The Great Depression on Film

by David Luhrssen

Overview

This book presents the Great Depression through the lens of 13 films, beginning with movies made during the Depression and ending with films from the 21st century, and encourages readers to examine the various depictions of this period throughout history.

The Great Depression on Film is a unique guide to how the Great Depression was represented and is remembered, making it an excellent resource for students or anyone interested in film history or U.S. history. Each film is set in a different sector of American life, focusing on such topics as white supremacy, political protest, segregation, environmental degradation, crime, religion, the class system, and popular culture in the U.S. during the 1930s.

This book is indispensable for clearing away misconceptions fostered by the movies while acknowledging the power of film in shaping public memory. The book separates fact from fiction, detailing where the movies are accurate and where they depart from reality, and places them in the larger context of historical and social events. Eyewitness or jourbanalistic accounts are referenced and quoted in the text to help readers differentiate between ideas, attitudes, and events presented in the films, as well as the historical facts which inspired those films.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440877131
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/23/2022
Series:	Hollywood History
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

David Luhrssen is managing editor and film critic of the Shepherd Express newspaper in Milwaukee.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Chronology xxvii

1 Gabriel over the White House (1933) 1

2 My Man Godfrey (1936) 13

3 Black Legion (1937) 27

4 The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 41

5 The Night of the Hunter (1955) 53

6 They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) 67

7 Sounder (1972) 79

9 Chinatown (1974) 109

10 Bound for Glory (1976) 121

11 The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976) 135

12 Kansas City (1996) 151

13 Cinderella Man (2005) 167

Bibliography 183

Index 189