Chapter 12: Hollywood, 1952-1965
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. In the period from 1952 to 1965, Hollywood
a. produced primarily sanitized versions of traditional genre films.
b. experienced unprecedented box-office growth.
c. made many controversial films dealing with serious social issues.
d. abandoned its attempts to make anticommunist films.
e. no longer viewed television as an industrial threat.
f. none of the above
2. Hollywood’s transition to the production of color films was primarily the result of
a. audience demand for color films.
b. competition with television.
c. technological advances in camera and lighting design.
d. a desire for greater realism among film producers.
e. the studios’ desire to reduce production costs.
f. none of the above
3. Technicolor
a. enjoyed a virtual monopoly on color-film production throughout the 1950s.
b. had virtually disappeared as a color system by the 1950s.
c. was ordered by the courts to make its cameras available to independent producers.
d. saw a dramatic increase in production throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
e. both a and d
f. none of the above
4. The first commercially viable single-strip color film stock was made in
a. the United States. d. Germany.
b. France. e. Japan.
c. Great Britain. f. none of the above
5. The film stock that became the standard for color cinematography in the United States during the
1950s was
a. Agfacolor. d. Fujicolor.
b. Technicolor. e. Eastmancolor.
c. Cinecolor. f. none of the above
6. Eastmancolor
a. was more expensive than any other rival color system.
b. required a special camera in order to expose for color.
c. required special laboratories that developed only color film.
d. lacked the clarity and brightness of other stocks.
e. unlike competing color systems, did not use “automatic color masking.”
f. none of the above
7. Cinerama
a. was a 3-D projection system.
b. required three synchronized cameras.
c. required a special spherical lens.
d. was the same height as a conventional movie screen but over twice as wide.
e. was shown on an enormous flat screen.
f. all of the above
8. Cinerama
a. became the dominant widescreen system in the United States throughout the 1960s.
b. eventually adopted a single lens system but never became widely used.
c. eventually adopted a flat screen system that allowed it to become more widely used.
d. was never very successful though it was recognized as a technological breakthrough.
e. recorded sound on the same three negatives that comprised the image.
f. all of the above
9. Sound in Cinerama
a. was the same system as that used by conventional projectors.
b. was an improved optical system.
c. was seven-track stereophonic.
d. was recorded directly onto the film strip along with the picture.
e. was recorded magnetically, which resulted in a thinner, flatter sound.
f. both b and d
10. Cinerama
a. at its peak was only available in a few cities in the United States.
b. was never used for the production of narrative films.
c. was more expensive for the film exhibitor but not for the film producer.
d. started the movement to widescreen that the entire industry would soon follow.
e. was never very popular with audiences.
f. all of the above
11. The earliest 3-D films date to
a. the introduction of Arch Oboler’s Natural Vision in 1952.
b. Pete Smith’s “Audioscopiks” for MGM.
c. Harry K. Fairall’s The Power of Love in 1922.
d. the New York World’s Fair in 1939.
e. the Lumiéres anaglyphic system.
f. none of the above
12. Bwana Devil
a. was the first successful Cinerama film.
b. was the first film made in the single-strip Eastmancolor process.
c. was the first film produced in the Vista Vision process.
d. was the first film shown with seven-track stereophonic sound.
e. was the first film shot in 70mm.
f. none of the above
13. Which of the following films was NOT produced in the 3-D process?
a. How the West Was Won
b. House of Wax
c. Dial M for Murder
d. Bwana Devil
e. Kiss Me Kate
f. All of the above were produced in 3–D.
14. From the beginning, 3-D offered several advantages over Cinerama, including
a. requiring no special projection equipment.
b. a comparatively low conversion cost for exhibitors.
c. the requirement of only one camera negative.
d. better quality sound.
e. a wider image.
f. all of the above
15. 3-D films
a. were never popular with audiences.
b. were never produced by the major studios.
c. were extremely popular for approximately one year.
d. have not been produced since the 1960s.
e. have always required the use of polarized glasses.
f. none of the above
16. Which of the following were problems of the 3-D film?
a. It was considered unsuitable for serious subject matter.
b. It produced an unnatural illusion of depth.
c. Audiences disliked wearing the polarized glasses.
d. It was eclipsed by the emergence of CinemaScope.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
17. CinemaScope achieved widescreen through the use of
a. 65 and 70mm film stock.
b. masking the image in the camera’s aperture.
c. three cameras running in synchronization.
d. two parallel lenses on a single camera.
e. running the film through the camera sideways.
f. none of the above
18. What is the aspect ratio of CinemaScope?
a. 2.35:1 d. 1.85:1
b. 1.33:1 e. 2.85:1
c. 1.66:1 f. none of the above
19. CinemaScope
a. was the most effective 3-D production system.
b. required special cameras and film stock.
c. cost nothing for the exhibitor in terms of equipment conversion.
d. featured four-track stereophonic sound in addition to a wider image.
e. was never very popular with audiences.
f. none of the above
20. Early problems with CinemaScope included
a. the requirement of a specially modified camera, only a few of which existed.
b. lens distortion that made lines bend the wrong way at the edge of the frame.
c. poor quality optical sound that required enhanced amplification.
d. the expensive projectors exhibitors had to buy in order to show it.
e. an excessively bright image that audiences found uncomfortable.
f. all of the above
21. Public response to widescreen films
a. was initially tepid, with audiences exhibiting little desire for wider images.
b. grew slowly but steadily throughout the 1950s until achieving full acceptance in the 1960s.
c. was immediately enthusiastic, resulting in widespread production and theater conversion.
d. was initially hostile because the technical quality of the films was so poor.
e. was initially hostile because of problems with projection and sound.
f. none of the above
22. The widescreen production system that replaced CinemaScope as the industry standard was
a. Vista Vision. d. Panavision.
b. Tohoscope. e. Todd-AO.
c. Colorscope. f. none of the above
23. Between 1953 and 1957
a. CinemaScope was phased out of use.
b. only about one thousand theaters worldwide had installed the system.
c. almost every major studio in Hollywood had been licensed to make CinemaScope films.
d. films shot in CinemaScope were cropped to 4:3 aspect ratio for commercial release.
e. Cinerama was far more popular and prevalent than CinemaScope.
f. all of the above
24. The studio that developed Vista Vision rather than adopting the CinemaScope system was
a. MGM.
b. Warner Brothers.
c. 20th Century-Fox.
d. Universal.
e. Paramount.
f. None of the above; all of the major studios used CinemaScope.
25. Vista Vision
a. initially utilized 70mm film stock to create a wider image.
b. could be shot with a conventional motion picture camera.
c. required the use of an anamorphic lens.
d. had an aspect ratio that was fixed at 2:1.
e. used four-track magnetic sound.
f. none of the above
26. The first commercially distributed wide-gauge film process was
a. Todd-AO. d. CinemaScope.
b. Panavision. e. Vista Vision.
c. Cinerama. f. none of the above
27. Which of the following is NOT true of Todd–AO?
a. It operated at thirty frames per second.
b. It was a financial failure when it was first released.
c. It used 70mm film.
d. The first film produced in the system was Oklahoma!
e. It featured six-track stereo sound.
f. All of the above are true.
28. Problems with wide-film systems include
a. poor image resolution.
b. incompatible sound systems.
c. dramatically increased production expense.
d. the inability to use anamorphic lenses.
e. the impossibility of 35mm projection.
f. all of the above
29. Blockbuster films Lawrence of Arabia, El Cid, and 2001: A Space Odyssey were all shot in
a. CinemaScope. d. wide-film systems.
b. Cinerama. e. 3-D.
c. Todd-AO. f. none of the above
30. The film industry’s conversion from the use of optical to magnetic sound recording came as a result of
a. the widespread conversion of theaters to magnetic sound.
b. the technical superiority of magnetic sound.
c. the move toward more location shooting.
d. the compact size and flexibility of magnetic recorders.
e. the production of widescreen films.
f. none of the above
31. Which of the following was an early problem filmmakers encountered in adapting to widescreen?
a. Close-ups became grotesque.
b. Edits caused spatial disorientation.
c. Tracking shots and focal shifts distorted the image.
d. Shallow depth of field made composition difficult.
e. There was more space in the frame to fill.
f. all of the above
32. The long-take aesthetic
a. was largely the product of the move to widescreen production.
b. emphasized the expressive power of the edit.
c. forced the audience to concentrate attention on a single plane of action.
d. fragmented time and space in an abstract way.
e. isolated the individual from his environment.
f. all of the above
33. Which of the following is NOT true of the long-take aesthetic?
a. The image is composed in depth with simultaneous close-ups, medium shots, and long shots.
b. It was the traditional style of Hollywood from Griffith through the studio years.
c. It contains a higher density of visual information, which allows for more complex image
composition.
d. It is considered by theorists to be more “democratic” in offering the viewer a choice of focus.
e. It stretches back in film history to von Stroheim and Murnau.
f. All of the above are true.
34. The Hollywood “blockbusters”
a. usually had a running time of less than two hours to make up for expensive sets and casts.
b. remained extremely popular throughout the 1960s.
c. were often shot abroad in order to save on labor and location costs.
d. rarely utilized wide-film formats because they were too expensive.
e. were almost all musicals.
f. none of the above
35. The film that signaled the end of the blockbuster trend in Hollywood was
a. Lawrence of Arabia. d. Cleopatra.
b. The Robe. e. The Ten Commandments.
c. The Sound of Music. f. none of the above
36. The director whose controversial films such as The Moon Is Blue and The Man with the Golden Arm
challenged the Production Code is
a. Elia Kazan. d. Robert Aldrich.
b. Nicholas Ray. e. Otto Preminger.
c. Billy Wilder. f. none of the above
37. Nicholas Ray
a. was a friendly witness before HUAC.
b. was known primarily for his series of psychological westerns.
c. directed stylish literary adaptations like The Maltese Falcon.
d. was respected in Europe but never appreciated in Hollywood.
e. never had the opportunity to direct blockbuster-scale films.
f. none of the above
38. The director who made Kiss Me Deadly before starting his own production company for which he
made twelve films in seventeen years is
a. Robert Aldrich. d. Anthony Mann.
b. Nicholas Ray. e. Otto Preminger.
c. John Huston. f. none of the above
39. The director of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The African Queen, who specialized in
imaginative literary adaptations, is
a. Douglas Sirk. d. Bud Boetticher.
b. John Huston. e. Otto Preminger.
c. Robert Aldrich. f. none of the above
40. Bud Boetticher
a. was known primarily for his satirical comedies.
b. was known for his stylish literary adaptations such as Moby Dick.
c. was one of the architects of the modern adult western.
d. made anticommunist crime films that drew on his experience as a journalist.
e. was successful in Europe after being forced out of Hollywood during the HUAC witch hunts.
f. both b and e
41. The standard length of the feature film in the 1950s
a. stabilized at about ninety minutes.
b. was a little more than two hours.
c. decreased gradually over the course of the decade.
d. increased slightly before declining again.
e. was about seventy-five minutes.
f. none of the above
42. Arthur Freed
a. produced musicals that integrated music and lyrics with the dialogue and plot.
b. produced spectacular musicals for Paramount in the 1940s.
c. always directed the musicals he produced.
d. never had characters burst into song due to dramatic provocation.
e. had no musical experience before becoming a producer.
f. all of the above
43. Broadway vehicles such as Oklahoma! and South Pacific
a. were never very popular with audiences who rejected the “staginess” of the productions.
b. were originally written for the screen before being adapted to the stage.
c. often featured stars who couldn’t sing but had their voices dubbed by professional singers.
d. represented a contraction in cinema both of budgets and running times for films.
e. were no longer being adapted by Hollywood after 1960 because of their exorbitant costs.
f. none of the above
44. The blockbuster musical that set box-office records in the 1960s despite being critically panned is
a. Oklahoma! d. My Fair Lady.
b. The Sound of Music. e. South Pacific.
c. Hello, Dolly! f. none of the above
45. Star!, Dr. Doolittle, and Camelot are all
a. examples of successful blockbuster musicals of the 1960s.
b. musicals produced by Arthur Freed.
c. musicals that lost money despite enormous budgets.
d. films that kept Hollywood solvent during the turbulent 1960s.
e. films that brought the musical back from a temporary eclipse.
f. none of the above
46. The American comedian who is regarded as a major auteur by French critics but has received little
praise at home for his films such as The Bellboy and The Family Jewels is
a. Bob Hope. d. Jerry Lewis.
b. Danny Kaye. e. Billy Wilder.
c. Rock Hudson. f. none of the above
47. The German émigré director whose dark biting satires such as The Apartment and The Seven Year Itch
made him the foremost director of American screen comedy in the 1950s and 1960s is
a. Blake Edwards. d. I. A. L. Diamond.
b. Ernst Lubitsch. e. Billy Wilder.
c. Frank Tashlin. f. none of the above
48. Billy Wilder
a. did not write the screenplays for the films he directed.
b. directed only comic films throughout his career.
c. retired from directing in the early 1960s.
d. made films with an optimistic point of view.
e. directed only a few distinguished films.
f. none of the above
49. American film comedy in the 1950s and 1960s
a. became increasingly intelligent and sophisticated.
b. became increasingly juvenile, catering to younger audiences.
c. nearly disappeared as an important genre.
d. failed to develop any important stars or directors.
e. was almost exclusively focused on domestic, family comedy.
f. none of the above
50. The genre that is considered to have made the best and easiest transition to widescreen is
a. the musical. d. the comedy.
b. film noir. e. science-fiction.
c. the western. f. none of the above
51. The 1950s era western is characterized by
a. simplistic narratives aimed primarily at kids.
b. declining numbers and decreasing popularity.
c. a resistance to both widescreen and color.
d. an increased emphasis on character psychology and moral conflict.
e. graphic depictions of violence and bloodshed.
f. all of the above
52. The film that was at the center of the Supreme Court decision that extended First Amendment
protection to motion pictures was
a. The Moon Is Blue. d. The Miracle.
b. The Man with the Golden Arm. e. And God Created Woman.
c. Baby Doll. f. none of the above
53. Which of the following directors is NOT known for his 1950s era westerns?
a. Anthony Mann d. John Sturges
b. Budd Boetticher e. Blake Edwards
c. John Ford f. all of the above
54. Sergio Leone is a director most closely associated with the genre of
a. the art film. d. the musical.
b. horror. e. comedy.
c. the biblical epic. f. none of the above
55. The films in which graphic bullet wounds were first depicted were
a. spaghetti westerns.
b. film noir.
c. World War II–era war films.
d. American gangster films of the 1950s.
e. American westerns of the 1950s.
f. none of the above
56. The film that did more to demythologize the American West than any other is
a. The Searchers. d. The Wild Bunch.
b. Man of the West. e. The Magnificent Seven.
c. A Fistfull of Dollars. f. none of the above
57. The depiction of Native Americans in the westerns of the 1960s and 1970s
a. remained relatively unchanged from previous decades.
b. was generally that of a peaceful people who were the victims of genocide.
c. tended to avoid any political comment or perspective.
d. is no more historically accurate than previous depictions.
e. caused a dramatic change in the external form of the genre.
f. none of the above
58. Which of the following is NOT true of the 1950s era crime film?
a. The focus shifted from individual criminals to crime syndicates.
b. Gangster biographies became a popular subgenre.
c. Government pressure almost caused a halt in the production of crime films.
d. Films of the era often portrayed Communists as criminals.
e. The films revealed an increased sense of paranoia.
f. All of the above are true.
59. The Hollywood anticommunist film
a. continued to be widely produced even after the censure of Joseph McCarthy.
b. was almost exclusively made within the crime genre.
c. was never popular with American audiences.
d. coincided almost perfectly with the beginning of the HUAC hearings and the political demise of
Joseph McCarthy.
e. produced relatively few films.
f. All of the above are true.
60. The James Bond films
a. usurped both the gangster and anticommunist film while retaining many of their central qualities.
b. were among the most popular of all film series in the 1950s.
c. had a negligible impact on popular culture until the 1970s and 1980s.
d. were originally written for the screen before being turned into a series of very popular
novelizations.
e. were initially produced and directed by Sam Peckinpah.
f. none of the above
61. The genre that emerged as a distinct type of film for the first time in the 1950s was
a. the spy film. d. the musical western.
b. the caper film. e. the science-fiction film.
c. the biblical epic. f. none of the above
62. The first important science-fiction film of the 1950s was
a. When Worlds Collide. d. Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
b. War of the Worlds. e. Forbidden Planet.
c. The Time Machine. f. none of the above
63. The former UFA set designer who won numerous special effects Oscars for his work on Destination
Moon and War of the Worlds is
a. George Pal. d. Karl Freund.
b. Ray Harryhausen. e. Eugène Lourié.
c. Willis O’Brien. f. none of the above
64. The inventor of the Dynamation process that combined live action with stop-motion animation is
a. George Pal. d. Eugène Lourié.
b. Ray Harryhausen. e. Jack Arnold.
c. Nathan Juran. f. none of the above
65. The Thing began the 1950s film cycle of
a. the modern horror film. d. the stop-motion animated film.
b. the science-fiction film. e. the anticommunist film.
c. the monster film. f. none of the above
66. Allied Artists was
a. a special effects company specializing in monster effects.
b. the studio that produced the first modern science-fiction film.
c. the distribution company that employed Bert Gordon and William Asher.
d. a rival to the major Hollywood studios that first emerged in the 1960s.
e. the new name for the old B-picture studio Monogram Productions.
f. none of the above
67. Monster movies
a. were made only by low-budget exploitation producers and never the major studios.
b. were never shot in color or widescreen but always in black-and-white.
c. were made exclusively in the United States.
d. were never profitable on the studio budget scale.
e. was a short-lived genre cycle.
f. None of the above are true.
68. The primary target audience for American International Pictures’s films was
a. older children and teenagers. d. women of all ages.
b. young children. e. Europeans.
c. intelligent adults. f. none of the above
69. American International Pictures was best known for producing films in which genre?
a. crime films d. comedies
b. monster films e. musicals
c. westerns f. none of the above
70. American International Pictures’s business strategy was based primarily on
a. the star system. d. vertical integration.
b. block booking. e. a broad target audience.
c. the double feature. f. all of the above
71. The most successful of the American International producers, whose Edgar Allan Poe series raised the
profile of AIP artistically and financially, was
a. Samuel Z. Arkoff. d. Roger Corman.
b. Bert I. Gordon. e. James Nicholson.
c. William Asher. f. none of the above
72. In the 1960s and 1970s, science fiction
a. failed to become more of a mainstream genre.
b. attracted serious filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard.
c. declined to the point that the genre almost disappeared.
d. became the realm of only low-budget exploitation producers.
e. continued to be produced but resulted in no notable films.
f. none of the above
73. The first of the American “small films” to be released and gain notoriety was
a. Kiss Me Deadly. d. 12 Angry Men.
b. High Noon. e. The Night of the Hunter.
c. Marty. f. none of the above
74. The “small film” of the 1950s
a. was generally produced by the big Hollywood studios.
b. was shot on sound stages made to look like ordinary spaces.
c. featured Hollywood’s biggest stars playing average people.
d. represents an early connection between movies and television.
e. was influenced primarily by the French New Wave.
f. all of the above
75. The studio that benefited most from the rise in independent production in the 1950s was
a. MGM. d. 20th Century-Fox.
b. Paramount. e. United Artists.
c. Warner Brothers. f. none of the above
76. By 1958 the percentage of Hollywood films made by independent production companies was
a. 10 percent.
b. 25 percent.
c. 50 percent.
d. 65 percent.
e. 90 percent.
f. None of the above; in 1958 the studios still controlled all production.
77. Mike Todd’s Scent of Mystery was made in what revolutionary process?
a. Todd AO d. Natural Vision
b. Smell-O-Vision e. Cinerama
c. Aroma-Rama f. none of the above
78. During the decade of the 1950s, motion picture production and attendance
a. both declined by more than 50 percent.
b. both declined but only slightly.
c. saw a decline in production but attendance stayed about the same.
d. saw a rise in attendance while production remained stable.
e. Both rose slightly.
f. none of the above
79. During the decade of the 1950s, the Hollywood star system
a. continued operating just as it had in the 1930s and 1940s.
b. began to dissolve, as stars formed their own production companies.
c. became even stronger due to new profit-sharing contracts.
d. began offering actors longer contracts with less freedom than ever before.
e. put a new emphasis on expensive promotional campaigns.
f. c, d, and e are all true.
80. MCA
a. began as a movie studio in the 1940s but soon branched out into other media.
b. was an important force in maintaining the major studios’ control of their stars through negotiating
weak contracts.
c. was the most important distribution agency in terms of maintaining Hollywood dominance of
European markets.
d. went from being a talent agency to a media conglomerate through the purchase of Universal
Pictures and Decca Records.
e. expanded too quickly and went out of business in the early 1960s.
f. all of the above
81. The Production Code
a. was scrapped in favor of the MPAA ratings system.
b. applied equally to both Hollywood studio films and foreign and independently produced films.
c. continued to be applied into the 1970s.
d. was never viewed as censorship but always as a gauge of audience taste.
e. was never challenged legally.
f. all of the above
82. The Production Code was eventually abandoned because
a. it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
b. the studios wanted more freedom of expression for filmmakers.
c. competition from foreign films was hurting American producers.
d. the studios were being sued by filmmakers who wanted more creative freedom.
e. several films that were denied Production Code approval were released and became hits.
f. all of the above