The American people in the 1930s and 1940s were no exception. They enjoyed many forms of entertainment, particularly if they could do so inexpensively. With the addition of sound, movies became increasingly popular. Comedies, gangster movies, and musicals helped people forget their troubles.

Why were movies popular in the 1930s?

In 1934, Will Hays, head of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association, said that "No medium has contributed more greatly than the film to the maintenance of the national morale during a period featured by revolution, riot and political turmoil in other countries." During the Great Depression, Hollywood ...

Why did movies and radio became popular in the 1930s?

Radio programs, music, dancing and dance marathons, and cinema were popular forms of entertainment during the Great Depression. Many people suffering from the effects of the economic downturn looked for inexpensive ways to pass the time and distract themselves from the challenging circumstances.

Why did Americans go to the movies during the 1930s?

In fact, the years of the 1930s are considered the golden era of Hollywood cinema. Eighty-five million people a week crowded movie theaters across America to escape their sometimes desperate financial situations.

Why do you think going to the movies became an extremely popular pastime in the 1930s?

Seeing High-Tech Hollywood Movies

Tickets on average cost under a quarter for the whole of the 1930s, down from 35 cents in 1929, so spending time in the cinema was an affordable form of escapism for many.

Top 10 Movies of the 1930s

Why were movies so popular during the 1930s quizlet?

Movies were also a cheap form of entertainment and they provided a form of escapism from the economic conditions most family' faced. Theaters provided special nights when they gave away items or offered cheaper prices to get in to the movies. they were also the best way to keep up with the government.

Why did the movies remain popular during the Great Depression?

Providing a place of escape for the public allowed the film industry to survive the hardships of not only 1932, but the unparalleled unemployment level of 1933.

Why was 1930s considered the golden age of Hollywood?

During the 1930s, the entire film industry transformed and “Hollywood” became synonymous with big studio pictures and became the standard for movies around the world. Films became cheaper to produce as studios vertically integrated the production process, which allowed the price of film attendance to go down.

Why did many people go to the movies in the late 1920s into the 1930s?

Movies had become a cultural institution as well as a cultural necessity. No other form of entertainment had come to play as important a role in American's everyday life, not even radio. Sixty million to 75 million people still faithfully attended even if the price of a seat was too much for them to pay.

Why did people resonate with film during the 1930s?

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, people went to the movies to escape the harsh realities of poverty. Movies were one of the few, and possibly the only business, that showed a profit during the Depression, because people had such a strong desire to escape their lives for a while.

How did movies improve in the 1930s?

The 30s was also the decade of the sound and color revolutions and the advance of the 'talkies', and the further development of film genres (gangster films, musicals, newspaper-reporting films, historical biopics, social-realism films, lighthearted screwball comedies, westerns and horror to name a few).

What was popular during the 1930s?

What were popular trends in the 1930s? Jazz and swing music, the Art Deco movement, and inexpensive forms of recreation were popular trends in the 1930s. Movies and plays with the themes of hope and humor were central to American life.

Why did people go to the movies in the 1920s?

Movies were fun. They provided a change from the day-to-day troubles of life. They also were an important social force. Young Americans tried to copy what they saw in the movies.

When did movies become really popular?

Cinema's Golden Age

The advent of sound secured the dominant role of the American industry and gave rise to the so-called 'Golden Age of Hollywood'. During the 1930s and 1940s, cinema was the principal form of popular entertainment, with people often attending cinemas twice a week.

When did movies become popular?

In the United States, film established itself as a popular form of entertainment with the nickelodeon theater in the 1910s. The release of The Jazz Singer in 1927 marked the birth of the talking film, and by 1930 silent film was a thing of the past.

When were movies popular during the Depression?

Movies. Comedies were popular films in the 1930s. A good laugh eased the mind and brought joy in a time of adversity. Towards the late 1930s, films that showed how America was fighting against the Great Depression became popular as well.

Why were movies so popular during the Great Depression What did they reflect about American society during the 1930's?

Hollywood played a valuable psychological role during the Great Depression. It provided reassurance to a demoralized nation. Even at the deepest depths of the Depression, 60 to 80 million Americans attended movies each week.

What were movie theaters like in the 1930s?

Many of the movie theatres of the 1920s and 1930s were so grand that people nicknamed them "picture palaces." Exteriors were gaudy, electric extravaganzas in the style of art deco, Middle Eastern or Asian architectures.

What was the attendance at the movies in the 1930s?

In 1930 (the earliest year from which accurate and credible data exists), weekly cinema attendance was 80 million people, approximately 65% of the resident U.S. population (Koszarski 25, Finler 288, U.S. Statistical Abstract).

What types genre of films were popular during the 1930s?

The most popular film genres of the time were musicals, gangster films, newspaper movies, westerns, comedies, melodramas and horror movies.

When did Hollywood become popular?

By the early 1920s, Hollywood had become the world's film capital. It produced virtually all films show in the United States and received 80 percent of the revenue from films shown abroad.

What was Hollywood style in the 1930s?

Old Hollywood Evening Gowns

Some evening gowns were adorned by ruffles, puff sleeves, high necks, or halter style necklines. One of the signatures of 1930s Hollywood inspired gowns were the backless evening gowns, giving a sultry peek at the back of the woman bold enough to wear it.

Why were movie theaters so popular during the Great Depression despite widespread poverty?

Movie Themes The popularity of films during the Great Depression is usually associated with people desiring an escape from the economic brutality of everyday life. In support of this belief is the fact that very few films from the period deal with the Great Depression in a realistic way.

Why were movies and radio so popular during the Great Depression?

Radios provided a much-needed distraction from the hardships of the Great Depression. They provided a social outlet as well. In some areas, neighbors would gather from miles around to listen to a favorite program playing on the one set in town. Radios provided reassurance.

How did movies made during the Great Depression reflect the time period?

Hollywood responded to the Great Depression almost immediately after the crash of 1929. The films produced were either “social conscious” dramas that reflected the plight of the farmers and white-collar workers who suddenly found themselves in a bread line, screwball comedies or escapist musicals.