Hollywood Masterpieces of the 1940s
Wednesday nights, June 15 - July 20, 6:00-9:00pm
Held in the Picture House media classroom

During the 1940s up to 80 million Americans went to the movies each week, the Hollywood feature film was an entertainment mainstay, a daily habit, and a fully realized art form. The major studios produced movies of unparalleled sophistication while filmmakers refined genres, deepened narrative complexity, and challenged formulas. This six-week course explores the art and industry of “classical Hollywood cinema.” We will study major filmmakers, genres, and styles from the height of the studio era. Each week we will screen and discuss a masterpiece of the 1940s, concentrating on cinematography, production design, direction, performance, and sound. We will see some familiar movies in a fresh light, gain an appreciation of classical film aesthetics, and perhaps discover a few new favorites. Films include Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Meet Me in St. Louis, Double Indemnity, My Darling Clementine, and The Best Years of Our Lives.

Course taught by Scott Higgins:
Scott Higgins is an award winning teacher and associate film professor at Wesleyan University. He teaches courses in film history, theory, genre, technology and aesthetics. His books include: Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow (2007) and Rudolf Arnheim for Film and Media Studies (2011). His current book project is a history of sound-era serials entitled Matinee Melodrama: How Flash Gordon Invented Contemporary Cinema.

Course Outline:

Session One: 1940s Hollywood: A Cinema of Perfect Convention

                        Topics include: The Studio System, Story Structure, Continuity Editing,                                                 Cinematography, Stardom

                        Film: Casablanca

Session Two: Changing the Game: Orson Welles and Citizen Kane

                        Topics include: Why is this a Great Film? Welles’ Challenge to Formula,                                                 Narrative Complexity, Gregg Toland’s Cinematography, Sound                                                             and Performance

                        Film: Citizen Kane

Session Three: Projecting the Home Front with Color and Music: The 1940s Musical

                        Topics include: Film Genre and Wartime, Technicolor Design, The Star                                                 System and Vincente Minnelli’s Mastery of Visual Style

                        Film: Meet me in St. Louis

Session Four: Film Noir: The Dark Side of Hollywood

                        Topics include: Film Noir as a Style, Developments in Lighting and                                                 Composition, The Production Code, Billy Wilder’s Wit and Vision

                        Film: Double Indemnity

Session Five: Cowboy Noir: John Ford’s Postwar Western

                        Topics include: The History of the Western, John Ford’s Visual Style and                                     Themes, Directorial Power in the Studio System.

                        Film: My Darling Clementine

Session Six: End of an Era: New Forms, Old Stories, and a Social Message

                        Topics Include: Telling the Story Without Cutting, The Postwar “Return                                                  to Normalcy” on the Screen, William Wyler and Dramatic Realism                                                How to Shoot a Breakup           

                        Film: The Best Years of our Lives