Momentous Reversals

Momentous Reversals | Fyne Robert Fyne Kean University RJFyne@aol.com Momentous Reversals Thomas Schatz. Boom and Bust: The American Cinema in the 1940s (History ofthe American Cinema, 6). Charles Scribners Sons, 1997. (571 pages, $75.00) During the 1940's—a period in historydominatedbyWorld War II—dieAmerican motion picture industrywitnessed its greatestupheaval as the nation's social, economic, and politicallife, completelyaltered by die global conflictand its aftermadi, produced unionizedlabor, antitrustlegislation, newforms ofcensorship , and theater distribution control. Indeed,bythe end ofdiis decade, Hollywood's earlierboombecame itsbustas government regulations—plus die emergence oftelevision broadcasting—revolutionized the nation's landscape as studios finallydivested diemselves ofdieir monopolisticmovie chains. Whathappened? How did these federal edicts transform America cinema? Who were die heroes? The villains? What issues were at stake? These are some ofthe questions that Thomas Schatz explores in his exhaustive study, Boom andBust: TheAmerican Cinema in the 1940s. As Professor Schatz explains, this decade, a period ofmomentous reversals, experienced three broad categories . First, the prewar period, the prologue, where big productions —such as Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The Hunchback ofNotre Dame—maintained the status quo by entertaining audiences while reaping large profits . At the same time, a small group ofinterventionist screenplays — The GreatDictator, Man Hunt, and Sergeant York, for example—warned againstNazi aggression even diough a strong congressional isolationist movement, spearheaded by Burton Wheeler and GeraldNye, accused the industry ofwarmongering , calling Hollywood a propaganda machine. Pearl Harbor changed everything and in the second period , the War years, Schatz contends, became Hollywood's "finest hour as a social institution and a cultural force." Following FDR's dictum oftotal victory, the motion picture industry mobilized its resources and by V-J Day, under the scrutiny of the OWI, produced hundreds of titles that fostered Home Front morale while vilifying the Axis bloc. Everyone played their part. John Wayne took on the Japanese air force in Flying Tigers; Ronald Reagan befuddled the Nazis in DesperateJourney ; Robert Mitchum assaulted a mountainous Italian stronghold in The Story ofGIJoe; Comrade Dana Andrews routed the Wehrmacht in The North Star, while Alan Ladd offered streetwise help to his Oriental friends in China. Likewise, Jennifer Jones changed some bedpans in Since You Went Away; Bob Hope created merriment in They GotMe Covered; Jane Frazee worked on a lathe in Rosie the Riveter; songster hero Roy Rogers knocked out a few factory saboteurs in King ofthe Cowboys while over in his jungle lair, the indomitable, vine-swinging Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) made shortwork of some Nazi operatives in Tarzan s DesertAdventure. At the end of the War, the movie industry received many pats on its 35mm back for its V-for-Victory contributions including bond sales, troop entertainment, plus newsreels and documentaries. Clearly, these motion pictures, even with minor shortcomings, became the most effective medium for wartime information. Hollywood, really, had outdone itself. But peacetime presented new problems. As Schatz points out—in the third section— from 1945 to 1949, Hollywood was "besieged by labor strife and runaway costs, by rebellious exhibitors , and foreign markets." Other difficulties included "censorship battles, and anti-Communist purges." To top it all off, the motion picture establishment lost its Supreme Court contest regarding antitrust. For the filmmakers, these frustrations completed the downward spiral. As the decade came to a close, this industry, by all accounts, had reached an ignominious end. Overall, Professor Schatz's meticulous research covers much ground and his interpretations shed new light on a turbulent period diat became the "best of times and the worst of times" for America's moving pictures moguls. As for odiers issues—such as the documentary and avant-garde cinema, the Office ofWar I nformation and the onset ofcommercial television—special chapters , written by Christopher Anderson, Thomas Doherty, Clayton Koppes, Lauren Rabinowitz, andJanet Staige, round out the book's format. Additional material from archives, trade papers, and contemporary sources, an impressive array ofstatistical tables, plus a few case studies are also included. Boom orBustis die sixdi title in Scribner's projected ten volume HistoryoftheAmerican Cinema series, a collection diat examines the first 100 years offilmmaking. By all accounts, diis series stands as a monumental undertaking diatwill serve as an importantreference source. Without question, Professor...