1930's Hollywood! a subject too great for one post!

I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Originally uploaded by livingfilm.

For those of you that have been reading this blog for awhile know, films from the 1930's have a special place in my heart. Actually, to be fair you could say that for most decades, so I guess I will need to explain why this era in particular has earned my devotion.

During the silent era, film had come from crude experimental films, to what is quite possibly the pinnacle of cinematic expression, there are several films that I could personally site -and I will be the first to admit that my knowledge of silent film is limited at best- that could still hold their places as the greatest films ever made. When you watch the best of Murnau, Lang, Pabst, Strohiem, Griffith etc. you can still be awe struck at the visual brilliance of these films.

Then, like a wrench through an immaculate stained glass window came Sound.

Many filmmakers both behind, and in front of the camera were understandably skeptical of the new medium. In many ways the crudity of the new technology would limit both the stylistic and financial aspects of current filmmaking. Yet, in many ways that very crudity, would cause many directors to develop new and creative techniques of cinematic expression. This would contribute to a creative rebirth of the cinema.

Because early talkies used live sound, movies would be filmed several times in different languages, usually with different actors, to sell them in the international market. Subtitles or dubbing the sound would not come into practice until much later. Actually, if a film was to have a score, a band would need to play behind the camera during the shooting of the scene. As you can imagine musicals were very difficult to film at the time, but that didn't stop any of the studios from making them. The sweeping camera movements associated with the silent era, were also for a time, a casualty of sound. With camera movements now limited to keep microphones strategically hidden, early talkies are often known for their static frames. Location filming was almost out of the question, films would now be shot almost entirely on soundstages.


By reinventing Hollywood film style, some filmmakers created films so fresh and inventive that watching then today you can still feel the spirit in which they were made. I get the same feeling from early French New Wave films and early Punk Rock from the seventies. Actually I feel the low budget films made at Warner's from the early 1930's have the same sparse explosive power and energy of Punk music in the seventies, the counterpoint to the big and epic qualities of the silent era, as Punk Rock was to Prog Rock. On the other hand there is Paramount, The studio that I feel managed the most successfully to keep the baroque feeling of the silent era while adding more sex and sophistication making their films feel more modern. There were of course several studios in Hollywood, but for the sake of this post my comparisons will be between Warner Bros. and Paramount. I feel that these two studios are at stylistic opposites. Warners was Tough, Explosive, Sensational and American, while Paramount was Sophisticated, Exotic, Witty and European. Yet, each studio was able to flourish during the early 1930's.

Studios now struggling to keep audiences in the theaters during the early years of the Great Depression, became more daring and sensational, turning to subjects and themes that were more controversial and mature, hoping to strike a chord with a weary audience. Films made previous to the enforcement of the notorious Production Code in 1934, or Pre-Code Films as they are often referred to as, usually display a sophistication and maturity that would soon be repressed for decades. Characters now seemed charmingly amoral and lusty. Women in particular were portrayed stronger, more independent and often more complex than they had ever been. This caused more than a little disgust from conservative groups around the country.

It was popular at studios like Warner Brothers for their films to reflect the times they were made in, subjects were often "Ripped From the Headlines". Darryl Zanuck head of production at Warners would take this philosophy with him when he left to start 20th Century Pictures a few years later. Warner Brothers made a name for themselves during the early 1930's with their string of powerful Gangster films. Even Warner Brothers' Busby Berkeley musicals, though on one hand escapist entertainment would reflect the desperation of their times. The theme of the 'Forgotten Man' a Veteran of WWI who was now left penniless in the depression, was a popular subject at the time -My Man Godfrey made at Universal would play with this theme with great humor-. Films such as I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang would use the Forgotten Man subject to great effect. This theme would also inspire one of the most moving cinematic scenes during this period, the "Remember My Forgotten Man" number that closes Golddiggers of 1933.But more about that later.

Paramount's films would reflect an Exotic and often European flair. Directors such as Ernst Lubitsch, Josef von Sternberg and Rouban Mamulian created an unmistakable style, often characterized by wit, sophistication, and often more than a little innuendo. Stars such as Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier and Gary Cooper could be found living indecently in locations all over the world, in Paramount films. Even The Marx Brothers, Paramount's films would push the envelope.

As I get this far, I find that I cannot really write about all of the greatness to be found in the films of this period, in this post. It will need to be done piece by piece. I want to share my enthusiasm for the films of the thirties with everyone. But I know it will take time. Alas, I must leave you at this point and I promise to continue this subject further in the future.