November
2Can Hollywood Face Reality
A vote of thanks to Richard Schickel for reminding us of Hollywood’s greatest moment of counter-programming.In his superb documentary, “You Must Remember This,” (a filmic history of Warner Brothers) Schickel reveals how that studio riveted the audience’s attention during the dark days of the Great Depression. It’s a lesson worth pondering during the grim days that lie ahead.
While MGM and Paramount were grinding out glitzy musicals, Warner Bros focused on hard-ass, hyper-realistic gangster movies and social commentaries. Films like “Public Enemy,” “Mob Rule” or “Doorway to Hell” dealt candidly with squalor and hopelessness. Some, like “I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang,” bordered on being message pictures.
In several studio films, Franklin Roosevelt emerged as the “good guy” who sought to restore justice and stability.
Filmgoers streamed to see the studio slate and new tough-guy stars like James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson soon emerged.
All of which raises the question: Are today’s studios chicken in retreating from dramas or “street pictures?” Perhaps when audiences recognize the economic mess we’re in, their acceptance of so-called “serious” movies may be heightened.
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Reality? Hollywood? Not unless you make a comeback. But I would settle for Sullivan's Travels.
Posted by: mkaven | 11/6/2008 2:24:07 AM