The document discusses the evolution of the film industry, highlighting significant events such as Hollywood scandals, the introduction of the Hayes Code, and the impact of the Great Depression on film themes and production practices. It also details the transition from the studio system to independent production, the rise of television as a major competitor, and the current state of films today, including the shift towards streaming platforms. Overall, it emphasizes the profound cultural influence of cinema throughout its history.

1. Lecture prepared
11/28/09 and Revised 4-8-20
by John M. Grace
I.A.T.S.E. member
and film instructor
Savannah Technical College,
Savannah, GA
Some material courtesy of
Cybercollege.com
Film History

2. Famous film quote:
“Frankly, my dear,
I don’t give a damn.”
In 1939, with these words, Rhett
Butler snubbed Scarlett O’Hara and
fanned the firestorm of controversy
over morality and film censorship
Film History

3. HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
• During Hollywood’s “golden age,”
along with huge profits came many
excesses. Tabloid newspapers tried
to outdo each other by reporting -
and to some extent making up -
stories about the extravagant
lifestyles of producers, directors,
and actors. In the minds of many,
Hollywood was indeed "sin city."
Film History

4. HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
• This image was confirmed in the
1920s, when Hollywood confronted
two major scandals.
• One involved a marathon party in
San Francisco hosted by comedian
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. As the
party was ending, model Virginia
Rappe was rushed to the hospital
with stomach pains.
Film History

5. HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
• Rappe subsequently died, and
Arbuckle was initially charged with
rape resulting in death. Her cause of
death was determined to be
peritonitis from a ruptured bladder.
• What led up to the death was in
dispute, and after three trials - two
ending with hung juries - Arbuckle
was acquitted.
Film History

6. HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
• Even though he was acquitted of
any crimes and had the support of
many Hollywood friends, the public
wasn’t as forgiving and Arbuckle
never made another feature film.
• He died in 1933 of a heart attack
at the age of 46. But before he died,
Arbuckle was implicated in another
Hollywood death.
Film History

7. HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
• Then, film director William Taylor
was found murdered and Mabel
Normand, a close friend of
Arbuckle's, was accused of the
crime. Even though Normand was
acquitted, rumors abounded that
drugs were involved. The tabloids
had a field day and the Catholic
Legion of Decency called for a film
boycott.
Film History

8. HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
• Fearing public backlash against
movies and the likelihood of
government censorship, the studio
heads acted quickly to adopt a form
of self-regulation.
• In 1922 Will Hayes, a staunch
conservative and former Republican
Party Chairman, was appointed to
head the new Motion Picture
Producers Association (MPPA).
Film History

9. THE HAYES CODE
• One of the first things Hayes did
was to ban all of Arbuckle's films -
notwithstanding the fact that the
actor had been found innocent.
• His Production Code (called the
Hayes Code) was issued in 1930. To
be acceptable, films had to show the
Production Code Administration
(PCA) seal of approval.
Film History

10. THE HAYES CODE
• The code was so strict that many
of today's G-rated movies would
have been rejected.
• Hayes issued more than 28,000
rulings including lists of forbidden
words. Screen kisses were reduced
from a maximum of 4 seconds to no
more than 11/2 seconds. The Hays
Code even went so far as to ban
scenes showing people milking cows.
Film History

11. THE DEPRESSION ERA
• After the stock market crash of
1929, the bottom fell out of financial
markets in the United States and
film revenues sank.
• Even though the studios were
overextended financially, Hollywood
was spared major economic damage
because the arrival of sound helped
boost the popularity of films.
Film History

12. THE DEPRESSION ERA
• Moviegoers anxious to escape the
gloom of the depression regularly
sought refuge in the fantasy life up
on the silver screen. To lure patrons
during these times, many theaters
started showing double features and
even drastically cut admission
prices. Some theaters even featured
bingo games. Even so, something
more was needed.
Film History

13. THE DEPRESSION ERA
• To keep the studios afloat during
the depression, studios started
featuring risqué story lines. In a
contest between money and morals,
money won and much of the Hayes
Code was ignored.
• Without the added revenues from
risqué content, Hollywood wouldn't
have survived the depression. You
could say that sex saved Hollywood.
Film History

14. SEX SAVES HOLLYWOOD
• One of the more outspoken
actresses of the day was the
voluptuous Mae West. Her most
provocative line, delivered to Cary
Grant was, "Why don't you come
up and see me sometime?”
• Hayes and conservative audience
members were aghast that such a
suggestion would be spoken aloud.
Film History

15. THE SOUND and COLOR ERA
• During the depression, the only
successful new studio was opened by
Walt Disney. In 1928, Disney
released Steamboat Willie, the first
animated sound cartoon. Disney,
who was only 26 years old, had to
sell his car to finish the cartoon.
• In 1932, color film technology was
introduced with another Disney
short film, Flowers and Trees.
Film History

16. THE SOUND and COLOR ERA
• A few years later, Disney created
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
the first feature-length animated
film, at a cost of $2.25 million - more
than the cost of most extravaganzas.
• This film not only established the
Disney company (now one of the
largest media conglomerates in the
world), but also introduced the
animated film genre.
Film History

17. FILM GENRES
• By 1930, 95% of Hollywood films
were "talkies". It took a while, but
films adjusted to the extra demands
of sound and production values
returned to a high quality.
• At this point, a new genre of film
was born, the musical, and the
formerly popular genre of slapstick
almost vanished.
Film History

18. FILM GENRES
• During the 1930s, the genres of
romantic comedy and gangster
films became popular.
• In 1938, the genres of suspense
and mystery took a major step
forward with the films of Alfred
Hitchcock, a British director best
known for the film Psycho featuring
history’s most famous shower
scene.
Film History

19. FILM CLASSICS
• In 1939, one of the biggest hits of
all time was produced by David O.
Selznick, Gone With the Wind. This
civil war epic marked the first time
color was lavishly & expertly used.
• More than 50 years later, CBS
paid $25 million for TV broadcast
rights disproving the notion that
old films have a hard time holding
the interest of modern audiences.
Film History

20. FILM CLASSICS
• Gone With the Wind is historically
significant for many reasons, for
one, the kiss (a violation of the
Hayes Code), and the memorable
and controversial line "Frankly, my
dear, I don't give a damn."
• Cursing was forbidden in films,
but this line was the decisive
indication that Rhett Butler had
finally given up on Scarlett O'Hara.
Film History

21. FILM CLASSICS
• Two years later, Orson Welles
released Citizen Kane - considered
the most notable U.S. film ever in
terms of content and innovations.
• However, the film was not a box
office success even though it
introduced innovations that went
on to influence filmmaking for
decades to come.
Film History

22. FILM CLASSICS
• In the 1934 film, It Happened One
Night, Clark Gable took off his shirt
to reveal that he wasn't wearing an
undershirt even though wearing
undershirts was simply a given for
men at that time.
• Suddenly men decided undershirts
weren’t necessary - and that was the
end of the undershirt business.
Film History

23. END of the STUDIO SYSTEM
• In 1938, The U.S. Supreme Court
decided that the major film studios
represented a monopoly, and a
major antitrust action was initiated.
• Two years later the studios agreed
to stop buying theaters, eliminate
blind booking (requiring theaters to
rent films without seeing them first)
and limit block booking to five films.
Film History

24. END of the STUDIO SYSTEM
• Four years later the major studios
still held control over the motion
picture industry - especially when it
came to the first-run exhibition of
films in major cities.
• Antitrust action was launched
again and this time the five majors
were forced to divest themselves of
all company owned theaters.
Film History

25. END of the STUDIO SYSTEM
• But another problem resulted.
Without the previous level of control
and profit guarantees, big banks
were reluctant to finance films.
• The studios finally decided to
leave the production of films (and
much of the financial risk) primarily
to outside producers - independent
of the big five studios.
Film History

26. END of the STUDIO SYSTEM
• The antitrust action ushered in the
beginning of an era in which
production companies were created
for a particular film and then
dissolved afterwards.
• Now, stars and directors are no
longer under long-term contracts.
Actors and crew members are hired
specifically for each film.
Film History

27. END of the STUDIO SYSTEM
• Although the studio system was
efficient at turning out films, most
people agree that our present system
encourages a level of competition
essential to maintaining Hollywood's
leadership in filmmaking.
• Today, the major studios usually
make fewer than 20 films a year and
the rest are made by independents.
Film History

28. The THREAT of TELEVISION
• The impact of television on the
film industry during the 40s and 50s
is shown in the graph on the right.
• Even though the U.S. population
continued to grow, film revenues
dropped dramatically, until it
bottomed out in the 60s and 70s. TV
was now the country's primary
source for family entertainment.
Film History

29. The THREAT of TELEVISION
• Many film studios put short-sided
clauses into actors' contracts
forbidding them to appear on TV -
even to promote their own films.
• However, the studios soon found
that instead of being the enemy,
television represented an important
new market for their films - one that
would be essential to their survival.
Film History

30. The THREAT of TELEVISION
• Once they realized this, studios
abandoned their expensive star
system, limited their promotional
budgets and targeted audiences.
• They started making films aimed
at educated and affluent audiences
and especially people under 30 who
soon became their largest audience,
accounting for 75% of ticket sales.
Film History

31. The THREAT of TELEVISION
• These new audiences, although
much smaller, demanded more in
the way of meaningful content and
sophisticated production techniques.
• Simplistic, low-budget, formulaic
plots, common in Hollywood's
“Golden Era” were not popular
with younger, more sophisticated
audiences.
Film History

32. The THREAT of TELEVISION
• With the arrival of TV, Hollywood
found a new, seemingly insatiable
market for their old films. During
the early days of TV they dug out
old black and white films and sold
them to TV.
• When color TV arrived, the
studios again went into their vaults
to offer a selection of color films.
Film History

33. The THREAT of TELEVISION
• In the 1950’s while the studios
were again facing a financial crisis,
they fought back by trying:
* 3D (Stereovision)
* Wide screens
• Cinerama
• Cinemascope
* Stereophonic sound
* Violent and risqué subjects
Film History

34. The STATE of FILMS TODAY
• On the average, only one in every
six films is profitable. However, a
successful film takes in much more
than the production costs and ends
up paying for films that are less
successful.
• The average cost of producing a
film today is well over $40-million
though there are notable exceptions.
Film History

35. The STATE of FILMS TODAY
• Today, most Hollywood films
don't begin to make a profit until
they move from theatrical to
streaming, TV, DVD, pay per view,
and foreign distribution.
• Note in this graph that only about
21% of profits come from ticket
sales and the rest comes from TV
and foreign sales.
Film History

36. The STATE of FILMS TODAY
• Over the past decade, income
from all genres has flipped from
primarily domestic to primarily
foreign.
• Domestic box office revenues have
also dropped as more consumers
turn to streaming platforms for
their media entertainment.
Film History

37. The STATE of FILMS TODAY
• It took broadcast television years
to adopt the HD standard, and
consumers are now demanding 4K.
• OTT (Over the Top) streaming
platforms are rapidly becoming the
media delivery preference of the
next decade due to their ability to
deliver high quality content.
Film History

38. The STATE of FILMS TODAY
• As streaming has boomed, a new
production model is emerging. The
Big 6 Studios are producing less
content as streaming providers like
Netflix, Hulu, Disney +, and Amazon
Prime have begun spending large
sums to produce original streaming
content.
Film History
• And it’s paying off. Content is improving similar to the way
it did during the indie boom of the 1970’s

39. The STATE of FILMS TODAY
• Albeit, given a sometimes sordid
history, films have always shaped
public attitudes in a multitude of
ways. Films have communicated
positive moral values and shaped
public attitudes for over a century.
• Thought-provoking movies and
films where the hero takes a stand
against corruption inspire us to take
moral stands in our own lives.
Film History

40. The STATE of FILMS TODAY
• It doesn’t matter if it’s captured on
celluloid or merely a collection of
zeroes and ones, motion pictures
have had a more profound effect on
the collective consciousness of society
than any other art form. They can
make us laugh, bring us to tears and
teach us important lessons. As a
filmmaker, the work you create lives
on long after you are gone.
Film History