From Audrey Hepburn to Alfred Hitchcock, these colorized photos capture the Golden Age of Hollywood as it really was.
Today , it may feel like every boastful motion-picture show is being produced by the same few studio . While it is certainly true that the likes of Walt Disney Pictures , Warner Bros. , and Sony Pictures tend to command the boxful bureau in modern times , self-governing companies like A24 and Neon turn out that there are other players in the game . And compare to the so - call Golden Age of Hollywood , today ’s film industry is drastically more diverse .
Hollywood ’s Golden Age lasted from around the late 1920s to the early 1960s , generally comprising the period after “ talkies ” replaced silent films and before the rise of “ New Hollywood ” when talents like Steven Spielberg , Woody Allen , George Lucas , and Francis Ford Coppola participate the scenery . The Golden Age of Hollywood was creditworthy for some of the most treasured films of all time , includingThe Wizard of Oz , Citizen Kane , move With the hint , Casablanca , andIt ’s A howling Life .
Of of course , the Golden Age of Hollywood was n’t without its event . give the era , some picture show raise during this time period were deep racist , misogynistic , or xenophobic . They were , in a sense , products of their prison term , as were the mass who wrote , directed , and starred in them .
Comedian and filmmaker Jerry Lewis, “The King of Comedy,” sitting behind a camera.
Still , many flick bring about during this epoch have a sort of oracular allure to them that has prove to be difficult to replicate in the yr since . Explore the Golden Age of Hollywood through our gallery of colorized exposure below .
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When Was The Golden Age Of Hollywood?
There is some public debate about when the Golden Age began and ended . Some cite the 1915 release of D.W. Griffith’sThe Birth of a Nationas the origin of Hollywood ’s Golden Age , though asStudioBindernotes , the film was horribly racist and partially prompted the revivification of theKu Klux Klan .
Despite the appalling content , The Birth of a Nationdid case what a flick was capable of in terms of technical foundation and storytelling . However , it was n’t until yr later that another major innovation in film propelled the industriousness even further forward : people talk .
The Jazz Singerwas the first " talkie " to be released in 1927 , ushering in a new earned run average that made silent picture show mostly a matter of the past . When most people think about the Golden Age of Hollywood movie theatre , most of the earliest plastic film that arrive to mind are the " talkies " from this period , so it ’s a reasonable argument to say that 1927 note the start of Hollywood ’s Golden Age .
No Film Schoolseems to hold with this judgment , say , " Classic Hollywood cinema is a term used to key out the visual vogue and tale conventions of American picture palace between 1927 and 1963 . "
Common Elements That Defined Golden Age Hollywood Cinema
United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock PhotoActor Sidney Poitier behind the camera .
Golden Age Hollywood films had many common elements between them , which can further be used to define the point . These elements , agree toNo Film School , included psychologically defined individuals , a battle to work out a problem or achieve a finish , a conflict with other the great unwashed or international circumstances , characters with agency , causality propelling the story forward , and a critical victory or vote down by the end .
In a sense , these picture show may have also had construction or unexpected extra elements , but they were for the most part non - observational . More nonfigurative element of filmmaking would n’t become commonplace until other campaign , such as the French New Wave , began to influence the motion-picture show industriousness .
The final delineate element of the Golden Age of Hollywood was who , exactly , was producing cinema . At the time , five major studio — MGM , Paramount , Fox , Warner Bros. , and RKO — efficaciously dominated question pictorial matter product . The studios controlled nearly every expression of films ' production , rely intemperately on their most pop stars to pack a film to box office success .
And just who were these stars ?
The Shining Stars Of Hollywood’s Golden Age
Allstar Picture Library Ltd / Alamy Stock PhotoFred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star in some of classic movie theatre ’s most popular musicals .
With a few exceptions , most films of Hollywood ’s Golden Age rely less on their directors , author , or producers to sell tickets . alternatively , it was all about the lead actors . Even today , many of their name are highly worship . Gene Kelly , for example , has an award bring up after him by the Pittsburgh CLO .
But other names carry weightiness , too . In fact , in some instances , actor are still recognized by their first name alone . Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers , for object lesson , are often just have-to doe with to as " Fred and Ginger . " Other actors , like Humphrey Bogart , Ingrid Bergman , Clark Gable , and Vivien Leigh , are still lie with to this daytime because they asterisk in motion-picture show that are wide considered among the best of all time — notably , CasablancaandGone With the twist .
Unlike today , when a filmmaker ’s name carries far more weight , most people were belike unaware of who directed either of those Golden Age Hollywood classics ( Michael Curtiz and Victor Fleming , severally , if you were funny ) . In fact , most famous directors of the era were only widely known because they also starred in their films , such as Charlie Chaplin , Buster Keaton , and Orson Welles . Alfred Hitchcock , Billy Wilder , and John Ford were some of the few music director for whom this was an exception .
Glasshouse Images / Alamy Stock PhotoFilm director William Wellman , known for the 1937 filmA Star Is Born .
In the former instance , Welles fundamentally changed the landscape painting of American filmmaking with his far-famed movieCitizen Kane , which used experimental - for - the - sentence technique like Dutch angles and utilized the medium of pic itself as a key element in the narrative .
Other memorable names from the Golden Age of Hollywood include Cary Grant , James Stewart , James Dean , Gregory Peck , Grace Kelly , Audrey Hepburn , Marilyn Monroe , Elizabeth Taylor , and Sidney Poitier , the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor .
Of course , nothing go forever , and the Golden Age of Hollywood eventually came to an destruction , making way for something new .
The End Of Hollywood’s Golden Age
Based onNo Film School’stimeline , the Golden Age of Hollywood ended around 1963 , but things had been moving in that direction for some time .
Los Angeles Public LibraryFirefighters play to quench a fire at Warner Bros. Studios after a film industry hit turned into a public violence in 1945 .
Although it took some time , the authorization of the Big Five finally lead off to pass off away , as theaters began showing films not acquire by the Big Five .
Moreover , many prosperous Age stars had originate older — and trying to sell a pic based completely on an attractive , immature sensation did n’t exactly act when say sensation was no longer youthful . Many of them would soon draw back anyway .
Then , in the belated 1960s and other 1970s , " young blood " come in Hollywood , bringing about an era that was less about virtuoso mightiness and more about renowned theater director and their styles . Sure , you might still see a film because of the maven , but people had farm more interested in seeing a " Stanley Kubrick movie " or a " Steven Spielberg film , " regardless of who was in it .
This also ushered in an era of " blockbuster cinema , " largely due to the success of movie likeStar WarsandJaws , which proved that large - budget , highly natural process - oriented pic could outsell just about anything else . In many ways , these motion picture still see a caboodle of succeeder today , for honorable and for worse .
After this look back at the Golden Age of Hollywood , check out our drift of44 nostalgia - rush pic of 1980s rosehip - hop . Then , see our gallery ofvintage photos that show off the Golden Age of Las Vegas .
United Archives GmbH/Alamy Stock PhotoActor Sidney Poitier behind the camera.
Allstar Picture Library Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoFred Astaire and Ginger Rogers starred in some of classical cinema’s most popular musicals.
Glasshouse Images/Alamy Stock PhotoFilm director William Wellman, known for the 1937 filmA Star Is Born.
Los Angeles Public LibraryFirefighters working to extinguish a fire at Warner Bros. Studios after a film industry strike turned into a riot in 1945.
