C OUNTRY, R OCK AND A LL THAT J AZZ

T HE BEST OF TIMES, THE WORST OF TIMES Worst of Times for Hollywood Dealt major legal blows Faced fierce competition from television Louie B. Mayer resigned in 1951 Major money woes for studios meant cutting costs, selling lots Production staff cut drastically Number of movies cut in half

T HE BEST OF TIMES FOR FILM HISTORY American filmmakers responded to challenges with 20 films in the AFI Greates 100 movies Most from any decade The most significant development in film music during the 1950’s is the expanding role of popular music Less expensive than symphonic orchestras Attracted young audiences The variety of popular musical styles increased New forms of jazz; bebop Country western, rock and roll

C HANGING SOUNDS OF JAZZ Played a central role in the 1 st talking: the Jazz Singer Fillmakers began to use the new forms of jazz to appeal to younger audiences

T HE GOOD AND BAD OF POPULAR MUSIC Advantages: Wider appeal to audience Brings in younger audiences Disadvantages lack of contrast in mood When underscoring dialogue it sustains a single mood that may not represent the emotions of a character. As a result, popular music is used most commonly during scenes with no dialogue, such as montages

I MPORTANT F ILMS A Streetcar Named Desire Uses popular music well Takes place in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, so jazz source music is used a lot Music often stays in background, not necessarily connected to the characters High Noon Directed by Dimitri Tiomkin, one of Hollywood’s veteran composers Introduced major innovation to film music when he included a country and western song in his landmark score The ballad was released 4 months before the film, quickly reached the top of the Billboard charts 1 st film to win oscar for Best dramatic score AND song

R OCK AND R OLL The history of rock and roll begins in 1955 when Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” became the first rock tune to top Billboard’s chart. By the end of the decade the foundations of classic rock had been laid by a number of legendary performers: Elvis Presley Chuck Berry Jerry Lee Lewis Roy Orbison Fats Domino Little Richard

M USICALS In the 1950’s Hollywood continued to produce a large number of elaborate, high-quality musicals