1936 - A Grand Year in Film

Silent Screenings and Once Upon a Screen have teamed up with Movies Silently to revive their popular Classic Movie History Project Blogathon covering all of the major periods in film history. We have decided to tackle 1936 for the Golden Era of this event. Many critics tout 1939 as the wunder-year of Hollywood film and that is quite true, but if there was one year that was pivotal in the operation of each of the five major film studios it was 1936. 

There was a notable difference in quality in the releases of 1936 compared to those made prior to 1935. Technical advancements were made in the sound departments, make-up was no longer being caked on as heavily as it had been ( men stopped wearing lipstick, thank goodness! ) and directors were experimenting with new filming techniques. The title cards of the silent-era, which were used to explain plot changes or passages of time, were slowly being discarded for dialogue-driven story-telling. 

Though the Depression was but a not-so-distant memory, life had improved for many with employment on the increase and families now having money to spare. This, naturally, effected the movie industry and on a whole it was doing phenomenal business with grosses up $250 million dollars from 1935.

Major Hollywood Happenings

Deanna Durbin made her film debut in Three Smart Girls, a frolicsome feature in the vein of The Parent Trap. She soon became the No. 1 money maker for Universal studios and just in the nick of time, for the studio nearly went bankrupt in the summer of 1936. Charles Rogers took over production of the studio after Carl Laemmle Jr. raked up substantial debts in the creation of prestigious productions throughout the early 1930s. Rogers reduced the number of productions ( and the quality ) of Universal's output for the coming decade. Indeed, aside from Durbin's films there were meager pickings among the Universal crop in the years to come. 

Dorothy Lamour became a star overnight when she appeared wrapped in a sarong in The Jungle Princess, a routine jungle yarn from Paramount. Prior to this film she was a minor band and radio singer.

Mervyn LeRoy made his last major production for Warner Brothers - Anthony Adverse. Beginning with the acquisition of A Midsummer Night's Dream the previous year, Warner Brothers hoped to present themselves to the public with a new image as a prestigious film company and acquired the rights to a number of best-selling novels. Anthony Adverse was a huge financial success for the studio and helped to promote this new image. Losing Mervyn LeRoy was a major loss for the studio but, on the other hand, they signed composer Max Steiner ( who had left RKO ) over the summer. Steiner was one of the top music-makers in the industry. You win some, you lose some.

The Boy Wonder, Irving Thalberg, died at age 37. His wife, actress Norma Shearer, was devasted and vowed to never remarry. But she did. In 1942, she wed a ski-intructor from Sun Valley. Thalberg had forged MGM into the studio that it was and, after his death, production came to a standstill - for one day. Then Louis B. Mayer took the reigns as king of the Lion's lair and gave birth to a new era of wholesome top-notch productions. He was not entirely cold towards his former boss however, and ordered the erection on the MGM lot of a vast new multi-million dollar Irving Thalberg Administration Building named in honor of the Boy Wonder. Thalberg did not live long enough to see his pet-project, The Good Earth, completed. 

Walt Disney signed a distribution deal with RKO. Even though it would be two more years before Disney released his first full-length motion picture, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he had the foresight to recognize television as being a major factor in the entertainment industry of the future. RKO had close ties with RCA, then the leading sponser in the video development field, and so Disney made his bid early. Coo...now that's what I call thinking ahead! Television may have been years away but it was often talked about in the media and even Columbia Pictures released a film in 1936 entitled Trapped by Television about a television pioneer ( Lyle Talbot ).

Warner Brothers attempted to break new ground with their release of The Green Pastures, basically a re-telling of the Bible as seen through the eyes of black children in an out-of-the-way Sunday school. Today, the film is considered racist for its portrayal of blacks as shuffling simpletons.

Silent film star John Gilbert died of a heart attack at the age of 38. Garbo's former lover never did learn how to "talk" for talkies and so the advent of sound put an early end to his career.

Bette Davis sued Warner Brothers for putting her in crummy low-budget films and they, in turn, sued her right back for breaking her contract and signing with producer Ludovic Toeplitz. Politics, politics......Anyway, Bette got the better end of the deal and Jack Warner decided to give her some better productions.

Historic epics were all the rage and the studios vied to outdo each other in splendid extravagance. Warner Brothers released The Charge of the Light Brigade, a G. A. Henty style yarn set in the North West Frontier; 20th Century Fox premiered Lloyds of London, the story of the famous insurance company; and MGM undertook the destruction of a city in San Francisco, featuring an earth-shaking finale.

Humphrey Bogart made a name for himself as a hood in A Petrified Forest. This was a role originally slated for Eddie G. Robinson.

The release of My Man Godfrey cemented Carole Lombard's reputation as one of the most beautiful and accomplished comediennes of the 1930s.

Biographical films were big box-office. The Story of Louis Pasteur not only became one of the top films of the year but it earned star Paul Muni an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the imminent doctor of medicine. Other biographical films released in 1936 included Mary, Queen of Scotland; The Great Ziegfeld ( Best Picture of the year ); Rembrandt; and Sutter's Gold.

William Powell and Myrna Loy continued their box-office success teaming up in three more great films, After the Thin Man, The Great Ziegfeld and Libeled Lady.

"B" films became the norm. For years cinemas had been experimenting with what to give audiences as an extra treat at the theatres. They tried live shows, shorts, newsreels, double features - until they hit on the "big/little" scenario. Audiences enjoyed seeing one minor film and one quality production. B films were being made by all the major studios to support their A productions, and they used these B films to test out new directors, actors, and special effects. 

Director Frank Capra got his name put above the title in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Capra believed that movies could have a social conscience and he struck a cord with post-Depression audiences in his latest retelling of his little-man-pitted-against-the-world philosophy. 

Irene Dunne makes her comedic debut. Dunne had scored a hit with Show Boat earlier in the year and then was cast, against her wishes, in a comedy - Theodora Goes Wild. She did not consider herself to be a comedienne but audiences certainly thought so and many more comedies soon followed. 

Technicolor Pictures hit theatres. Well, officially Becky Sharp, released in 1935, was the first full-length Technicolor film, but it wasn't until 1936 that the process was really perfected. Paramount released Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the first Technicolor picture filmed outdoors and United Artists featured Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer in blazing spectrums in The Garden of Allah.

Notable Releases of 1936

• The Charge of the Light Brigade 
• The Prisoner of Shark Island 
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
• Trail of the Lonesome Pine
• The Great Ziegfeld
• Modern Times
• San Francisco
• Libeled Lady
• Follow the Fleet
• Swing Time
• Mary, Queen of Scotland
• My Man Godfrey
• The Petrified Forest
• Lloyds of London
• Theodora Goes Wild
• Three Smart Girls
• Anything Goes
• The Plainsman
• Show Boat
• The Milky Way
• Desire
• Romeo and Juliet
• Dodsworth
• The Big Broadcast of 1937
• Little Lord Fauntleroy
• These Three
• The Garden of Allah
• Things to Come

Top Box-Office Films

1. San Francisco

2. Modern Times

3. Strike Me Pink

4. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

5. A Midsummer Night's Dream

Popular Actors of 1936

Every year since 1932 Quigley's International Motion Picture Almanac polled movie exhibitors across America to determine the Top Money Making Stars - those actors who consistently bring in audiences - and these were the results from 1936's poll. 

1) Shirley Temple 

2) Clark Gable 

3) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers 

4) Robert Taylor 

5) Joe. E Brown 

6) Dick Powell 

7) Joan Crawford 

8) Claudette Colbert 

9) Jeanette MacDonald 

10) Gary Cooper 

11) Jane Withers 

12) James Cagney 

13) William Powell 

14) Jean Harlow 

15) Wallace Beery

3-D Films of the 1950s

" A Lion in Your Lap! A Lover in Your Arms!"

So heralded the publicity posters for Bwana Devil, the first full-color three-dimensional feature film to be released in the United States and the film that was instrumental in launching the 3-D craze of the 1950s. The picture itself was a routine programmer with a lackluster story line, however, because it featured the new technology that took audiences into the third-dimension, tickets to Bwana Devil quickly sold out upon its premiere at the Paramount Theatre in Hollywood on Nov. 26, 1952, with lines of people spanning several blocks. This film, along with the horror classic House of Wax, created such a demand for 3-D that Hollywood studios churned out nearly 50 films within the following year, creating what many critics now term as the "golden age of 3-D"

The Creation of an Illusion

3-D image processing was not as modern as audiences in the 1950s may have believed. It was demonstrated as early as 1856 when J.C d'Almeida showcased before the Academy of Sciences his method of projecting, in rapid succession, two stereoscopic magic lantern slides - one colored red, one colored green - while the viewer wore goggles fitted with the same two color lenses. The slides were of the same image shot at slightly different angles but when combined at a fast speed the viewer's brain would process the image as one three-dimensional picture. 

William Friese Greene made several advancements to this 3-D process in the late 1800s when he created the first motion picture camera to film three-dimensional anaglyphic images. On June 10, 1915, audiences at the Astor Theatre in New York City previewed three reels of test footage filmed by Edward S. Porter and William E. Waddell of oriental dancers, rural scenes, and even Niagara Falls. Audiences were amazed with the process and in the coming decade several more short films were produced, creating a small boom in the 1920s. 

Film maker and inventor Harry K. Fairall enthralled silent movie audiences with the release of the first full-length 3-D movie - The Power of Love - in 1922 at the Ambassador Hotel Theatre in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, this film is now believed to be lost. 

The Polaroid 3-D Films

All of these short subject novelties utilized cardboard anaglyph ( red and green or blue ) viewers that a person would hold by hand up to their eyes. It was not until 1939, when Edward Land demonstrated the use of his Polaroid sheets as a filter in stereoscopic presentations, that the two-colored lenses of the past changed and the era of cardboard "glasses" began. Land had conceived of the Polaroid filter to reduce glare from car headlights. It just so happened it made a superior 3D filter! 

At the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, Chrsyler Corporation showed a 15-minute short titled In Tune With Tomorrow which used the new Polaroid 3-D projection method. This film showed a Chrysler Plymouth magically assembled in sync with music and was an instant hit at the fair where over 1.5 million people viewed it. It was so popular a year later the film was re-shot in color and re-released as New Dimensions. 

During World War II stereoscopic photography was prioritized for military applications and so most producers turned away from the new process. It was not until 1952 that it made its way back into popularity. Earlier that year, director Arch Oboler was approached by the Gunzberg brothers who demonstrated a new camera rig that they had invented for use in 3D filming entitled "Natural Vision". Oboler thought Natural Vision would be the wave of the future and decided to scrap the 10 days worth of "flat footage" he shot of his latest film The Lions of Gulu and re-film it in 3D. He also retitled it Bwana Devil. 

The major studios had all turned down the Gunzbergs invention because they felt that it was another "novelty" not worth pursuing. Also, many were already heavily invested in the Cinemascope process which featured wall to wall screens and stereophonic sound. It was only after Bwana Devil's success that the major studios decided to ride with the crowd and create 3D films. And they wasted no time getting down to business! Bwana Devil had premiered on November 26, 1952 and between January and October 1953, the major studios released 48 three-dimensional films. 

Televisions were slowing finding their way into the average American's home and, because of this, movie attendance was on the decline. 3-D was a fabulous method of bringing them back to the theatres. Humans have long held a fascination for in-your-face action and with the advent of 3D technology, some of their favorite stars were practically within arm's reach. These stars included Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Robert Ryan, Arlene Dahl, Vincent Price, Jane Russell, Rock Hudson, John Wayne, and Grace Kelly. Even the movie posters at the time appeared to grab the audience and pull them into the theatres. 

Highlighted below are some of the best and most memorable 3-D classics of this golden age : 

Bwana Devil ( 1952, United Artists ) 

The film that started it all. The 3-D lion may have jumped into audience's laps, but the story itself was a sleeping bear. Robert Stack portrays a lion hunter sent to Africa to kill off a pair of vicious man-eaters who are attacking workers during construction of a rail line. Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, Nigel Bruce.

Devil's Canyon ( 1953, RKO )

A marshal is unjustly convicted and sent to an Arizona prison in the 1880s. Westerns were an ideal feature for the 3-D process making the vast landscape of the West seem even more impressive. Dale Robertson, Virginia Mayo, Stephen McNally.

Flight to Tangier ( 1953, Paramount ) 

Three people, including a female FBI agent, follow a three million dollar letter of credit beyond the Iron Curtain into Communist territory. Joan Fontaine, Corinne Calvet, Jack Palance. 

Fort Ti ( 1953, Columbia )

A platoon of Roger's Rangers marches north to defend their territory against Indians during 1759. Before William Castle ventured into the realm of horror films, he directed westerns for Columbia Pictures. Once 3-D became popular, Castle was one of the first directors to try the new process and - like most of his films - he exploited it for its gimmickry. As he once said himself "I threw everything I could find at the camera". Virginia Mayo, Dale Robertson, Stephen McNally.

The French Line ( 1953, RKO ) 

"J.R. in 3-D!" Now that's an eyeful to see! Jane Russell went out with her limbs into the audience as a cheery Texas oil heiress who ropes herself a husband while on a trip to France. Jane Russell, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Hunnicutt.

The Glass Web ( 1953, Universal )

Edward G. Robinson portrays a TV executive who kills a blackmailing actress and then allows a young scriptwriter to be accused of the crime. This film was a not so subtle jab from the movie industry towards the television industry. Edward G. Robinson, John Forsythe, Marsha Henderson.

Gun Fury ( 1953, Columbia ) 

After an outlaw gang ambush a stagecoach, a Civil War vet takes off in hot pursuit to bring back his bride-to-be whom they have kidnapped. Raoul Walsh directed. Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Philip Carey. 

Hondo ( 1953, Warner Brothers ) 

Geraldine Page makes her film debut in this exciting western which is undoubtedly one of John Wayne's best pictures. The Duke stars as a half-Indian cavalry scout defending a woman and her son who live on an isolated ranch in unfriendly Apache territory. Geraldine Page, John Wayne, Ward Bond. 

House of Wax ( 1953, Warner Brothers ) 

Outside of Cinerama, House of Wax was the first time American audiences heard stereophonic sound. Considering that the film was put into production so quickly after Bwana Devil's premiere, it's a wonder that the film is as great as it is. Vincent Price was nicknamed "The King of 3-D" because he was the only actor to appear in four 3-D features ( The Mad Magician, Dangerous Mission, Son of Sinbad ). Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk.

Inferno ( 1953, 20th Century Fox ) 

Film critic Leslie Halliwell proclaimed that Inferno was "an outdoor melodrama which made better use of 3-D than any other film". Indeed, he is right. The film centers around a millionaire who is abandoned by his wife and her lover and left to perish in the desert after he breaks his leg. Keep an eye out for the excellent fire sequences. Robert Ryan, William Lundigan, Rhonda Fleming.

It Came from Outer Space ( 1953, Universal )

If sci-fi films weren't a drawing feature on their own, this was one of the first to combine aliens with shocks in three-dimension. It was also Universal's first film in the new process. Richard Carlson stars as a young astronomer who sees a spaceship land in the Arizona desert and finds that they can adopt human appearances at will. Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake.

Kiss Me, Kate ( 1953, MGM ) 

Even Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one of the most prestigious film studios in Hollywood, couldn't resist creating a 3-D film and they topped them all by making it a musical! William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" was boisterously brought to the screen in truly eye-popping color. Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller.

The Maze ( 1953, Allied Artists )

Some actors have to really stoop low to hold onto their film careers. Richard Carlson had a great run of films in the 1940s, but was relegated to horror and B films throughout the 1950s. Here, he "toad"ally hit bottom ground as a Scottish heir who inherits a title, a fortune, and the family curse to boot. Richard Carlson, Veronica Hurst, Katherine Emery. 

Sangaree ( 1953, Paramount  )

When a plantation owner wills his wealth to the son of a slave, troubles ensues between two families. Patricia Medina was so popular with audiences that she was the actress they enjoyed having in their lap the most. Along with Rhonda Fleming, she shares the honor of being the actress to appear in the most 3-D films. Fernando Lamas, Arlene Dahl, Patrica Medina. 

Second Chance ( 1953, RKO ) 

If this poster doesn't lure you into a theatre then you need to take a second glance at it. The producer of this film knew how to catch an audiences attention. For women, Robert Mitchum was the draw..and for men, Linda Darnell. The plot has something to do with a killer and a gangster moll in South America but the highlight of the film is the cable-car sequence at the end. Robert Mitchum, Linda Darnell, Jack Palance. 

Taza, Son of Cochise ( 1953, Universal ) 

The king of melodrama, Douglas Sirk, was level-headed enough to realize that a domestic drama had no 3D potential and so he attempted a western. This one was a sequel to Broken Arrow and featured the Rock as an Indian chief. Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Gregg Palmer. 

Creature from the Black Lagoon ( 1954, Universal ) 

A group of scientists discover a terrifying prehistoric monster whom they dub "Gillman". When they disturb his tranquil lagoon he attacks them. Creature of the Black Lagoon and House of Wax remain two of the most memorable 3D films of the 1950s. It also spawned two sequels - Revenge of the Creature ( also in 3D ) and The Creature Walks Among Us. Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning.

Dial M For Murder ( 1954, Warner Brothers ) 

Aficionados of 3-D consider Dial M for Murder to be one of the best examples of the process. Hitchcock utilized just the right proportion of pie-in-your-eye gimmickry and just plain ol' beautiful depth of vision. Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings. 

Gorilla at Large ( 1954, 20th Century Fox )

"He's in the aisles! He's in the balcony! He's EVERYWHERE " Yikes! Three murders occur at an amusement park and a young law student, who works part-time in a gorilla suit at the park, is accused. It takes a real gorilla to catch the killer. Corny plot but darn good dimension. Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J.Cobb. 

Other 3-D films included Drums of Tahiti, Dragonfly Squadron, The Nebraskan, Louisiana Territory, Phantom of the Rue Morgue, Cat-Women of Outer Space, Cease Fire, Money from Home, The Command, The Mad Magician, Southwest Passage, The Moonlighter, Those Redheads from Seattle, Wings of the Hawk, The Stranger Wore a Gun, Man in the Dark, Hannah Lee, Robot Monster, Arena, The Charge of Feather River, Jivaro, Top Banana, Jesse James vs the Daltons, Son of Sinbad, Gog, The Diamond Wizard and The Bounty Hunter. 

Although 3-D films had been popular throughout 1953, by the end of the year exhibitors noticed a decline in attendance. Many of the major 3-D feature releases were issued by the studios in both 3-D and flat versions and there was not a remarkable difference between attendance of the two. In fact, some films performed better in their non-3D version. Revenge of the Creature, released on March 23, 1955 was one of the last 3-D films to be released in the 1950s. 

The Polaroid method was difficult for theater owners to display with two prints having to be simultaneously projected and an intermission required for changing the film reels. Two projectionists often had to be employed to keep sync working properly, otherwise the picture could become unwatchable. Polaroid released a "Tell-Tale Filter Kit" for the purpose of recognizing and adjusting out of sync 3-D but, even so, exhibitors felt uncomfortable with the system and were turning their sights to Cinemascope instead. All of these factors led to the decline of one of the most magical exhibition techniques of the 1950s. 

Nearly every one of these films have been preserved and, while a large number are not released in 3D format on DVD, a handful of the best titles are available to purchase on 3D Blu-Ray. These include Dial M for Murder, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Kiss Me Kate. All you have to do is pop on your dimensional shades, sit back and have a bowl of popcorn, and watch gilly monsters and tight-clad dancing men leap into your living room. 

This post is our contribution to the Classic Movie History Project Blogathon being hosted by Movies Silently, Silver Screenings, and Once Upon a Screen and sponsored by Flicker Alley who, incidentally, have released a stellar compilation of 3D Rarities on Blu-Ray. 

Also, be sure to check out the 3D Film Archive website for a complete overview of the process and Silent Screenings post "Better Living Through 3D" reviewing the new 3D Rarities collection.