“Hollywood and 1950s Movies” Review: Widescreen Wonderland

What is the greatest decade in American film history? For Foster Hirsch, the answer is clearly the 1950s, a period whose glorious output included All About Eve (1950), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Sunset Boulevard (1950), and An American in… Paris” (1950) and “An American in Paris” (1950). 1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Rear Window (1954), East of Eden (1955), The Searchers (1956), Vertigo (1958), and Some like it hot.” (1959) – but not limited to 10.

As joyful as that period was, the film industry itself was suffering from a number of crises. As Mr. Hirsch notes in his book “Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties,” the government forced studios to sell their movie theaters on antitrust grounds, while increasing numbers of moviegoers stayed home to watch the new television sets. The creators had provocative stories to tell, drawing the ire of censors, even as congressional committees were investigating the presence of communists at work. Mr. Hirsch, a professor of film at Brooklyn College and the author of several books, has written an entertaining survey of this productive and problematic period.