follow suit. Soon, most film catalogues from the 1930s and 1940s were available on TV. Since 1930, around 5,500 features had been made in Hollywood. Almost 3,000 of them were made available to TV in 1955. This hurt theater chains, since people could stay home to watch old movies instead of going out to the local cinema to see new ones.
There were three very important new releases, though. One of these was Judy Garland’s comeback film, A STAR IS BORN. It had been released in 1954 and continued to do strong business in the first part of 1955. Previously filmed by David Selznick in 1937, the story rights were sold to Warner Brothers. George Cukor directed Garland and her costar James Mason.
It was the first time Cukor had worked in Technicolor and CinemaScope. The studio had concerns after the picture had a test screening, and Cukor was ordered to re-edit some sequences and tighten the action. Some of Garland’s best work was removed, though years later it would be restored.
Another noteworthy film was THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. It was the first (and only) picture to be directed by Charles Laughton, who managed to emulate the gothic horror style so vividly expressed by Val Lewton and his directors a decade earlier at RKO. Laughton worked from a script by writer James Agee, and he had some of the finest actors at his disposal.
Among them were Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters in the lead roles; as well as Lillian Gish and James Gleason in supporting roles. A key scene that occurs after Winters’ character is killed by Mitchum was filmed in a tank at Republic, using a wax dummy that resembled the actress.
Meanwhile, Delbert Mann offered audiences his cinematic version of Paddy Chayefsky’s play MARTY. Originally, it had been produced for live television. But producer Harold Hecht was determined to remake it as an independent picture, which would be released through United Artists.
Ernest Borgnine played the overgrown mama’s boy who found love when he least expected it. Borgnine was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, and the film was named Best Picture. It was widely considered a breakthrough for realistic movies.
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Post by Fading Fast on Aug 3, 2023 16:07:20 GMT
This was the year Howard Hughes sold RKO. For seven years Hughes had misunderstood the history and potential of the studio and nearly run it into the ground. Its glory days long since over, and Hughes itching to dump the studio, RKO was put up for sale.
Eventually, the studio was purchased by the General Tire and Rubber Company, which created a subsidiary called General Teleradio. At first General Tire said it would continue producing motion pictures, but that quickly changed after the deal with Hughes had been completed. The studio lot was closed, and the RKO library was handed over to the C&C Television Corporation for $15 million. C&C would take the studio’s features– 740 of them, plus its 1,100 shorts– and make them available for television broadcast.
The massive flood of RKO sound films on television prompted other studios to follow suit. Soon, most film catalogues from the 1930s and 1940s were available on TV. Since 1930, around 5,500 features had been made in Hollywood. Almost 3,000 of them were made available to TV in 1955. This hurt theater chains, since people could stay home to watch old movies instead of going out to the local cinema to see new ones.
There were three very important new releases, though. One of these was Judy Garland’s comeback film, A STAR IS BORN. It had been released in 1954 and continued to do strong business in the first part of 1955. Previously filmed by David Selznick in 1937, the story rights were sold to Warner Brothers. George Cukor directed Garland and her costar James Mason.
It was the first time Cukor had worked in Technicolor and CinemaScope. The studio had concerns after the picture had a test screening, and Cukor was ordered to re-edit some sequences and tighten the action. Some of Garland’s best work was removed, though years later it would be restored.
Another noteworthy film was THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. It was the first (and only) picture to be directed by Charles Laughton, who managed to emulate the gothic horror style so vividly expressed by Val Lewton and his directors a decade earlier at RKO. Laughton worked from a script by writer James Agee, and he had some of the finest actors at his disposal.
Among them were Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters in the lead roles; as well as Lillian Gish and James Gleason in supporting roles. A key scene that occurs after Winters’ character is killed by Mitchum was filmed in a tank at Republic, using a wax dummy that resembled the actress.
Meanwhile, Delbert Mann offered audiences his cinematic version of Paddy Chayefsky’s play MARTY. Originally, it had been produced for live television. But producer Harold Hecht was determined to remake it as an independent picture, which would be released through United Artists.
Ernest Borgnine played the overgrown mama’s boy who found love when he least expected it. Borgnine was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, and the film was named Best Picture. It was widely considered a breakthrough for realistic movies.
Andy idea why Laughton never directed again considering how successful his first effort was? |
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