Speech On Old Hollywood

In chapter two of The Cultures of American Film, the main focus is the establishment of studios. As demand for films rose in the early 1900’s, production companies needed to expand; this lead to the creation of large scale studios.

This paper was prepared for Introduction to Film History, Module 1 Homework Assignment, taught by Professor Stephanie Sandifer.

On March 3, 1915 the movie The Birth of a Nation was released at the Liberty Theatre in New York City. This film was financed, filmed, and released by the Epoch Producing Corporation of D.W. Griffith and Harry T. Aitken. It was one of the first films to ever use deep-focus shots, night photography, and to be explicitly controversial with the derogatory view of blacks.

The Golden Age of Hollywood was a time when Hollywood hit its peak successfully and economically, starting with the late 1920s, and met its decline due to corruption in the late 1950s. One would ask the question: “Where did the name Hollywood come from?” The name came from Harvey Henderson Wilcox and his wife, Daeida, who were owners of a small ranch west of Los Angeles. According to u-s-history.com, “Daeida, who, while on a train trip east met a woman that described her country home in Ohio, that had been named for the Dutch settlement of Hollywood. Liking the name, Daeida christened their ranch 'Hollywood,' upon her return.” (History of Hollywood, California) Movies during this time period became a vital form of entertainment for all Americans during this time period. By the 1910s, Hollywood was combined into its neighboring city Los Angeles, and many motion-picture studios began to open. Moviemakers rushed to Hollywood, and competition started to become widespread between directors and producers. By 1910, the first motion picture was made in Hollywood, titled In Old California, and soon enough, Los Angeles became second to New York in producing films also because of it’s quintessential weather for movies to be made in all year long during this time. As Hollywood began to industrialize, filmmakers began to work on the image of a “star”; they would continuously use these highly-paid actors in order to achieve a form of comfort for the general audience of the movies. Seeing

Movies were becoming one of the biggest businesses during the 1920s and most people would spend their leisure time going to the theatre to watch the silent films. They were becoming huge in the popular culture and Hollywood was the place to be. Roughly by 1922, 40 million people a year in attendance over the entire country for the movie theatres and in 1930 over 100 million people would attend the movies every year. By 1927, the movie industry became the fourth largest industry in the country. “The Great Train Robbery” which was released in 1903 was the beginning of the film industry and would eventually change everything. “Jazz Singer” was the first movie that had synchronized sounds throughout the entire film. The popular genres during this decade were western,

In the fourth chapter of The Cultures of American Film, author Robert Kolker, indulges into the legacy of one of the most well-known writers, producers, and directors in early cinema – D.W. Griffith. Kolker dissects the cultural and racial implications of Griffiths most successful film, The Birth of a Nation, as well as, how Griffith impacted film. Griffith’s use of naturalism, parallel editing, and formal methods separated himself from other’s in the film business. We also get a look at how Oscar Micheaux responded to The Birth of a Nation, and became one of the first African-American filmmakers.

This new period created the films to become more realistic. The Movie Brats have created biggest blockbusters in American history, from Star Wars, The Godfather and Jaws.

This further demonstrates how the affluence of that period enabled people to support this industry and help its enormous growth. It was during the roaring 20s that the first real celebrities began to appear, with the ever-increasing role of cinema having a huge role to play. Similarly their fame contributed to the growing status of Hollywood and the American film industry. (Source J). Charlie Chaplin is one example of an actor that gained worldwide recognition in the twenties; he was particularly famous for his ‘highly visual style of acting’ (Soucre J). The 1920s was often referred to as “The Golden Age of Hollywood” (Source G) emphasizing how this period represents the era of greatest output in the United States movie market [an average of 800 films were produced annually]. ‘The cinema came of age in the 1920s and Hollywood confirmed its position as the “dream factory” of the English- speaking world. It was there that fame and fortune could be found.’ (Source J) This also highlights the growing image of Hollywood ‘throughout the roaring 20s, which started to represent wealth and achievement. ‘The establishment of the Academy Awards showed the maturing cinema as an industry confident of its own technical and artistic standards.’ (Source J) This further shows how there were many other expansions and transformations from this industry that occurred during this period. Artists, directors and other personalities of the film making industry received acknowledgement and recognition of their work in this industry. ‘The awards soon acquired international status’ (Source J) showing how Hollywood’s film industry developed into a global sensation that was supported by people all over

The article says that after 1929 Hollywood cinema experienced a breakdown due to the Cold War and the Depression and between 1915 and 1960 over 15 000 feature films were made in America

Birth of a Nation was a silent film that premiered in 1925 that was directed by D.W. Griffith. Griffith went to Johns Hopkins

As the need for entertainment grows, so does the vice of stardom. We have seen the wreck some stars have made of their lives, addicted to the attention Hollywood brings. And from it came also such classics as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and Juno. One thing is for certain; Hollywood studios is the name that carried the movie industry from the drawing board to a the big

“Birth of a Nation” & D.W. Griffin is a movie based on a play with the setting during the civil war. It is about to opposite families living in the Northern states and the Southern states.

The rise of Hollywood within the twenties was because of the economic prosperity throughout the roaring twenties era. individuals had longer to pay on leisure and americans fell gaga with the films. the films were an inexpensive sort of amusement and hollywood within the 1920s was a booming business in la california.the black and white silent movies progressed to paint productions within the 1920s. in 1927 the primary picture show was created. picture stars like rudolph valentino clara bow barrymore mary astor comic mary pickford douglas elton fairbanks and actress were loved by millions.

Robert A. Rosenstone certainly has a critical eye for films based on historic people and events. He captures the spirit of various discussions we’ve had in our Film As Social History class over the course of the semester. In an excerpt from his book, Visions of the Past, he critically examines historical film, and how its dramatic representations of the past shape our own perceptions. Some points of particular interest included exaggerated history films being more engaging than factually based ones, films can focus on groups as opposed to individuals, and sensory and emotional emphasis in films, “...altering our very sense of the past,” (Rosenstone, Excerpt Pg. 2). Inherit the Wind, Norma Rae, and Good Night, and Good Luck all provide evidence for and against Rosenstone’s perspective.

What makes for a classic Hollywood film? Increasingly, films have evolved to the point where the standard by which one calls a “classic Hollywood film” has evolved over time. What one calls a classic film by yesterday’s standards is not the same as that of today’s standards. The film Casablanca is no exception to this. Although David Bordwell’s article, “Classical Hollywood Cinema” defines what the classical Hollywood film does, the film Casablanca does not exactly conform to the very definition that Bordwell provides the audience with in his article. It is true that the film capers closely to Bordwell’s definition, but in more ways than not, the film diverges from Bordwell’s definition of the typical Hollywood film.