Transcript Some Pre-WWII Points PowerPoint

COM 320
History of Film
Some Pre-WWII Points
Pre-WWII Points:
The WWI Experience as a Precedent
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e.g., D. W. Griffith-Intolerance (1916) as
pre-war “propaganda
for peace”; Hearts of
the World (1918) as
propaganda for U.S.
to enter war
Pre-WWII Points:
The WWI Experience as a Precedent
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e.g., The Big Parade (1925, D: King Vidor) and
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930, D: Lewis
Milestone) as post-war realism
Pre-WWII Points:
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Throughout the 1930s, two
major things colored
Americans’ outlook:
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(1) The Great Depression
(2) The War in Europe
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1933: Adolph Hitler named chancellor; Nazi party rules
Germany
1935: Leni Riefenstahl completes Triumph of the Will
for Hitler, a film documenting the 1934 Nazi Party rally
in Nuremberg
1937: Leni Riefenstahl completes Olympia for Hitler, a
film documenting the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Pre-WWII Points:
Leni Riefenstahl & Triumph of the Will
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Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003)
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Actress, dancer, director. . . Notably in “mountain
films” (e.g., The Blue Light, 1932)
Hitler’s designated filmmaker beginning 1933
Also directed Olympia (1937), covering the 1936
Berlin Olympics
Triumph of the Will (1935)
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Lyrical propaganda!
Coverage of the 1934 Nuremberg Nazi rally, where
30,000 Germans gathered for four days
Crew of 172 people, including 36 cameramen and
assistants (operating in 16 teams with 30 cameras)
Groundbreaking use of camera
angles/locations/movement, as well as stellar editing,
use of both diegetic and non-diegetic music
Pre-WWII Points:
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Before Pearl Harbor, WWII was “not our problem”-indeed, most Americans opposed the U.S. entry into
the war
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e.g., Caught in the Draft (1941)--Bob Hope as a comic
draft-dodger
e.g., Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) was viewed as
tasteless, overstated
e.g., To Be or Not to Be (1942) was criticized for
portraying Nazis so negatively--as buffoons (composer
Miklos Rozsa backed out because of this)
Pre-WWII Points:
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December 7, 1941, a date that will live in
infamy (i.e., Pearl Harbor)
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A recognition that film is central to people’s lives,
led to. . .
U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) requested
that Hollywood concentrate on 6 subjects: the
enemy, the Allies, the Armed Forces, the front, the
home front, the issues.
No more war comedies; the Nazis aren’t funny
anymore (until Mel Brooks, of course, and his “let’s
make fun of Nazis” motif across many films)
Click on image
Three Pre-WWII Hollywood Films
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The Great Dictator
To Be or Not To Be
Rebecca
Charlie Chaplin & The Great Dictator
Click on image
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Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
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Great silent film comic (as you know)—his “Little Tramp” character was the
most recognizable persona in the world
Emigrated from Britain in 1912
Slow to move to sound (his Modern Times (1936) was still silent); The Great
Dictator, his first sound film, proved his mastery
The Great Dictator (1940)
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Satire of Nazi Germany; Chaplin criticized for his targeting of Hitler
Beautiful use of pseudo-German language in Hynkel’s speech
After the scope of Nazi atrocities became known, it was decades before
Nazis were satirized again (Hogan’s Heroes, The Producers and
“Springtime for Hitler”)
Ernst Lubitsch & To Be or Not To Be
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Ernst Lubitsch (1892-1947)
 A German Jew, he first made films in Weimar Germany
 Emigrated to Hollywood in 1922
 Warner Bros.  Paramount in 1935 (head of production) 
MGM 1939  20th Century Fox 1943
 Known for the “Lubitsch Touch”
 an unparalleled comic sophistication with guaranteed
audience response!
 Films with “The Touch” include:
 Design for Living (1933)
 Ninotchka (1939)
 The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
 To Be or Not To Be (1942)
Ernst Lubitsch & To Be or Not To Be
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To Be or Not To Be (1942)
 Produced independently by Lubitsch For
United Artists
 Starring Carole Lombard (her last film
before dying in a plane crash during a war
bond tour), Jack Benny, Robert Stack,
Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Sig Ruman
 Lubitsch was criticized for his treatment of
Nazis. . . Film shot before U.S. entered
WWII
 Influences include Mel Brooks (“Heil
Myself”)
 Many elements of early dark comedy
 Characteristics of dark comedy? (See
genre handout)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940)
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Hitchcock’s 1st U.S. production
Under contract to David O. Selznick
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Selznick an indie (SIP), but previously had been at
MGM, Paramount, and RKO (production chief); also,
married to “the boss’ daughter,” Irene Mayer
Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George
Sanders, Judith Anderson
Based on novel by Daphne du Maurier
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Genre = gothic romance
Quiz: Who is Max’s second wife?
Quiz: What change was demanded
by Hays Office?
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940)
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Techniques
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Music by Franz Waxman
DP = George Barnes
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Use of models/miniatures
Gobos galore! (see next slide)
Who won the Academy Award for Best Picture?
See optional reading on class website to learn
about the working relationship between
Hitchcock and Selznick (from Thomas Schatz
book, The Genius of the System)
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end