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vp81955 · 11-26-2009, 06:38 PM

For purposes of this discussion, we'll consider "classic Hollywood" the era between 1920 and 1960. (While some movies were made n the classic Hollywood tradition after 1960, the studio system of the earlier period had more or less dissipated, replaced by independent producers; studios more or less functioned as distributors of product, not creators of it.)

What I love about the classic era is how studios defined themselves in different periods, or what type movies they sought to make. The Warners films of the early '30s, with their hard-edged Depression realism and attitude, were substantially different from the melodramatic Warners of the mid-forties. MGM under Irving Thalberg was a far different place than after Thalberg's death, when Louis B. Mayer took firmer control and made the studio more sanctimonious. The urbane RKO of the early '30s was vastly different than RKO under Howard Hughes in the early '50s.

I suppose my favorite genres are the romantic/screwball comedies, featuring the likes of William Powell, Myrna Loy, Cary Grant or Carole Lombard, and the pre-Code films, many of which are a revelation. What are your favorites from the era?

11-26-2009, 06:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
vp81955 Upright Location: Virginia	Any fans of classic Hollywood here? For purposes of this discussion, we'll consider "classic Hollywood" the era between 1920 and 1960. (While some movies were made n the classic Hollywood tradition after 1960, the studio system of the earlier period had more or less dissipated, replaced by independent producers; studios more or less functioned as distributors of product, not creators of it.) What I love about the classic era is how studios defined themselves in different periods, or what type movies they sought to make. The Warners films of the early '30s, with their hard-edged Depression realism and attitude, were substantially different from the melodramatic Warners of the mid-forties. MGM under Irving Thalberg was a far different place than after Thalberg's death, when Louis B. Mayer took firmer control and made the studio more sanctimonious. The urbane RKO of the early '30s was vastly different than RKO under Howard Hughes in the early '50s. I suppose my favorite genres are the romantic/screwball comedies, featuring the likes of William Powell, Myrna Loy, Cary Grant or Carole Lombard, and the pre-Code films, many of which are a revelation. What are your favorites from the era?