Margaret looks at how the Second World War changed Hollywood, but not necessarily for the worse.
The year is 1941 and America has just entered the Second World War. Hollywood still boomed despite shortages, rationing and the loss of its stars to the war effort. War movies started coming thick and fast. Two films, which are often quoted as two of the greatest movies of all time, made their way into theatres in these years: Orson Wells’ Citizen Kane, and Casablanca. The latter gave the world some of the most memorable lines of the Golden Age.
But it wasn’t just war movies that were produced in the years of the Second World War; escapist films allowed audiences a respite from war stories in the news.
Around the same time, Mr. Walter Elias Disney started to create something never seen (or heard) before: full feature length animated movies with sound and colour. But more on that next time.
In this episode, join Margaret as she reports for duty and explores the War years of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Program
Herbert Stothart: Suite from A Guy Named Joe
Charlie Chaplin: Charlie's Last Stand from The Great Dictator
Victor Young: Main Titles from For Whom the Bell Tolls
Max Steiner: Fanfare, Main Title, Love Scene and Finale from Now, Voyager
Bernard Herrmann: Suite from Citizen Kane
Roy Webb: End Titles from I Walked With a Zombie
Herman Hupfeld: As Time Goes By from Casablanca
Max Steiner: Suite from Casablanca
George M. Cohan: Fay Templeton Medley from Yankee Doodle Dandy
Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain from Disney's Fantasia