1. COM 320 History of Film
Some Pre-WWII Points

2. Pre-WWII Points: The WWI Experience as a Precedent
e.g., D. W. Griffith--Intolerance (1916) as pre-war “propaganda for peace”; Hearts of the World (1918) as propaganda for U.S. to enter war

3. Pre-WWII Points: The WWI Experience as a Precedent
e.g., The Big Parade (1925, D: King Vidor) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930, D: Lewis Milestone) as post-war realism

4. Pre-WWII Points: Throughout the 1930s, two major things colored
Americans’ outlook:
(1) The Great Depression
(2) The War in Europe
1933: Adolph Hitler named chancellor; Nazi party rules Germany
1935: Leni Riefenstahl completes Triumph of the Will for Hitler, a film documenting the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg
1937: Leni Riefenstahl completes Olympia for Hitler, a film documenting the 1936 Berlin Olympics

5. Pre-WWII Points: Leni Riefenstahl & Triumph of the Will
Actress, dancer, director. . . Notably in “mountain films” (e.g., The Blue Light, 1932)
Hitler’s designated filmmaker beginning 1933
Also directed Olympia (1937), covering the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Triumph of the Will (1935)
Lyrical propaganda!
Coverage of the 1934 Nuremberg Nazi rally, where 30,000 Germans gathered for four days
Crew of 172 people, including 36 cameramen and assistants (operating in 16 teams with 30 cameras)
Groundbreaking use of camera angles/locations/movement, as well as stellar editing, use of both diegetic and non-diegetic music

6. Pre-WWII Points:
Before Pearl Harbor, WWII was “not our problem”--indeed, most Americans opposed the U.S. entry into the war
e.g., Caught in the Draft (1941)--Bob Hope as a comic draft-dodger
e.g., Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) was viewed as tasteless, overstated
e.g., To Be or Not to Be (1942) was criticized for portraying Nazis so negatively--as buffoons (composer Miklos Rozsa backed out because of this)

7. Pre-WWII Points:
December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy (i.e., Pearl Harbor)
A recognition that film is central to people’s lives, led to. . .
U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) requested that Hollywood concentrate on 6 subjects: the enemy, the Allies, the Armed Forces, the front, the home front, the issues.
No more war comedies; the Nazis aren’t funny anymore (until Mel Brooks, of course, and his “let’s make fun of Nazis” motif across many films)
Click on image

8. Three Pre-WWII Hollywood Films
The Great Dictator
To Be or Not To Be
Rebecca

9. Charlie Chaplin & The Great Dictator
Click on image
Charlie Chaplin ( )
Great silent film comic (as you know)—his “Little Tramp” character was the most recognizable persona in the world
Emigrated from Britain in 1912
Slow to move to sound (his Modern Times (1936) was still silent); The Great Dictator, his first sound film, proved his mastery
The Great Dictator (1940)
Satire of Nazi Germany; Chaplin criticized for his targeting of Hitler
Beautiful use of pseudo-German language in Hynkel’s speech
After the scope of Nazi atrocities became known, it was decades before Nazis were satirized again (Hogan’s Heroes, The Producers and “Springtime for Hitler”)

10. Ernst Lubitsch & To Be or Not To Be
A German Jew, he first made films in Weimar Germany
Emigrated to Hollywood in 1922
Warner Bros.  Paramount in 1935 (head of production)  MGM 1939  20th Century Fox 1943
Known for the “Lubitsch Touch”
an unparalleled comic sophistication with guaranteed audience response!
Films with “The Touch” include:
Design for Living (1933)
Ninotchka (1939)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
To Be or Not To Be (1942)

11. Ernst Lubitsch & To Be or Not To Be
Produced independently by Ernst Lubitsch For United Artists
Starring Carole Lombard (her last film before dying in a plane crash during a war bond tour), Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Sig Ruman
Lubitsch was criticized for his treatment of Nazis. . . Film shot before U.S. entered WWII
Influences include Mel Brooks (“Heil Myself”)
Many elements of early dark comedy
Characteristics of dark comedy? (See genre handout)

12. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940)
Hitchcock’s 1st U.S. production
Under contract to David O. Selznick
Selznick an indie (SIP), but previously had been at MGM, Paramount, and RKO (production chief); also, married to “the boss’ daughter,” Irene Mayer
Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson
Based on novel by Daphne du Maurier
Genre = gothic romance
Quiz: Who is Max’s second wife?
Quiz: What change was demanded
by Hays Office?

13. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940)
Techniques
Music by Franz Waxman
DP = George Barnes
Use of models/miniatures
Gobos galore! (see next slide)
Who won the Academy Award for Best Picture?
See optional reading on class website to learn about the working relationship between Hitchcock and Selznick (from Thomas Schatz book, The Genius of the System)

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