Hollywood's Conservative Age

In the early depression 1930-33, Hollywood produced films the challenged traditional values, such as Public Enemy and Frankenstein. However, with the creation of the Breen Office and the Production Code in 1934, Hollywood shifted from attack to defense, and affirmed traditional values in the era1934-41 that became known as The Golden Age.

Disney after Three Little Pigs

Lullaby Land, Totoise & Hare, Flying Mouse, Pluto's Judgement Day
imagineering (structure all elements) and idealization (rules, boundaries, order) rather than free fantasy

Capra after It Happened One Night

Mr. Deeds, Mr. Smith, Meet John Doe, Lost Horizon, You Can't Take It With You

affirmation of pastoral, small town values, healing, satisfying

an idealized America of perfect unity

"true" leaders helped against "false" leaders by the "people"

new genre of romantic comedy - personal relationships and marriages and social classes united after division

Hollywood's world-wide exports

production value, happy ending, glamor, social satisfaction, lifestyles in demand by foreign audiences

Hollywood's power structure

new moguls Irving Thalberg, David Selznick, Darryl Zanuck promoted traditional culture. "dignified, elevated, respectable pictures"
Louella Parsons for Hearst, Hedda Hopper were a "powerful force of control" through the gossip column
MGM's Too Hot to Handle was too zany, exploitive, a product of corporate writing
Sammy Glick in What Makes Sammy Run? novel

Hollywood's Self-Censorship

Production Code of 1930 by Martin Quigley and Fr. Daniel Lord
Catholic Legion of Decency threat of 1934 boycott
Hays Office created Production Code Administration headed by Joseph Breen
production Code of 1934 based on Quigley-Lord formula of "compensating moral value" - "evil and good are never to be confused"

Screwball comedies

supported the status quo (not social chaos), celebrated sanctity of marriage (not careers or divorce), class distinction (not class conflict), gender roles (not gold diggers)
characters usually wealthy, wacky behavior showed them funny and lovable and harmless
lively, carefree, pleasure-loving style (not sex or violence)

G-Man films

Jimmie Cagney in G-Man (1935) joins FBI
Fred MacMurray in Texas Rangers (1936) was ex-outlaw
E.G. Robinson in Bullets or Ballots (1936)

Family films

Mickey Rooney as child actor in Hardy Boys
Lassie, Lew Ayres in Young Dr. Kildare for MGM
Spencer Tracy won 1938 Best Actor for Boys Town

Historical films

Mutiny on the Bounty won 1938 Best Picture for Irving Thalberg and MGM
David Selznick made David Copperfield 1935 from his father's favorite novel; also Gone With the Wind won 1939 Best Picture
Gary Cooper in Sgt. York 1941

Musicals

Nelson Eddy & Jeanette McDonald for MGM
Fred Astair & Ginger Rogers for RKO
child star Judy Garland sings to Clark Gable in 1938 Broadway Melody and has her breasts strapped down in 1939 Wizard of Oz
all men handsome, all women beautiful, all endings happy