The end of the 1920s brought great changes to the film industry. Sound had just been implemented into film, films were becoming longer with multi-reel feature films, and picture palaces were making the film experience something even the rich and powerful would come to enjoy. Soon however, the Great Depression would cause a substantial decline in movie attendance, reduction in salary for producers and actors, and the shutdown of numerous theaters and studios. The film industry needed a shining light in a time of need to help guide the industry through the Great Depression. In 1928, the star the industry needed was born in Shirley Temple. At only three years old, she was able to accomplish what most could only dream of, being casted in her first movie. It only took Temple a few years to capture the country's heart as she won a special Oscar award at the age of 5. However just like her rise to fame, her fall from the spotlight was swift. Although just a teenager by the end of the 1930s, Temple's place in the industry was gone , replaced by the next generation of stars. In just a decade of acting, Shirley Temple would provide hope for a country in need and spark change in the film industry by becoming the model of the child star, saving Twentieth Century-Fox from going bankrupt, and using her unique method to market and merchandise her films.
Although she was not the first child star in the film industry, Temple was the first child to become famous from acting. After being discovered in dance class by Educational Studios, Temple's first roles in movies were short films called Baby Burlesks, which were parodies of adult feature films (Blashfield 11). Two years later, she was discovered by a movie songwriter, Jay Gorney who thought...
... middle of paper ...
...year period, Temple would star in 23 feature films for Twentieth Century-Fox and made the studio over $30 million according to C. Robert Jennings (93). A popularity polled established by movie theater owners stated that Temple was the most popular movie star from 1935 to 1938. As long as she was in a movie, people would come out to the theaters to see her. It wasn't until after Shirley had left Twentieth Century-Fox that people understood how much she meant to the company. A spokesman for the studio said that, "If there had not been a Shirley Temple, there would not be a Twentieth Century-Fox today (Jennings 94).
In her movies, she often played a charming woman who could change a troubled male protagonist into a hero thanks to her sweet smile and childish humor. Since her characters had such a strong connection with adult men in her films, she would often only
During the 1930’s, the Great Depression was in full swing. The Depression was a period in American History when the economy was horrible. Most people did not have jobs, and if they did their paycheck was barely enough to put food on the table. At that time, many people did not experience happiness very often because of their money situations. However, there was one person who could turn any frown upside down, Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple, the best known child star of her time, ascended to unparalled box-office heights during the worst of the Great Depression, and brought humor and happiness to people in a time of great need.
Slowly she asked "Is anyone there?" as she walked down the dark deserted road. When she heard a loud sound she turned abruptly trying again "Hello?" Met with only silence she picked up here pace almost running down the dirt road. Her nerves had just began to calm when she heard "WRRRREEENNNNNRRRRRRR" as a chainsaw started behind her. Running she started looking behind her hoping that whoever it was, wouldn’t catch her. With her lack of concentration she tripped over her high heels and face plants into the dirt, giving the murderer a chance to catch up. Slowly he lowered the chainsaw and began cutting --CUT -- This is a common plot used in horror movies today. Movies have changed over the years. They were different five years ago, fifty years ago, and even a almost a century ago. Technologies have unthinkable things possible. They have allowed us to re-sink "the unsinkable ship." They have allowed us to see dinosaurs in all their brutal glory. We have seen imaginary creatures, only ever mentioned in stories brought to life. Movies have moved so far from the 1920's and 1930's. They have developed ideals, rules and even standards; but where did they begin? Did movies just fall out of the sky? Did they just come into being? No they began slowly, silently moving towards a new era, the era we today call "Pre-code Hollywood"
It is no secret that there is an obvious difference of how women are portrayed in the media versus men. This movie discussed female characters never having lead roles and stated that when they did it ended in the women depending on, loving, or having to have a man. One young high school girl said, “Women never play the protagonist. The girls are
The roaring twenties would be nothing without the roar of the MGM Lion. “If Hollywood had no other studio than Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the town still would have been the movie capital of the world” (Fricke para 1). MGM enchanted audiences with its high-budgeted films and glamorous list of stars (Hanson para 1). Three failing movie companies came together in 1924 in hopes to make it big in the motion picture industry, and it did (Fricke para 3). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer created spectacles of movies after its merging which made MGM one of the most prosperous motion picture companies in the 1920’s (Hanson para 2).
According to many movie critics and fans, Marilyn Monroe was one of the most talented and well-known entertainers and fashion icons of the twentieth century based on her success as an actress, singer, model, and her remarkable personality. Marilyn Monroe once said, “Fame will go by, and, so long, I’ve had you, fame. If it goes by, I’ve always known it was fickle. So at least it’s something I experience, but that’s not where I live” (Marilyn Monroe 26).
Looking at self-development, she has successfully done so beginning by working in an airplane factory while her first husband was on duty overseas, she was noticed by one of the officers who encouraged her to model which led her to sign with The Blue Book Modelling Agency. Conformity played a huge role in her identity; since in order to fit their needs, Mortenson dyed her hair blonde and changed her name to a seductive one, “Marilyn Monroe”. Her beauty quickly got her successful and noticed. After some time, she landed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox which jump started her acting career. Her seductiveness and dramatic abilities caught the publ...
Shirley Temple Black was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in her films and they ultimately bought millions of dollars worth of products that had her likeness on them. Dolls, phonograph records, mugs, hats, dresses, whatever it was, if it had her picture on there they bought it. Shirley was box-office champion for the consecutive years 1935 to 1938, beating out such great grown-up stars as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, and many more. By 1939, her popularity declined. Although she starred in some
Also, Marilyn was mostly famous for playing a funny dumb blonde in her movies.{wikipedia.org} Some movies she was famous for are “Some like it hot”,[1959] “Monkey Business”[1952], “How to Marry a Millionaire”[1953] and “Gentlemen prefer Blondes”[1953] .To begin, Marilyn Monroe won a golden globe for playing a role in “Some like it hot” [1959]. Marilyn Monroe won the Golden Globe Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite Female in 1953. {google.com/site/monroetheicon/awards-and-achievements} Marilyn was nominated for the golden globe award for playing the character Sugar Cane in “Some like it hot”. Also, Marilyn Monroe often struggled with depression. {marilyn monroe and her struggle with depression} Many people think she struggled with depression because of her three failed marriages and 2 miscarriages. Joe Dimaggio was one of Marilyn’s husbands. When they divorced in 1954, Marilyn accused him of “mental cruelty”. She also married Arthur Miller, a famous playwright, but sadly their marriage ended in 1961. Which left her in a fragile state. Some people also believe that her depression came from her mother’s illness. She had many Achievements but marilyn monroe still did have many struggles in her
During this decade, the film industry went through massive changes that would completely change what movies were or stood for. After the Great War, more people began considering movies as a form of entertainment. This increased attention caused change in the industry, allowing the experience of the movie goer to massively change for the better. Many new genres, ideas and technologies emerged in the 1920s that would later dominate the industry. The 1920s saw massive changes happening in the movie industry that would help it to get one step closer to what it is today.
The most important events of this film all revolve around the female characters. While there are some male charac...
Clara’s experience with the motion picture industry gives us a picture of what it was like in the 1920’s. It was new and intriguing, enticing and corrupt. The motion picture industry underpaid Bow, which is almost inconceivable today. The environment of Hollywood now pays actors and actresses corpulent amounts of money...but that may be the only change. The “star-maker” environment is still as enticing and corrupt as yesterday’s.
Sound was first introduced into film by the film The Jazz Singer (1927). The transition for silent films to talkies was an experimental period in film history considering that, “[m]ost of the early talkies were successful at the box-office, but many of them were of poor quality - dialogue-dominated play adaptations, with stilted acting (from inexperienced performers) and an unmoving camera or microphone” (Kirk). When film was transitioning into sound a lot of silent film aspects disappeared. Many of the early talkies lacked in visuals because most of the filmmakers' attention was on sound. Another aspect of silent film making that was lost were the stars. Some stars transitioned into talkies; while others did not transition. The character Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard reflects the struggle many of the silent film actors and actresses faced because of talkies. There are many reasons as to why some silent film actors didn’t transition into talkies. Some reasons actors did not transition include: audiences did not like actor’s voices, actors did not like making talkies, and some actors could not speak english. In Sunset Boulevard, there are many silent film stars who did not transfer into talkies such as, Buster Keaton and Gloria Swanson.
These movies allowed female characters to embody all the contradictions that could make them a woman. They were portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time the “saint,” (Newsom, 2011). Female characters were multi-faceted during this time and had much more complexity and interesting qualities than in the movies we watch today. Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is one of sexualization and dependence rather than complexity (Newsom, 2011).
Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. As a result of the changing societal norms, women have experienced more transition in their roles than any other class. During the period of classical Hollywood cinema, both society and the film industry preached that women should be dependent on men and remain in home in order to guarantee stability in the community and the family. Women did not have predominated roles in movies such as being the heroin. The 1940’s film Gilda wasn’t an exception. In Gilda, the female character mainly had two different stereotypes. The female character was first stereotyped as a sex object and the second stereotyped as a scorned woman who has to be punished.
Also, the film revealed women empowerment and how superior they can be compared to men. While demonstrating sexual objectification, empowerment, there was also sexual exploitation of the women, shown through the film. Throughout this essay, gender based issues that were associated with the film character will be demonstrated while connecting to the real world and popular culture.