Film Analysis & Exploration Appendix D– Selected Films Readings and Questions
Citizen Kane
Psycho
Double Indemnity
The Apartment
The Hollywood Studio System
Reading in the Dark, pg. 91
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
Welles tried to tell much of his story and the characters’ relationships simply by the use of
lighting and angles. In particular, he used lighting to comment on the irony of certain situations.
For example, in one point early in the film (0:37:10-0:38:44) we see Kane as a young man
preparing to put out the very first issue of the newspaper that will one day make him famous. But
right now, he is nervous and feels that something is missing. He decides to print his “Declaration
of Principles,” which state, among other things, that his newspaper will always tell the news
honestly. Now, everything that we know about lighting would lead us to expect that as the
character talks about honesty, he would be shot in high key and probably with front lighting. But
just as Kane prepares to sign, his face is entirely shrouded in darkness. Irony as foreshadowing
since his newspaper, as it turns out, will not always tell the truth. In a sequence earlier in the film
(0:17:33), Thompson, the reporter assigned to discover the meaning of Kane’s dying word,
“Rosebud,” enters a room where he will read a diary that he hope will give him his answer. The
room is dark except for a singe, bright shaft of light from above that illuminates the book. The
audience’s expectation upon seeing this lighting choice is clear: this book has the answer to the
mystery because light is knowledge. Unfortunately, by the end of the scene, Thompson still is no
closer to his goal: irony as red herring. But, Welles pulls a sort of double irony on us because we
and Thompson were unaware of it until the end of the film.
Questions to consider
1. What makes us expect certain things to happen because of how a scene is lit? Can you
think of examples from other films you have seen?
2. How are irony and foreshadowing similar in these scenes?
3. How does sound contribute to the irony of these scenes?
From Using Film in the High School Curriculum, Resch and Schicker, pg. 125-6
Considered by nearly all film critics to be among the best—if not the best—film made,
Citizen Kane can be viewed as a mystery, a biography, or a technical delight. We will look at
teach of these points in our viewing in a effort to discover why this film is so highly
regarded.
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To begin, we will watch with the mystery angle in mind. The opening sequences consist of
three parts: a silent series of images viewed by the moving camera; a realistic newsreel
segment; and a debriefing of reporters watching the newsreel. Within the 15 minutes it takes
to see these sequences, the entire basis of the film (theoretically) is presented to us. If we
look at this opening like a jigsaw puzzle, we might solve part of the mystery After the first 15
minutes, we should have a “frame” established. By the end of the film, we should be able to
fill in all the missing pieces of the puzzle.
Opening Segments:
1. First 3 minutes, as you watch, jot down all you see.
2. What is the mood?
3. What has happened?
4. Newsreel scenes – list what you have learned about Charles Foster Kane.
5. Reporters – what is the mystery they want to unravel?
Understanding the Film’s Greatness:
1. Realism is achieved through different narration techniques (list during viewing):
2. Symbolism:
a. Xanadu:
b. Use of weather:
c. Suzie:
d. Kane’s obsession with collecting:
3. Interviews show the “mystery” of Kane; he’s many different people. What do these
people say about him?
a. Thatcher
b. Bernstein
c. Leland
d. Emily
e. Suzie
f. Raymond
4. Imaginative uses of lighting (list during viewing):
5. Unique sets used (list during viewing):
6. Welles’ creative photography (angles, shots, deep focus cinematography):
7. Thematic statements:
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Part 1. Multiple Choice. Circle the correct choice:
1. The banker who becomes Charles Kane's legal guardian is:
a. Thatcher b. Bernstein c. Welles
d. Leland
2. Kane begins his rise to fortune and power by buying a:
a. real estate company b. TV station c. newspaper company d. baseball team.
3. Kane's wives were named:
a. Emily and Margaret b. Suzan and Dana c. Debbi and Claudia d. Emily and Suzan
4. Kane, like most tycoons, lost millions after the stock market crash of:
a. 1939 b. 1941 c. 1929 d. 1920
5. Jedidiah Leland was Kane's:
a. uncle b. friend c. enemy d. boss
6. In order to keep Suzan happy, Kane has her learn:
a. dancing b. opera c. ballet
d. economics
7. The biggest reason why Kane loses the election is:
a. he's unfaithful to his wife b. he doesn't campaign c. he runs out of money d. he's arrested
8. This film comes under the genre of;
a. comedy b. melodrama c. documentary d. drama
9. Orson Welles had three major functions in relation to this film. He was:
a. director, actor, and editor
c. producer, director, and actor
b. producer, editor, and sound engineer
d. actor, editor, and art director
10. This film became a classic mostly due to its:
a. acting b. plot c. technology d. music
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Part 2. Open-ended questions. Answer the following on separate paper:
1. What was "Rosebud"? Why was it so significant to this film? Explain in detail.
2. State 3 technological innovations used in this film and explain each in detail.
3. Although Kane had tremendous money and power, he was still unhappy. What was the
underlying reason for this? Use at least two references to the film to explain your answer.
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From Film Education.org, Genre Analysis Guide
“The streets were dark with something more than night.”
Raymond Chandler, The Simple Art of Murder
Double Indemnity is one of a group of films made in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s now
known as ‘film noir’. The term ‘film noir’ is French and literally means ‘black film’; it comes
from the name of a series of books published in France called Série Noire and Fleuve Noire
which were mostly translations of American crime fiction writers such as James M Cain,
Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. These books were mainly about crime and often had
a private detective as the hero who would fall for a treacherous woman (the femme fatale).
Some of these novels were used as the basis for this group of films made during this period.
James M Cain’s novels were adapted for the films Double Indemnity (1944) and The Postman
Always Rings Twice (1946). Others include Farewell, My Lovely (1944) and The Big Sleep
(1946) (Raymond Chandler) and The Maltese Falcon (1941) (Dashiell Hammett). Several of
these writers went to Hollywood and wrote screenplays for films associated with film noir.
Raymond Chandler adapted James M Cain’s novel for Double Indemnity
Some argue that film noir is a visual style and not a genre and that it has a set of visual motifs
that can be applied to a wide range of films across different genres. It has also been said that
because most of these films were produced in the 1940s and 1950s film noir is not a genre but a
movement which can be identified with a particular time, place and mood. Film genres need not
belong to periods of time or countries even, for example, Italian westerns or contemporary
British thrillers. Film noir has been described by some critics as a movement which reflects the
gloomy and despairing mood of a particular time and picks up the general feeling of uncertainty
and fear in America after the Second World War and also the accompanying feeling of the Cold
War threat.
Unlike other genre descriptions, for example westerns, musicals, gangsters and science fiction,
‘film noir’ was not a term used by the film industry to market these films to their audiences but a
category used by critics to describe a group of films which were identified as having enough
elements in common to be grouped together into one category. These particular films came out
of the thriller genre but were different because of their pessimistic mood and striking visual style.
However, genres can be identified through plot, visual imagery, settings, narrative development,
characters, music and stars and we can apply all these elements to the study of film noir and to
the film Double Indemnity in particular.
Double Indemnity is regarded by many as a classic film noir story. It is about a man who
becomes involved with a woman to whom he is fatally attracted (he meets her through his job as
an insurance salesman) and who then involves him in a criminal act (the murder of her
husband). There is a strong sense of doomed fate in film noir films and the plot often involves
the woman betraying the man, or the man believing that she has done so. In Double Indemnity
the woman is punished for her crimes and so is the hero. Walter Neff, the insurance salesman in
Double Indemnity, understands this when he wryly says: ‘I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get
the woman.
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VISUAL STYLE AND ICONOGRAPHY
Lighting
The most distinctive feature of film noir is its lighting. There are many night-time scenes in these
films which were actually shot at night rather than using special filters in the day time, which
was the usual Hollywood practice. Filming in this way with strong artificial lights produced
highly contrasted areas of light and shade. Sometimes a source of light is shown through a set of
Venetian blinds or a latticed window creating even more dramatic patterns of light and shade.
This kind of lighting also results in dramatic shadows across the characters’ faces which
suggest a hidden, darker side of their personality. ‘Low key’ lighting of faces was in great
contrast to the standard Hollywood ‘high key’ lighting style where faces were lit evenly
eliminating shadows to try to provide a naturalistic look. This exaggerated, dramatic
style for visual effects was used to suggest a reflection of the characters’ inner emotional state.
(This style refers to the style of German Expressionist films of the 1 920s some of whose
directors had fled to Hollywood in the 1930s during the rise of fascism - directors who worked
on films associated with film noir such as Fritz Lang and the director of Double Indemnity, Billy
Wilder).
Framing
Framing is also used in film noir to suggest the trapped nature of the characters with dramatic
close-up shots to give a feeling of claustrophobia with high angle shots looking down on the
characters to suggest how small and vulnerable they are in the context of the big city. Emphasis
is given in the camera frame to a lamp, mirror or staircase to create an unsettling effect and to
show how the character is dominated by his or her surroundings rather than in control of them.
Settings and iconography
Film noir is associated with an urban context, anonymous cities and low-life areas such as bars,
nightclubs, motels and back streets in the dark. The male characters are dressed in city clothes
such as trench coats, suits and hats with glamorous evening wear for the women. Cars,
telephones and guns are all recurring images in film noir forming part of its iconography. Certain
stars became associated with film noir like Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart and femmes
fatales such as Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Grahame and Lana Turner.
Examine carefully all the objects that you see in Phyllis’ house when she first meets Walter Neff
and then see how often they recur throughout the film and when. What might be the significance
of these items?
HEROES AND HEROINES
The hero of film noir films of the 1940s and 1950s are usually private investigators or men who
work alone. They are portrayed as loners and often tough guys. It is the hero who usually
describes the plot through a voice-over which makes the audience see events from his point of
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view and also gives them a sense (falsely) that he is in charge. The hero is inevitably fatally
attracted to a woman who manipulates and betrays him.
The opening sequences of the film Double Indemnity firmly establish Walter Neff as the
person from whose point of view we are going to hear the story. How does the filmmaker do
this?
The female lead is always very physically attractive with tight-fitting clothes, jewellery and a
way of smoking cigarettes which draws attention to her body. She is usually mysterious and
controls the hero with her changes of mood. She is known as a ‘femme fatale’ as she is
dangerous and will lead him to his doom. These women are strong and active and can be seen as
positive portrayals of women but they are also threatening and disruptive. Some critics have felt
that this portrayal of women depicts how men felt about them when returning from long
absences during the war. Women had gone to work outside the home and achieved economic and
social independence and men’s status as head of the household was challenged.
1. How does the filmmaker introduce us to Phyllis? Describe her appearance and explain how
the camera draws our attention to her.
2. Why does the camera follow her legs through the stairs rather than focus directly on them?
3. Describe how the camera builds up our expectation that she will have power over Walter.
DOUBLE INDEMNITY TASK - opening Sequences
How does the music signify this will be a dramatic film with a serious fate? Identify the
moments when it changes in tempo.
night city nearly
out of control?
When do we get to see Walter's face? Why has the filmmaker taken so long to give us this closeup? The camera does not move from Walter's face as he describes himself and 'confesses' to his
boss. The whole of the narrative will be told to use in flashback and we will be brought back to
the beginning with a complete understanding of Walter's situation. Then we move into daylight
as the story unfolds, again following Walter's car, narrated by Walter as part of his 'confessional'.
This is one of the few moments in the film where the action takes place in daylight. As soon as
Walter enters Phyllis' house he enters a world of darkness, mystery and shadows. We have
already discussed film noir lighting - look at the way the light is filtered in the house.
Why does the camera linger on Walter and Phyllis gazing at Phyllis in the mirror? The sequence
ends with Walter saying: 'How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like
honeysuckle.' We know that he has already been drawn towards his doom.
What other clues are there in this sequence that will carry the narrative forward?
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What do we learn about Phyllis, her husband and Walter Neff through dialogue and through the
language of the filmmaker?
The Last Seduction (1993) Chinatown (1974) and Blade Runner (1982) are all films which have
been considered to have elements of film noir style of theme. Take one of these films and
compare its opening sequence with those of Double Indemnity. Would you classify it as film
noir? If so, why?
BILLY WILDER
Billy Wilder was born in Vienna in 1906. He started off as a journalist and then moved into the
German film industry as a scriptwriter. He left Germany and went to America where he joined
Paramount Studios. He began by writing romances and then worked on a series of ‘disenchanted’
films: Double Indemnity, a thriller which demonstrated that crime arises from human greed and
depravity; The Lost Weekend (1945), a clear and detailed account of alcoholism; Sunset
Boulevard (1950), which mocks Hollywood glamour; Ace in the Hole (1951) which exposes the
sensationalism of the press and Stalag 17(1953) a prisoner of war film which re-examines
camaraderie. His caustic and witty dialogue are particularly evident in two of his films: Double
Indemnity and Some Like It Hot (1959).
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Name __________________________
Study Questions The Apartment
Part 1. Fill in the missing information for each example.
1. The protagonist of this film is ________________________________________.
2. The antagonist is ____________________________________________.
3. Fran works as an _____________________________________________.
4. __________________________________ is angry with Sheldrake because she was once his
mistress a few years back.
5. Baxter realizes Fran is having an affair with Sheldrake when she lets him use her
_______________.
6. _______________________________ saves Fran's life when she overdoses on sleeping pills.
7. After Miss Olsen gets fired, she tells ______________________________________ about
her husband's cheating.
8. Because Baxter loves Fran, he _____________ his job when he finds out Sheldrake is using
her.
9. When Fran leaves Sheldrake at the end, she decides to have a relationship with
_________________.
10. This film was directed by __________________________________.
Part 2. Multiple Choice. Circle the correct response for each example.
1. This film comes under the genre of:
a. drama
b. melodrama
c. comedy
d. documentary
2. The film was released in:
a. 1960
b. 1941
c. 1967
d. 1928
3. The Apartment holds great significance because it was the first comedy to win:
a. a Golden Globe
b. a Grammy
c. a Toni
d. an Oscar
4. Baxter is portrayed by:
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a. Fred McMurray
b. Jack Lemmon
c. Shirley McLaine
d. Mr. Gerbehy
5. The story takes place in:
a. Boston
b. Chicago
c. New York
d. San Francisco
6. This film would probably have not been released if it were made a few years earlier because
of:
a. an actors' strike
b. budget problems
c. lack of equipment
d. its subject matter
7. This film was one of the first made during the era of:
a. realism
b. fantasy
c. silent films
d. independent films
8. The type of opening used for this film is:
a. wide angle
b. traditional
c. non-traditional
d. deep focus
9. A traditional opening always has:
a. music
b. silence
c. violence
d. color
10. If this film were made today, you probably would not see:
a. two people kissing
arguing
b. people drinking alcohol
c. a TV cigarette ad
d. people
Part 3. Open-Ended Questions. Answer each item thoroughly.
1. Do you think this film was worthy of winning an Oscar for Best Picture? Give at least three
reasons why or why not?
2. Society was very different in 1960. Explain 3 ways this film would be different if it were
made today. Be specific.
3. Explain how this film fits the genre of comedy. In your response, be sure to include who the
protagonist is, who the antagonist is, and how the protagonist overcomes the antagonist.
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Reading in the Dark pg. 84
Guided viewing of bird symbolism and mise en scene
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
0:34:26-0:44:08
Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, has stolen money from her employer and, in running
away, has ended up at the hotel of amateur taxidermist and full-time mama’s boy Norman Bates,
played by Anthony Perkins. He has brought her some food to eat and suggests that they eat in his
parlor (said the spider to the…). As she looks around, the very first thing she notices is a huge,
stuffed owl with wings spread wide as if caught in mid-flight. She notices other stuffed birds on
the walls and on the tables around the room. “You eat like a bird,” he says to her, and he’s
actually right because Marion, as she pecks at a piece of bread throughout the scene, holds her
hand oddly twisted to resemble a bird’s claw. I swear, I’m not making this up; she really does
look like one. Her last name of course, continues the bird references. Norman says that he likes
to stuff birds because they are kind of “passive to begin with,” though the birds of prey all
around appear to have been anything but passive when they were alive—and even less so now.
Their conversation continues about how everyone can fall into “private traps,” and, when Marion
mentions his mother, the camera angle and framing change dramatically so that we now see
Norman in a low angle from the side, with the light clearly playing off of only one side of his
face, and, more significant for our purposes here, there are now two huge birds with outstretched
wings looming over both sides of his head. When she gently suggests that he put his mother into
an institution, the framing changes again, but with another, smaller bird next to his, as he says
that his mother is as harmless as one of these stuffed birds. (If you’ve seen the movie, feel free to
laugh.) After Marion leaves the parlor, Norman can hear her moving around next door, and, as he
spies on her through a hole in the wall, the birds again fill the screen around him. Hitchcock
layers so many references to birds through the dialogue, the mise-en-scene, and the performances
that we must be in the realm of symbols. If students can recognize how an artist uses his or her
techniques to present symbols, the real fun comes in trying to decipher them.
Questions to consider
1. How did Hitchcock’s framing choices lead you to believe that the birds were somehow
important?
2. Think back on what Norman said about the private traps people get into. How does this
relate to the bird symbol?
3. How do the birds seem to represent Norman, and how do they seem to represent Marion
as well?
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http://medb.byu.edu/
The Hollywood Studio System
The “Golden Age of Hollywood,” roughly the period that spanned the 1930s and 40s, is so
named because it was the era in which Hollywood was at the height of its power and glory.
Movie attendance reached its all-time peak during this era, and Hollywood has never been quite
as prolific since. During this era, Hollywood was controlled by five major studios (Paramount,
MGM, Fox, RKO, Warner) and three “major minor” studios (Columbia, Universal, United
Artists) and operated under what was then called “the studio system.” A typical studio was
controlled by an “invisible” executive studio head. This would have been a Wall-Street business
tycoon who controlled budgets, distribution, studio policies, publicity, marketing, and all
government affairs that concerned the movie industry. The executive studio head was “invisible”
because the general public didn’t really know that they existed, but in all truth it was these New
York businessmen who controlled all studio affairs.
Underneath the executive head was the studio head or “boss” who oversaw the actual operations
of the studio in California. (Some famous names of studio heads you may recognize: Louis B.
Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn, Darryl Zanuck, Joe Schenk, etc.) The typical studio was almost like a
little world unto itself. Each studio had its own hospital, mortuary, and apartments for all their
employees. For instance, all the writers lived in one area of the studio, the musicians and
orchestra members in another, the actors in another, and so forth.
The genius of the studio system was that it took Henry Ford’s concepts of assembly line
production and adapted it to the movie industry. These studios were factories that churned out an
amazing 52 films per year (exactly one a week). They employed thousands of individuals, all
with a specific area of expertise: acting, directing, writing, editing, costuming, music, dancing,
cinematography, set construction, script supervision, etc. Every person was under an extremely
long (i.e. lifetime) contract, which meant that everyone was essentially owned in the same
manner that one would own property (or slaves).
The most valuable studio asset was, of course, the star. Actors and actresses were the most easily
recognizable and popular element of the cinema. Each Hollywood film had at least 2-3 stars.
Lavish productions sometimes had as many as 12-15 stars in them. Aspiring young actors and
actresses came to Hollywood to make it big. Actors who were fortunate enough to be put under
contract were put into special acting schools where they were taught how to speak properly, walk
properly, dance properly, sing properly, etc. From this pool of talent, the studio boss would select
a few lucky individuals to become stars (all others were doomed to be chorus girls or extras for
the remainder of their careers). These stars would be heavily marketed and popularized until they
became a success with the public (or proved to be an absolute flop).
Since the success of the studio hinged upon the star, stars were made to look as appealing as
possible. They were never filmed with even a hair out of place and every effort was made to
make them look their absolute best. The studio executives would occasionally even make up fake
lives for these actors to “act out” when they weren’t on the sets to spark more interest. Studio
executives would arrange publicity stunts for them or sometimes even arrange off-screen
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“romances” between an actor and an actress for the tabloids to write about. These couples would
go on a compulsory date with each other once a week, bid each other good night, and then go on
with the rest of their lives.
The disadvantage of working under this system was that the studio employees had
very little control over which movies they would work on or what type of movies they
would do. Actors and actresses would often be loaned to other studios for a few pictures,
sometimes as punishment for misbehavior or because the studio boss had lost them in a
gambling bet. Also, there wasn’t really tons of room for bold experimentation or deviation
from the pre-established Hollywood style because everything was under the
supervision of the studio heads and producers. Only talent and popularity brought
these individuals a little bit of artistic freedom.
However, there were also many advantages to this system, too. You were always guaranteed
employment and there was never a fear of losing your job if you failed (unless you failed
consistently over a long period of time). Hollywood offered artists a chance to practice and
perfect their craft. Writers were given the chance to write a lot, musicians were given the chance
to compose and perform all the time. Supposedly, these studios were like cozy little communities
where everybody knew everyone else and what was going on in each other’s lives. As mentioned
before, each studio during this era churned out an unprecedented 52 films per year (one a week).
In order to speed up the process, there needed to be a sort of standardized product. Studios began
to specialize in making certain types of movies. For instance, Universal became famous for their
horror pictures, Warner Bros. for their crime dramas and gangster pictures, MGM for their
expensive musicals, and so forth.
A slight distinction should be made here between the “A-Picture” and the “B-Picture.” APictures had a higher production value, meaning that the studios spent a lot more money on these
pictures, had bigger stars, more talented writers, etc. These were usually the studio’s “prestige
pictures,” the ones which were intended to make a lot of money or win awards. Each studio put
out a certain number of A-Pictures a year. B-Pictures, by contrast, had a lower production value.
These pictures were much cheaper to make by comparison. They frequently featured less wellknown actors and beginning directors and writers. It was in the B-Pictures where most
experimentation occurred and where new talent was found.
The Hollywood Studio System quickly became the standard of film-making and soon began to
be copied (with varying degrees of success) by other production companies world-wide. No
other national cinemas could compete with the enormous budgets and high production values of
Hollywood, though. This is one of the primary factors that led to Hollywood’s eventual
dominance of the world film market and is the main ingredient of its success today.
#3: Vertical Integration and the Hollywood Monopoly
One of the main reasons that Hollywood enjoyed such success and popularity was because of
what we now call “vertical integration.”
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Vertical integration basically means that the Hollywood films studios owned a monopoly on the
three areas of the film business: production, distribution, and exhibition. Production refers to the
actual process of making the movies (this is the part where the actors, directors, editors,
screenwriters, etc. are involved). Distribution refers to the process of transporting the films from
the film studios and out to the movie theatres throughout the world. Exhibition refers to the
actual theatres themselves where the movies are shown to the audiences.
Until 1946, the Hollywood studios controlled all three of these areas of film. At this time,
theatres were mostly owned or controlled in some way by each of the studios. For example,
when you went to a movie theatre back in the thirties and forties, that theatre would only show
films from one studio. So, you would go to the MGM theatre to see the latest MGM musical or
you’d go to the Warner Bros. studio to see the latest Warner gangster movie. Essentially what
that meant is that the film studios were making films to fill their own theatre seats.
Independently owned theatres didn’t have a chance at cracking this monopoly. If they wanted to
show a particular film from a particular studio, they would be forced to sign an agreement where
they had to show all of the films, good and bad, that the studio gave them to show along with the
film that they were originally interested in. Theatre owners had no choice but to comply or they
would not be guaranteed any business in the future.
Movie Palaces
A few notes should be made here about what the movie theatres—or, as they are more
appropriately called, the “movie palaces”—during the thirties and forties were like. It was these
movie palaces which actually contributed largely to the film medium’s rise in popularity. These
movie palaces were aimed at attracting the middle classes through a five-part strategy: location,
architecture, service, pre-shows, and air conditioning.
Theatre owners placed their palaces at transportation crossroads, selecting points at which the
middle class could be expected to congregate. The architecture of these theatres
incorporated rich and luxurious designs from nearly all the past eras, among them classic French,
Spanish, and baroque designs. Filmgoers soon came to expect triumphal arches, monumental
staircases, and grand, columnlined lobbies (inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles). The
outside of these buildings had impressive, dramatic facades adorned with colossal electric signs
that could be seen for miles. These theatres even offered child care, rooms for smoking, and
picture galleries in the foyers and lobbies. In the basement of each movie palace was a complete
playground which included slides, sand-pits, and other objects of fun for younger children
left in the care of nurses while their parents upstairs enjoyed the show.
Ushers, recruited from the ranks of male college students, were dressed in red uniforms with
white gloves and yellow epaulettes. They guided patrons through the maze of halls and foyers,
assisted the elderly and small children, and handled any emergencies. They were trained to be
obediently polite to even the rudest of patrons. All requests had to end with a ‘thank you’ and
under no circumstances could tips be accepted.
Many theatres also offered elaborate preshow stage performances featuring local actors or
musicians. These shows had spectacular settings and intricate lighting effects which celebrated
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holidays, heroic effects, vaudeville performances, etc. Eventually these pre-shows gave way to
filmic pre-shows. Back in those days, the main feature was often precluded by a cartoon, a
newsreel, and sometimes a less-expensive, relatively short feature-length film before the main
film finally appeared.
But one of the biggest draws of all was that these theatres had air-conditioning, which was quite
a novelty at the time. As such, Americans flocked to the theatres in droves to escape the
oppressive summer heat at the time. Very few other establishments could offer the luxury of air
conditioning.
The Decline of an Empire
With all of these conditions in place, movie-going was the number-one entertainment attraction
during the 1930s and 40s. In 1946, when movie attendance had reached its all-time peak, 90
million Americans attended the movies on a weekly basis (consider also that the American
population was not as large as it is now). Nearly every American went to the theatre on a weekly
basis.
But Hollywood’s good luck soon began to run out. Previously under Frankling Delano
Roosevelt’s New Deal program in the thirties, vertical integration monopolies had actually
been encouraged in order to stimulate more jobs during the Depression. Later, vertical
integration was declared unconstitutional under the Anti-Trust Act. Fortunately for Hollywood,
the government graciously “overlooked” vertical integration during World War II, and in
exchange Hollywood helped the war effort by providing army training films, entertainment for
troops overseas, and propaganda films. However, after the end of World War II in 1945, the
government began to crack down against the Hollywood monopolies.
In the Supreme Court case Paramount vs. the United States, it was decided that all
major studios should divest themselves of at least one of the three branches of filmmaking.
Hollywood decided that of the three it would be best to let go of their exhibition arm and
gradually the studios sold all their vast theatre real estate holdings. No longer being able to
control movie theatres had disastrous effects upon the Hollywood industry. Paramount’s
revenues, for example, had been $20 million in 1946 and fell to $6 million by the following year.
To make matters worse, television was introduced shortly afterwards and theatre attendance
began to fall rapidly. Loss of revenues forced many studios to cut expenses of production costs,
leading to the end of the studio system of film-making.
Several film studios didn’t survive this era and went bankrupt. Many film studios desperately
tried to lure Americans back into the theatre by introducing new film gimmicks such as the
3-D movie, Smell-o-vision, Cinerama, and Cinemascope. (Only Cinemascope proved to
be lastingly successful; it is still in use today.)
Film Analysis & Exploration Appendix D – Selected Film Readings and Questions
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