Boom and Bust traces the movie industry through the momentous decade of the 1940s. It discusses changes in the structure of the studio system—including the shift to independent production—and the dominant stars, genres, and production trends through the period.

About the Author

Thomas Schatz is Philip G. Warner Professor of Communication at the University of Texas, Austin. His previous books include The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era (1996) and Hollywood Film Genres (1980). He is a regular contributor to various television programs on film, including the PBS series The American Cinema.

Acknowledgments
Contributors

1 Introduction
PART 1: THE PREWAR ERA
2 The Motion Picture Industry in 1940-1941
3 The Hollywood Studio System in 1940-1941
DUALS, B's, AND THE INDUSTRY DISCOURSE ABOUT ITs AUDIENCE
4 Prewar Stars, Genres, and Production Trends

PART 2: THE WAR ERA
5 The Motion Picture Industry During World War II
6 The Hollywood Studio System, 1942-1945
SELLING MILDRED PIERCE: A CASE STUDY
Mary Beth Haralovich
7 Wartime Stars, Genres, and Production Trends
8 Regulating the Screen: The Office of War Information
and the Production Code Administration
Clayton R. Koppes

PART 3: THE POST\VAR ERA
9 The Postwar Motion Picture Industry
SAG, HUAC, AND POSTWAR HOLLYWOOD
Gorham Kindem
10 The Hollywood Studio System, 1946-1949
11 Postwar Stars, Genres, and Production Trends

PART 4: ANCILLARY DEVELOPMENTS
12 Docurnenting the 1940s
Thomas Doherty
13 Television and Hollywood in the 1940s
Christopher Anderson
14 Experimental and Avant-Garde Cinema in the 1940s
Lauren Rabinovitz

Appendix 1 Total Number of Theaters in the United States, 1940-1950
Appendix 2 Average Weekly Attendance in the United States, 1940-1950
Appendix 3 Number of Feature Films Released
in the United States, 1940-1949
Appendix 4 Major Studio Revenues and Profits, 1940-1949
Appendix 5 Top Box-Office Pictures, 1940-1949
Appendix 6 Exhibitors' Poll of Top Ten Box-Office Stars, 1940-1949
Appendix 7 Major Academy Awards, 1940-1949
Appendix 8 National Board of Review, 1940-1949
Bibliography
General Index
Index of Films

Reviews

"This book represents some of the finest scholarship in the field. . . . Schatz draws on a broad range of archival and trade press sources, and organizes his findings to highlight the dynamics of studio house styles, executive management and the production strategies of the major studios as the studio system coped with an array of 'momentous reversals.'"—Matthew Bernstein, author of Walter Wanger, Hollywood Independent

About the Book

About the Author

Table of Contents

Reviews