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Chapter 5
The 1930s: Political Movies and the Great Depression
The purpose of this chapter is to examine the rich era of political filmmaking that took
place during the Great Depression and pre-war period. Economic hardship and political
turmoil showed up at the cinema in grim, pessimistic films that spoke to the widespread
despair. As the New Deal took effect the tenor of films shifted to a more optimistic
outlook. At the same time, the studios organized ever more rigidly into a monopolistic
industry and created more conservative-minded films. Important movie figures of the
era include director Frank Capra, stars Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple, while the
popular genres include gangster, comedy, musical, and melodrama.
Objectives for Chapter 5:
1. Explore the impact of the Depression and FDR’s New Deal on the making of movies
and in the political content of movies.
2. Emphasize the growth of the industry in this period and the tremendous number of
films produced.
3. Note the trend begun with All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) of Hollywood
honoring with Oscars so-called “message movies.”
4. Chart the rise of the gangster film genre in times of class and ethnic division and
suggest their pessimistic response to how fair or successful the American system
was.
5. Outline the comics and comedies that challenged and mocked traditional values.
6. Note how sound affected the style and political expressiveness of various film
genres, from musicals to melodramas.
7. Detail the number and themes of overtly political films about government and
elected officials from this period, noting that many express cynicism toward both.
Discussion Questions for Chapter 5:
1. Why did many films of this era offer the image of a strong leader as the solution to
society’s troubles? How did they portray the masses?
2. What were some films that showed a different solution and what kind of political
message did they send?
3. How did audiences and the popular press receive Our Daily Bread, for example?
4. What are the fears of this era that are displaced into negative portrayals of collective
action?
5. How and why did Hollywood intervene in the campaign of Upton Sinclair for
governor of California?
6. Why did political films ebb in the mid-1930s?
7. How does the dimpled, smiling child star Shirley Temple fit into the tenor of the
times? In what way can FDR’s endorsement of the star be considered a political
statement?
8. What are the political interpretations given to The Wizard of Oz and Gone With The
Wind? How did the reception of Gone With The Wind differ from the similarly
themed The Birth of a Nation?
9. What is the significance of the John Ford and Henry Fonda relationship?
10. It is easy to see an optimistic even naïve political idealism at work in Frank Capra’s
political classic, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
a. Why is such a view too simple?
b. What other political notes does this film sound?
c. How did the politicians and the press of the day respond to it and why?
Assignments for Chapter 5:
1. Write an essay comparing and contrasting the overt politics in Grapes of Wrath the
novel vs. the film.
2. Research how popular press critics of the time responded to politically controversial
films like The Grapes of Wrath, Gabriel Over the White House, Gone With The
Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Little Caesar. Did they warn about the
political messaging, implicit or explicit, to the film under study? Why? In what way
are their responses symptomatic of the politics of the day?
3. Research the conservative campaign spearheaded by Hollywood power players
against Upton Sinclair. What did they fear in him? How did they vilify him? How
did they use films to get across their biased viewpoint?
