The History of Movies from 1920-1959 in Fifty-Two Films: Week Zero

Movies have a magic unlike any other because it is a medium unlike any other. Cinema is created through a unification of visual arts like painting and photography, as well as literary writing, songwriting, musical composition, stage direction, and elements of cosmetology, foley, and fashion design. It is a perfect Frankenstein’s monster of the arts that affects viewers in a way that no other medium can. This amalgamation wasn’t created overnight; movie viewers ten, twenty, thirty years ago didn’t go to the theater and see a finished product just as films today are still evolving and will continue to do so ad infinitum. Whenever and wherever they were made, you will find that great movies will forever and always have a power over us. Understanding both film's present and especially past only adds to their effectiveness. Movies can transport us to other worlds, make us happy, sad, or angry, help us deal with problems or forget them, but most importantly they help us understand ourselves and others. By learning where we came from, both as people and artists, we create a clearer perception of those around us and gain more of the context that creates empathy, something that is all too lacking in our current times. 
The goal of this series is to track, over one year and fifty-two films, the important strides that the movies made in all aspects, from the technical to story to cultural impact and more. Through doing this, we see how both art and society have changed and gain a greater grasp of what more modern movies are doing, which again helps to create understanding and empathy. These fifty-two films, one a week, have been selected from 1920 to 1959 and range through every type of genre and span multiple countries of origin. Since Hollywood produced the majority of films during this period, and still does today, the main focus will be on the movies coming out of Los Angeles, but will also touch on Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, and Japan.

Film’s development began well over a hundred years ago, and well before 1920, with countless innovators pushing it forward, from the early days of Auguste and Louis Lumière to special effects magic of Georges Méliès. These early pioneers, when faced with a challenge, didn’t have any predecessors to lean on, they had to invent solutions on their own. Their advancements were mostly visual, however, and it wasn’t until the coming of the father of all directors, D.W. Griffith, that the language of cinema storytelling was born. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915), though justifiably controversial, was a huge step forward for film. What we now take for granted in movies made just a few years later were at the time revolutionary. Griffith cross-cuts between different scenes to create the type of tension and excitement that was previously missing from film. This jumping back and forth was expanded upon by Sergei Eisenstein in Battleship Potemkin (1925) and the famous "Odessa Steps" sequence, solidifying what we now know as the montage.  

By cutting together hundreds of arresting images Eisenstein showed the power of film montage. 

Griffith would respond to the racism of The Birth of a Nation with Intolerance (1916), an epic that crossed four different eras and focused in on the subject of, obviously, intolerance, showing that movies could be more than just entertainment.

Griffith responded to the blatant racism of his own film with not one story rejecting intolerance, but four, set across time from Babylon to modern time, stopping in the time of Christ and sixteenth century France along the way.  

Just as important as Griffith was to filmmaking, the early movie stars were to acting. In particular, Lilian Gish and Mary Pickford helped to write the book on screen acting and how it differed from the stage, delivering subtle performances that relied on reacting as much as acting.

Lillian Gish, seen here in Way Down East (1920), was crucial to the development of acting and stardom...

...as was Mary Pickford, see here in Little Annie Rooney (1925)

So why, when there were so many important developments prior, do we start in 1920? The fact is that, as remarkable as a total film dork like myself finds these early films, the average audience may not find them enjoyable. While I am in no way implying that you, the reader, are average in any way, many of these very old films are long and trying on the modern mind. If you wish a deeper history of film, I’ve added some pre-1920 extra credit films at the end of the post.

This list is not the best fifty-two movies made during this period, though they are all great films without a doubt, nor are they technically the most important. However, my hope is that after watching them you will have a knowledge of the story of the movies from 1920-1959 and will understand the language and impact of film developed during this period. My goal isn't just to tell but also to show, so I have included many visuals from the films in order so that all that is being discussed will be made clear.
Just as important as what is on this list is what isn’t on it: I have excluded overly famous movies that many will have likely seen already, including The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Singin’ in the Rain. These are tremendous movies, some of the greatest ever made, and should be watched by every person, movie fan or not, as soon as possible. Citizen Kane is the toughest to omit from this list because it is just so important to movie history, which can be easily divided into pre and post-Kane. Orson Welles’ debut film quite literally pushed forward directing, storytelling, acting, cinematography, writing, makeup, editing, music, and sound effects in movies, whole books have been devoted to its influence. Which is why I have left it off the list, for those wishing for a deeper dive I recommend Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker’s Journey by Harlan Lebo. Also, it is important to note that despite how influential Citizen Kane was, many of the ideas used did not originate with the film and instead were gathered together and perfectly executed along with other truly original developments in filmmaking that Welles and company developed. These prior influences I attempt to point out whenever they appear as well as remarking on any influence that Kane may have had in films made after its release. So though it is absent from the list, a long shadow is still cast upon this list by Citizen Kane.

Citizen Kane's groundbreaking story structure, visuals, and technical achievements make it a turning point in movie history.

Also excluded from this list are films I do not consider worth the time of the viewer, most notably Gone with the Wind (1939), a movie that has many fans but that I think, frankly, is not very good and not worth any other mention aside from this. The Jazz Singer (1927) is, as the first sound film, certainly an important film though not a particularly good one. It may have sound, but as you will see sound took several years to develop. There are a few other films that have not made this list for a different reason: they are hard to find in watchable condition, with no streaming options and only cheaply made hard to find DVDs available. Otherwise, these truly wonderful movies would have been on the list. The first of these, Erich von Stroheim’s Greed (1924) has a notorious history but is remarkable in its technical achievements, for example nearly twenty years before Citizen Kane, Greed features extensive use of deep-focus photography. The other film and this really hurts the most, is The Crowd (1928), directed by King Vidor. The Crowd (1928) is a unique and beautiful film about life, living, and the average person that has never been topped on that subject. If you ever have a chance to watch either Greed or The Crowd, do yourself a favor and do so.

With all that said, we are ready to begin. Starting in with a certain German film in 1920, a new post will appear each week with a new wonder to enjoy, explore, and discuss.

(You can now read the first post in the series)

Pre-1920 Extra Credit

Intolerance (1916)

Broken Blossoms (1919)

Stella Maris (1918)

   

Let me know what you think either here or on Twitter @bottlesofsmoke !