History of Hollywood

1. History of Hollywood • Films really blossomed in the 1920s, expanding upon the foundations of film from earlier years. Most US film production at the start of the decade occurred in or near Hollywood on the West Coast, although some films were still being made in New Jersey and in Astoria, Queens (Paramount). By the mid-20s, movies were big business (with a capital investment totaling over $2 billion) with some theatres offering double features. By the end of the decade, there were 20 Hollywood studios, and the demand for films was greater than ever. Most people are unaware that the greatest output of feature films in the US occurred in the 1920s and 1930s (averaging about 800 film releases in a year) - nowadays, it is remarkable when production exceeds 500 films in a year.

2. Hollywood • Films were being manufactured, assembly-line style, in Hollywood's 'entertainment factories,' in which production was broken down and organized into its various components (writing, costuming, makeup, directing, etc.).

3. Hollywood • Even the earliest films were organized into genres or types, with instantly-recognizable storylines, settings, costumes, and characters. The major genre emphasis was on swashbucklers, historical extravaganzas, and melodramas, although all kinds of films were being produced throughout the decade. Films varied from sexy melodramas and biblical epics to westerns romances, mysteries, and comedies.

4. HOLLYWOOD • The studio system was essentially born with long-term contracts for stars, lavish production values, and increasingly rigid control of directors and stars by the studio's production chief and in-house publicity departments.

5. THE BIG FIVE • Warner Bros. Pictures • Famous Players-LaskyCorporation • RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures • Metro Pictures Corporation(MGM) • Fox Film Corporation/Foundation

6. THE BIG 5

8. CASABLANCA • The classic and much-loved romantic melodrama Casablanca (1942), always found on top-ten lists of films, is a masterful tale of two men vying for the same woman's love in a love triangle. The story of political and romantic espionage is set against the backdrop of the wartime conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. [The date given for the film is often given as either 1942 and 1943. That is because its limited premiere was in 1942, but the film did not play nationally, or in Los Angeles, until 1943.]

9. CASABLANCA • Directed by the talented Hungarian-accented Michael Curtiz and shot almost entirely on studio sets, the film moves quickly through a surprisingly tightly constructed plot, even though the script was written from day to day as the filming progressed and no one knew how the film would end .

10. “Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if your name is on the Nazi’s most-wanted list. Atop that list is Czech Resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), whose only hope is Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one…especially Victor’s wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the ex-lover who broke his heart. So when Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo’s safe transport out of the country, the bitter Rick must decide what’s more important – his own happiness of the countless lives that hang in the balance.”

12. Vichy – this is the name of the regimethat took power in France between 1940and 1944. A power sharing agreement wasreached between the Nazi and Vichyparties, resulting in the partition of France.The French government had to pay the costs of the German troops in the country,and allow the German army to arrestwhoever they wanted. This is famouslyfeatured in Casablanca, when we see theNazi army march into Paris, forcing Samand Ilsa to leave. Many French saw thearrangement between the Vichygovernment and the Nazis as a betrayal.The Vichy government were loyal to andrespectful of the Nazis. This surrenderincensed many French people,encouraging them to join the Resistance.

13. The Resistance – this is the name given to French nationals and others fighting against theoppression and suffering caused by the Nazi and Vichy regimes. They took enormous personalrisks, working behind enemy lines and helping the Allies, through gathering information andcarrying out various other missions. In the film we meet Victor Laszlo, a Czech national, who wecome to learn is an important figure in the Resistance movement, making Ilsa’s role insupporting Laszlo all the more vital.

14. The Nazi Party – the Nazi party were a force in German politics between 1920 and 1945. Theirpolicies included the eradication of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and the mentally andphysically ill, as well as encouraging the domination of the Aryan ‘master race’. In Casablancawe meet Strasser, who represents the Nazi presence in Casablanca; his actions are indicativeof the party ideology.

15. During the Second World War, many people were displaced from their countries, either to fight (such as American soldiers in England or German soldiers in Morocco), or fleeing persecution, as Laszlo is. In a geographical sense, the choice of Casablanca as a setting is essential to the way that the narrative develops, as all the characters are, in a sense, visitors there. Casablanca’s connection to France, but geographical distance, means that the representatives of Vichy France, the Resistance, and the Nazi Party behave in ways that would not have been possible in, for example, occupied France. Here these groups are forced to co-exist, resulting in moments of tension and danger for our characters. Rick’s character is able to maintain a key role in the middle of these complex relationships as he appears, at this stage in the war, to be ‘neutral’, coming from a country which had not yet joined the war on either side. However, his character undergoes a transformation during the course of the film, as his initial position as self-interested club owner changes to reveal his complicated relationship with Captain Renault, and allegiance to Ilsa and the wider Resistance movement that she and Laszlo represent.

16. “Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if your name is on the Nazi’s most-wanted list. Atop that list is Czech Resistence leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), whose only hope is Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one…especially Victor’s wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the ex-lover who broke his heart. So when Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo’s safe transport out of the country, the bitter Rick must decide what’s more important – his own happiness of the countless lives that hang in the balance.”