Twentieth Century-Fox: The Zanuck-Skouras Years, 1935–1965 by Peter Lev (review)

In his most recent offering in film history, Peter Lev provides a compelling examination of Twentieth Century-Fox over a crucial thirty year period, from its 1935 beginning in the merger of two companies—Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures—to the smash success of Sound of Music in 1965. These thirty years take the company from its rise to becoming one of the most powerful Hollywood studios by the 1940s, through its difficulties over the 1950s, and into the volatile early 1960s. Lev’s chronological scope covers how Fox managed the transition from Old to New Hollywood, as the system of major studios controlling the production, distribution, and exhibition of motion pictures gave way to a less integrated, more fluid motion picture industry. He also demonstrates the impact of major historical events, such as the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. A brief epilogue brings the story to 2011, but Lev’s emphasis is on what he considers the “studio’s golden age” of the 1940s (276).

Although relatively short as studio histories go, this book is ambitious. Most valuable is Lev’s attention to both Twentieth Century-Fox’s West and East Coast operations: the Hollywood production studio and the New York headquarters. He joins other film historians in recognizing the importance of going beyond a focus on motion pictures, the filmmakers, stars, and processes involved in production, and their reception by filmgoers to understand film companies more holistically. As Lev puts it, “the New York office took charge of corporate strategy, finances, government relations, distribution, exhibition, new technologies, and international relations. How could one write a history of a ‘Hollywood’ film company without including these functions?” (2) One way in which he carries out this dual approach is by interweaving the history of Fox with the biographies of the two men who dominated the company, as indicated by the book’s subtitle, “the Zanuck-Skouras years.” Best known is Darryl F. Zanuck. He was head of production from 1935 to 1956 and then until 1962 an independent producer distributing through Fox. Meanwhile, Spyros Skouras was president of the corporation for twenty of these years, from 1942 to 1962, and Zanuck succeeded him in that position.

Lev tells the fascinating story of the conflicts and collaborations between Zanuck and Skouras over these two decades. Their differences, including different experiences in the industry—Zanuck as a producer, Skouras as an exhibitor—and styles, were evident over these years. For instance, Zanuck had long been associated with making social problem films, whereas Skouras favored religious films. Zanuck initially resisted the Red Scare and blacklist in Hollywood in the later 1940s, but Skouras was a strong supporter, and Zanuck “enforced the company and industry-wide policy” (110). Yet, their shared interests and differing talents led to many successes. As an example, Lev credits Skouras with pushing Fox’s development and adoption of CinemaScope in 1953, an accomplishment Zanuck recalled as “Skouras’ greatest moment of triumph” (172). Even sharp disagreements between the two men, such as over the content and budget of The Longest Day (1962), could ultimately be resolved, leading to a hit movie.

Lev’s recounting of Twentieth Century-Fox’s progress and personalities over thirty years does not neglect its products. Each chapter proceeds chronologically and includes discussions of individual films and important genres. Of necessity, many of these discussions are brief, but they provide useful overviews and insights. Fox’s approach to the musical, for example, changed after World War II, from the “realistic, ‘review musical’ format that the studio had favored for many years” to the integrated musical “where characters sing to express their feelings in both private and public spaces” (125). Often more satisfying is each chapter’s detailed case study of one key film or, as in the last chapter, three such films. The case studies of Wee Willie Winkie (1937), Lifeboat (1944), Thieves Highway (1949), Island in the Sun (1957), The Longest Day (1962), Cleopatra...