Cinema in 1950s

The dawning of the 1950s:

•         1950s was recognizing for many new things. The rise of fast food (Mc Donald’s) and the use of drive-ins, post-war affluence, and middle class values, etc.

•         Youth reaction to middle-aged cinema. Older viewers were prone to stay at home and watch television (about 10.5 million US homes had a TV set in 1950).

Influential movies:

•         The influence of rock 'n' roll in younger people makes Hollywood to produce movies about it, Blackboard Jungle (1955).

•          It was the first major Hollywood film to use R&R on its soundtrack

Influential movies:

•         To appeal to the new juvenile market, actors were miscast, such as clean-cut crooner Pat Boone in April Love (1957), playing a juvenile delinquent who was sent to his uncle's Kentucky farm for rehabilitation.

Influential actors:

•         Marlon Brando, Do “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951) and receive an Oscar nomination. He also contributed a memorable role as a self-absorbed teen character. Marlon Brando was an example of young people, and was really a star.

•         Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, a singer and an actor in many money-making films of the 1950s that young people really love it.

 Elvis Presley:

•         Was a symbol of sex and rebellion, the type of dance that he use were really great.

•         His screen debut was in Paramount's Civil War drama Love Me Tender (1956) (originally titled The Reno Brothers), with a #1 single hit song ballad.

          

•          Jailhouse Rock (1957) is generally acknowledged as his most famous and popular film, but he also appeared in Loving You (1957) (noted for his first screen kiss).


Cheap teen movies: 

•Not of This Earth (1957)

• Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

•The Blob (1958)

•A Bucket of Blood (1959)

•The Wasp Woman (1959)

Threat of television: 

•Film attendance declined precipitously as free TV viewing.

•The increase in popularity of foreign-language films made inroads into the entertainment business.

•In just a few years, 50% of US homes had at least one TV set.

•Studios were forced to find creative ways to make money from television, converted Hollywood studios were beginning to produce more hours of film for TV than for feature films.

•Because of the emergence of television as a major entertainment medium, many studios converted their sound stages for use in television production.

•Labor was cheaper abroad, many producers were taking their film production overseas