Here’s a story of success plucked from adversity: the story of Hollywood’s response to the Great Depression.
The movie industry’s triumph in the 1930s lay in giving the public what it wanted to see. Its product was therapeutic diversion for millions of Americans who needed to get away from their troubles. By providing this crucial relief, American film reached a pinnacle of influence, at a time when most other industries were struggling mightily.
At the time of the 1929 crash, Hollywood was in transition: Sound was here to stay, but still in its early stages. There'd been huge investments made to convert shooting sets and theatres to sound. Movie careers had ended — and been launched — overnight. Hollywood urgently needed to recoup their conversion investment, and market this new form, even as the country faced unprecedented hardship. They had to catch up with their new technology fast, creating a cinema of sight and sound, images and words.
Fortunately the industry had some key advantages: first, their only big competition was radio (theatre, too, but it was more expensive). The studio system was also in place, so all the major players had stars, directors, writers and producers under contract; they even owned the theatres themselves. This created enormous efficiencies compared to today’s complicated, unwieldy system. The result: the studios were able to turn around product quickly and reasonably, and make it timely.
It was also relatively cheap to see a movie then – 10-25 cents. Hollywood’s strategy: for that dime or quarter, give the public more than ever. With every visit to the theatre, a viewer would get another plate for their plate set, and a string of entertainment: newsreels, cartoons, “B” pictures/serials, and “A” pictures.
For their “A” productions, the majors wanted intelligent stories, often literary adaptations, and glamorous stars, both to attract a desirable demographic and add prestige to the industry. The studios hired the best writers and actors from the Broadway stage. They then perfected a sophisticated marketing and publicity machine around these new stars. They programmed their lives, controlled and cultivated their images, tracked how they were doing with their public. And as a result, the movie business became one of the few to actually benefit from the depression.
The “A” pictures of the day spanned a variety of genres, but it was the comedies and musicals that provided crucial escape for weary, impoverished audiences. There were several consistent threads in depression-era comedies: the public wanted to laugh at the rich, so characterizations were usually either stuffy or buffoonish, reflecting the populist sentiments of the New Deal. Still, it was the rich the public wanted to see portrayed. They enjoyed drinking in the rarefied atmosphere of the upper classes; it reassured them that real wealth still existed.
Like comedy, musicals were a natural for these viewers, especially as advances in sound technology allowed greater range of motion for the performers. No one made more of such advances than famed choreographer Busby Berkeley, who did, among other memorable pictures, “42nd Street” (1933).
Berkeley created immense, intricate set pieces featuring dozens of showgirls, shooting them from above and other unusual angles to achieve a kaleidoscopic, surreal effect. If you haven’t seen one of these, you’re missing out.
In 1932, Fred Astaire, a dancer who’d become a star on Broadway, came out to Hollywood for a screen test. The now famous verdict from his first audition: “Balding. Can’t act. Can’t sing. Can dance a little.”
Fred’s second film of 1933, “Flying Down to Rio” proved that assessment wrong, for it was here that he was first paired with Ginger Rogers. Though just supporting players, Fred and Ginger danced, and that was all the public saw or wanted to see. As one wag would later point out, he gave her class, and she gave him sex.
Not literally of course. In fact, Astaire’s exacting professionalism caused Ginger to suffer bloody ankles, and all too frequently, a bruised ego. She always had to fight the nagging suspicion that when they danced, all eyes were on him. So, they were cordial but never devoted friends off-screen.
Still their fame joined them at the hip, and over time, the duo would make a total of eleven movies together. Though the plots are wafer-thin, the dialogue is priceless, and the dance sequences incomparable.
Moving on to the comedic realm, the four Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo) had already conquered vaudeville and Broadway when they made their first film, “The Cocoanuts,” in 1929. Their zany, anarchic humor was perfect for the time, since these inspired clowns were always ruffling the feathers of high society.
After a string of indelible comedies at Paramount, the brothers (sans Zeppo) moved to Hollywood’s most successful studio, MGM, in 1935, under the mentorship of Irving Thalberg. There they made two classics, “A Night at the Opera” (1935) and “A Day at the Races" (1937). After the latter film, with Thalberg dead of a heart attack at age 37, the Marxes lost direction and made only a few more films of lesser quality. Only Groucho remained in the spotlight with his game show, “You Bet Your Life,” first on radio, then TV.
Now, we enter the madcap, magical world of screwball comedy. 1934’s “It Happened One Night” was made at Columbia, one of the lesser, Poverty Row studios, but its director was a young up-and-comer named Frank Capra.
Back then, studios used to loan out their stars for hefty fees, and MGM offered up Clark Gable to star in this one. Gable, whose career was on the rise, didn't want to do it, but had no choice. If he refused, the studio could suspend him (stars had virtually no rights then). Happy ending: it turned out that Gable would win his only Oscar for this inspired comedy. In fact, “Happened” was the first film ever to sweep the Oscars in all major categories.
The film begins with heiress Claudette Colbert escaping the prospect of a loveless marriage, and traveling incognito around the country with little money. She meets reporter Gable on the road, who soon discovers her identity. Thinking he’ll hand his paper a big scoop, he reconsiders when he starts having feelings for her. After a few misunderstandings and missed opportunities, it all turns out right in the end.
“My Man Godfrey” from 1936 may be the screwball comedy with the most overt social message. Its star, William Powell, is one prominent example of an actor whose career was transformed by sound. In the silent era, he was mainly relegated to playing villains due to his slightly exotic look. When sound came in, his mellifluous speaking voice and urbane manner made him a leading man in his early forties.
In this picture, Powell plays Godfrey, a down and out “forgotten man” picked up at the city dump by daffy heiress Carole Lombard as part of a society ball scavenger hunt. It turns out this heiress is not only daffy, she’s daffy about Godfrey, and soon our beleaguered hero has become the butler for her wildly dysfunctional family, which includes an exasperated father, a dizzy mother, her shiftless protégé, and a cold, calculating sister, who can’t stand the new hired help. How will Godfrey, who is not precisely what he seems, parlay this odd situation into something that benefits all those other forgotten men living at the city dump? It’s a lot of fun finding out.
Today, not everyone realizes that urbane leading man Cary Grant actually built his career on screwball comedy. Under his original name, Archie Leach, he’d trained in his native England as a tumbler and acrobat, developing a flexible and fine-tuned physicality that would serve him well on-screen. 1937 was a pivotal year for him, as the public discovered his natural affinity for comedy in two enduring classics: “Topper” and “The Awful Truth.” Then, in 1938 Cary starred opposite Katharine Hepburn in director Howard Hawks’s “Bringing Up Baby” (which tanked on release but has since attained classic status).
Kate plays another flighty heiress, who meets handsome paleontologist Cary on a golf course and immediately falls for him. Unfortunately, she has a knack for causing accidents, and Cary becomes her latest victim. Through a ridiculous mishap, this earnest young scientist is forced to abandon a philanthropist named Peabody on the links, from whom he’s trying to extract a sizable research grant. This highly reasonable scientist never truly recovers his reason from that point on.
Cary would go on to do many more comedies (including another personal favorite, 1940’s “His Girl Friday"), as well as dramatic leads. He would make several suspense classics with Alfred Hitchco*ck, and alongside Bogart and Duke Wayne, become one of the top movie stars of his day.
Throughout the 1930s and right up to the Second World War, the movie business was at the peeak of its influence. That would only begin to change when the studios were forced to give up ownership of their theaters in 1948, which is also when that funny box started turning up as furniture in everyone’s living room, broadcasting a free new phenomenon called television. And thus began the gradual sunset of what is commonly known as Hollywood's Golden Age.
More: Fred Astaire's 4 Most Jaw-Dropping Dance Scenes
FAQs
Movies provided an escape from the hardships of the Great Depression, allowing a glimpse into high society life, so far from rural life. People were fascinated by the movies themselves and by the glamorous lives of the men and women who starred in the films.
Why did so many Americans go to the movies during the Great Depression? ›
The Great Depression was a largely successful decade for Hollywood. Tickets on average cost under a quarter for the whole of the 1930s, down from 35 cents in 1929, so spending time in the cinema was an affordable form of escapism for many.
How was escapism demonstrated through the movies of the Great Depression? ›
-Escapism began during the Great Depression, giving people a way out of reality and into a world of fantasy that seemed dramatically more livable than where they were. Hollywood films were a great way of allowing an audience to envision this enthusiasm, such as The Wizard of Oz and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Why was the biggest reason why so many people attended movies during the Great Depression? ›
Above all, when Americans went to the movies during the Great Depression, they did so as a means of escapism. They sought relief from their concerns through a good laugh, a good cry, a lyrical song, or by seeing good triumph over evil.
How do movies overcome depression? ›
15 Best Movies That Help with Depression
- Cake (2014) ...
- It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010) ...
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) ...
- The Virgin Suicides (1998) ...
- Melancholia (2011) ...
- Girl, Interrupted (1999) ...
- Little Miss Sunshine (2006) ...
- Silver Linings Playbook 2012.
Besides mirroring our diverse cultures, the film has for a long time been shaping our beliefs and values. A good example is when people copy fashion trends from movie stars and musicians. It is also common these days to find societies using figures of speech that are inspired by the film industry.
Why did the movie industry survive the Great Depression? ›
Providing a place of escape for the public allowed the film industry to survive the hardships of not only 1932, but the unparalleled unemployment level of 1933. Theaters adjusted to fit their audience's new budgets, and managed to drop ticket prices, while continuing their ledgers move back toward the black.
How did movies impact American society in the 1920s? ›
Cinema in the 1920s
For a quarter, Americans could escape from their problems and lose themselves in another era or world. People of all ages attended the movies with far more regularity than today, often going more than once per week. By the end of the decade, weekly movie attendance swelled to 90 million people.
Why were movies and radio so important to people during the Depression? ›
The next year the Great Depression began. Cinemas were among the first businesses to suffer, as their customers lost their leisure dollars. Between 1930 and 1940, one third of all movie houses closed. Those citizens who could no longer afford a weekly trip to the cinema turned to radio for escape.
How do movies help us escape reality? ›
Movies allow us to explore our minds -- to experience and feel things we wouldn't normally feel within the real world, to escape reality.
Comedies were popular films in the 1930s. A good laugh eased the mind and brought joy in a time of adversity. Towards the late 1930s, films that showed how America was fighting against the Great Depression became popular as well.
Why were movies popular during the Great Depression quizlet? ›
Why were movies so popular during the Depression? offered pure escape from the hard realities of the Depression by presenting visions of wealth, romance, and good times.
Why do you think that movies became so popular during the 1920s? ›
Movies were fun. They provided a change from the day-to-day troubles of life. They also were an important social force. Young Americans tried to copy what they saw in the movies.
What purpose do movies serve for us in today's society? ›
It can entertain, educate, or explore critical social issues. Films can make us sit up and take notice, learn about a new culture, experience a different perspective, or open our eyes to a world we know nothing about. We watch movies because they're entertaining and make us think about issues in new ways.
Can watching movies cure depression? ›
Psychological research and therapeutic practitioners verify that watching movies is one of the best ways to deal with anxiety or depression. Dr Noah Uhrig, a group leader of a study on similar lines says, "The cinema is a form of social participation with strong egalitarian properties.
How do movies relieve stress? ›
As previously said, watching movies can have a positive emotional impact. Movies can calm us down and soothe us. We reduce the stress within us by lowering worry, and even watching a movie may turn all negative thoughts into the better, as long as it is enjoyable.
Can watching movies help with depression? ›
If you live with an anxiety disorder or depression, or you're simply anxious and stressed about work and family commitments, taking time to watch a movie could help improve your mood. A 2016 review found that enjoying leisure activities such as watching movies could boost mood and reduce symptoms of depression.
How do movies benefit us? ›
When you watch a movie, you experience different emotions without suffering the real-life side effects. It helps many of us to relax, decrease anxiety, inspire motivation and can even give you energy for real life!
How did movies affect the economy? ›
The American film and television industry supports 2.4 million jobs, pays out $186 billion in total wages, and comprises more than 122,000 businesses—according to an analysis of the most recent economic figures released by the Motion Picture Association.
How do movies bring social change? ›
They can also make audiences experience different kinds of emotions, expose them to new perspectives, and most importantly they can serve as a medium for filmmakers, producers and communicators to bring more awareness to certain issues or causes, helping to change the hearts and minds of people regarding urgent topics.
The Great Depression had an enormous impact on theatre across the United States. Productions decreased dramatically, audiences shrank, and talented writers, performers, and directors fled the industry to find work in Hollywood.
Why are sad movies so successful? ›
Results indicate that people enjoy sad movies through two mediators: realism, and involvement. According to the authors, 'sadness enhances perceived reality and increases a sense of involvement, leading viewers to enjoy the sad film'.
What were the most popular movies during the Great Depression? ›
I enjoyed compiling a list of movies of the 1930s during the Great Depression.
- Gone With the Wind (1939) ...
- The Wizard of Oz (1939) ...
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) ...
- The Invisible Man (1933) ...
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Movies shape cultural attitudes and customs, as audiences adopt the attitudes and styles of the characters they watch on screen. Filmmakers may use their movies to influence cultural attitudes toward certain social issues, as in Fahrenheit 9/11 and Super Size Me.
How did movies change ways of life in the 1920s? ›
MOVIES. The increased prosperity of the 1920s gave many Americans more disposable income to spend on entertainment. As the popularity of “moving pictures” grew in the early part of the decade, “movie palaces,” capable of seating thousands, sprang up in major cities.
When did movies become popular in the US? ›
The advent of sound secured the dominant role of the American industry and gave rise to the so-called 'Golden Age of Hollywood'. During the 1930s and 1940s, cinema was the principal form of popular entertainment, with people often attending cinemas twice a week.
How do movies capture emotions? ›
Use music carefully in your film to not only cue viewers into how to feel, but to also get an emotional response. For example, horror movies are famous for using music to create tension just before a jump scare or horrifying moment, and pacing the music of your film score with silence can have a profound effect.
How do movies help us in improving our knowledge? ›
Students Get a Visual Context
Individuals with a visual learning style think in pictures and detail. Such people have vivid imaginations and benefit from motion pictures. But, films also challenge them to be patient and employ active listening. For a visual learner, a movie improves their understanding.
What three movies were popular during the Great Depression? ›
- The Thin Man, 1934. ...
- Stage Door, 1937. ...
- Bombshell, 1933. ...
- My Man Godfrey, 1936. ...
- Stella Dallas, 1937. ...
- The Public Enemy, 1931.
The transition to sound-on-film technology occurred mid-decade with the talkies developed in 1926-1927, following experimental techniques begun in the late 1910s. Fox Studios and the Warner Brothers were crucial in the development and acceptance of the technology of sound in motion pictures.
The rise of "talkies" from the late 1920s onwards led to a radical shake-up of the entertainment industry. Live entertainment went into decline and variety theatres became movie palaces, where eager punters could see exactly the same entertainment as their fellows in Los Angeles, Berlin or Bombay.
Why were Americans so delighted by movies in the 1920s? ›
Why were Americans so delighted by movies in the 1920s? It offered Americans a means of escape through romance and comedy. It also quenched the thirst that Americans had for more entertainment for the arts.
Why was the cinema significant during the Depression years? ›
People needed a distraction to help them cope with the effects of the Depression so they turned to accessible forms of entertainment. These helped to raise the morale of many people, while also offering a sense of escapism.
What role did popular movies serve during the 1930s? ›
What role did popular movies serve during the 1930s? They gave people a break from the hardships of the Great Depression.
Why are movies good for mental health? ›
A study conducted by researchers at University College London and Vue Cinema found that people who watched movies experienced improved mental focus and fixation towards the movie. This focused watching (according to the study) helps to improve cognition and memory.
