The 1950s

Peace, progress and prosperity

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The 1950s
WWII was over but the Cold War had begun Decline in movie attendance By the late 50s, 85% of all U.S. homes had a television Audience matured but studios did not

The 1950s
Location shooting became fashionable as back lots became expensive Inroads by independent producers and foreign films Studios grasped at straws as by the end of the 1950s, 75% of audience under 30

The 1950s
Ban on film stars appearing on television ended in 1956

The 1950s
3-D Trick to get butts in the seats Each eye sees a different picture, thus the glasses 2 projectors to one but still Lousy movies Synchronization problems

The 1950s
Lead to experimentation but Dial M for Murder released in a 2-D or regular version

The 1950s
Very successful as far as porn goes

The 1950s
3-D its still the next big thing!

The 1950s
Wide screens More than TV Required a 75K outlay from theatre owners 3 projectors Peripheral vision like IMax

The 1950s
Wide screens

The 1950s
Only a new screen and a pair of lenses Deep focus impossible Often shot in medium shots

The 1950s

The 1950s
Wide screens

The 1950s
Pan and scan process for television

The 1950s

The 1950s

The 1950s
Other gimmicks
William Castle shocked you in your seat - literally

The 1950s
Youth genres
Biker Beach

The 1950s

The 1950s
Red Scare & The Cold War
Americans feared communist attack Russia feared American attack & the American's atomic bomb Russias anti-capitalism Russias problematic actions in the Soviet zone of Germany America refused to share nuclear secrets Russia expanded west into Eastern Europe + broken election promises Russias need for a secure western border Russias aim of spreading world communism

The 1950s
Ethel & Julius Rosenberg were executed for espionage in 1953 for allegedly passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviets

The 1950s
The Blacklist & the Hollywood Ten - 1950 Interviewed 41 people working in Hollywood who became friendly witnesses who named people with leftist sympathies Some of these people named others and some refused to cooperate & were jailed Those who refused were called the Hollywood Ten mostly writers

The 1950s
Snowball effect into The Blacklist or those who would not be hired by any studio 320 actors, writers and others including

The 1950s
Blacklisted in Hollywood:
Besides the Hollywood Ten: Jules Dassin, Lee Grant, John Garfield, Jack Gilford, Martin Ritt, Burgess Meredith, Zero Mostel, Stella Adler, Judy Holliday, Pete Seeger, Orson Bean, Will Geer, Jean Muir, Gale Sondergaard and the list goes on

Alvah Bessie, Herbert J. Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner, Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scott, Dalton Trumbo

Actual Transcript:

Interrogator: Are you a member of the Communist Party or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?
Lawson: It's unfortunate and tragic that I have to teach this committee the basic principles of Americanism. Interrogator: That's not the question. That's not the question. The question ishave you ever been a member of the Communist Party? Lawson: I am framing my answer in the only way in which any American citizen can frame...absolutely invades his privacy... Interrogator: Then you deny it? You refuse to answer that question, is that correct? Lawson: I have told you that I will offer my beliefs, my affiliations and everything else to the American public and they will know where I stand as they do from what I have written. Interrogator: Stand away from the stand. Stand away from the stand. Officer, take this man away from the stand.

The 1950s
Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild and an FBI informant Cold War hysteria increased Joseph McCarthy investigated the State Department & the Army for Communists His investigations were inconclusive and television showed him for what he was - a bully in 1954 see Good Night & Good Luck

The 1950s
Writers used pseudonyms and fronts Hollywood Ten writer Dalton Trumbo won an Oscar under a a pseudonym and was awarded a posthumous Oscar for Roman Holiday which was won under a front Blacklist broken officially in 1960 by either Kirk Douglas or Otto Preminger depending on whos talking both were written by Trumbo

The 1950s
Social realism from Europe and Asia gave rise to similar films here Influenced by Europe and postwar mentality Movies started to matter
On the Waterfront & The Defiant Ones

The 1950s
Konstantin Stanislavsky & Method acting Director of the famed Moscow Art Theatre Developed the most essential approach to the art of acting over the 20th century Approach aimed to creating realistic and believable acting performances

The 1950s
Believable truth Employed methods such as "emotional memory Concerned with the creation of physical entries into these emotional states, believing that the repetition of certain acts and exercises could bridge the gap between life on and off the stage Demanded actors that pay closer attention to the important unsaid messages within the writing

The 1950s
Method acting
Marlon Brando Robert de Niro Sidney Poitier Marilyn Monroe James Dean Montgomery Clift

The 1950s
Alfred Hitchcock
His golden age was the 1950s Big on experimentation with format and themes Savvy entertainer - knew his audience Made film his own way detailed plans like storyboards Attractive stars in not-soattractive roles

The 1950s
Major Filmmakers
Nicholas Ray Studied architecture with Frank Lloyd Wright thus the affinity for mise en scene NY Theatre w/Elia Kazan in the 30s & 40s Connected to the youth market

The 1950s
Elia Kazan, 1909-2003
From NY theatre see the Group Theater directed Tennessee Williams & Arthur Miller plays won 5 Tonys Cooperated w/HUAC yet a political liberal subject to the Reverse Blacklist Actors director Family themes - youth and individual as victim and spiritual exile - Much of his film work is a response to the HUAC hearings and how it affected him Made stars of Marlon Brando, James Dean & Warren Beatty Lifetime achievement Oscar in 1999 caused controversy because of HUAC hundreds protested

The 1950s
Films include:
Baby Doll, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Splendor in the Grass, On the Waterfront (Oscar), America America, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Face in the Crowd, East of Eden, The Last Tycoon, Gentlemens Agreement (Oscar)

The 1950s
On the Waterfront
1954 Dir. Elia Kazan Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Eva Marie Saint Oscars: Best Actor, Supporting Actress, Picture, Director, Screenplay, Editing, Art Direction and Cinematography Filmed in 36 days in Hoboken Parallels with HUAC Hearings where Kazan and Cobb testified

The 1950s
Marlon Brando, 1924-2004
Considered one of the greatest screen actors ever Stated on stage but exclusively did film after 1949 His performance in The Med & Streetcar introduced a magnetic, realistic acting style to the public Jack Nicholson once said He gave us our freedom

Marlon Brando

The 1950s
Eva Marie Saint, 1924 Oscar for On the Waterfront Hollywood never quite knew what to do with her and she elected to spend time with her family & turned to television in the 1970s Hitchcock used her best in North by Northwest putting a tough character under her seeming vulnerability Still around if you sat through Superman Returns

The 1950s
Karl Malden
More than the face of AmEx Group Theater alum Oscar for Streetcar (directed by Kazan) One of the most visible character actors Check out Nevada Smith for bad Karl Malden

The 1950s
Lee J. Cobb, 1911-1976
Another of Americas greatest character actors Also in Group Theater Named names for HUAC after his wife had a nervous breakdown Created role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman in 1949 - considered one of the greatest performances on the American stage

The 1950s
Rod Steiger, 1925-2002
In the Heat of the Night, The Pawnbroker Over 100 movies Nominated for Waterfront Turned down Patton (Oscar for George C. Scott) and Don Corleone in The Godfather Was completely robbed of an Oscar for The Pawnbroker