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Movie-Made America

Chapts. 15, 16, 17

Chapt. 15—“Hollywood at War”

1. H’s service to the government during the war

a. A strategy to fend off interference

b. Zanuck’s role as liason (head of the Research Council)

2. kinds of films made during the war?

3. HUAC—Hollywood vulnerability—influence as a medium medium and as an entertainment; film had no constitutional protection; housecleaning of undesirable elements; Hollywood 10?; Committee for the First Amendment

Chapt. 16—“Disappearing Audience”

1. why did the audience disappear? More leisure time options (radio; TV; camping); population shifts—age; family status; where people lived; redefinition of “theater”

2. Paramount decision—1954 consent decrees—major studios agreed to divest themselves of their theater holdings

3. kinds of product made as a result? Less, bigger, more expensive, highly dependent upon wide-screen and color processes—blockbusters the rule of the day

Chapt. 17—“Hollywood’s Collapse”

1. agents; labor; banks

2. changing role of the studio—become primarily distributors; more and more production done independently

3. changes in film content?