1930s Warner Brothers Musicals - Mini Documentary

With the collapse of the market for musicals, Warner Bros., under Zanuck, turned to more socially realistic storylines. Because of its many films about gangsters, Warner Bros. soon became known as a "gangster studio". The studio's first gangster film, Little Caesar, was a great box office success and Edward G. Robinson starred in many of the subsequent Warner gangster films.[76] The studio's next effort, The Public Enemy, made James Cagney arguably the studio's new top star,[78] and Warner Bros. made more gangster films.[77]
Another gangster film the studio produced was the critically acclaimed I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, based on a true story and starring Paul Muni,[80] joining Cagney and Robinson as one of the studio's top gangster stars[81] after appearing in the successful film,[77] which convinced audiences to question the American legal system.[82] By January 1933, the film's protagonist Robert Elliot Burns-still imprisoned in New Jersey-and other chain gang prisoners nationwide appealed and were released.[83] In January 1933, Georgia chain gang warden J. Harold Hardy-who was also made into a character in the film-sued the studio for displaying "vicious, untrue and false attacks" against him in the film.[84] After appearing in the Warner's film The Man Who Played God, Bette Davis became a top star.[85]
In 1933, relief for the studio came after Franklin D. Roosevelt became president and began the New Deal.[86] This economic rebound allowed Warner Bros. to again become profitable.[86] The same year, Zanuck quit. Harry Warner's relationship with Zanuck had become strained after Harry strongly opposed allowing Zanuck's film Baby Face to step outside Hays Code boundaries.[87] The studio reduced his salary as a result of losses from the Great Depression,[88] and Harry refused to restore it as the company recovered.[89] Zanuck[90] established his own company. Harry thereafter raised salaries for studio
In 1934, the studio lost over $2.5 million,[94] of which $500,000 was the result of a 1934 fire at the Burbank studio, destroying 20 years' worth of early Vitagraph, Warner Bros. and First National films.[94] The following year, Hearst's film adaption of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) failed at the box office and the studio's net loss increased.[95] During this time, Harry and six other movie studio figures were indicted for conspiracy to violate the Sherman Antitrust Act,[94] through an attempt to gain a monopoly over St Louis movie theaters.[96] In 1935, Harry was put on trial;[94] after a mistrial, Harry sold the company's movie theaters and the case was never reopened.[94] 1935 also saw the studio make a net profit of $674,158.00.[94]
By 1936, contracts of musical and silent stars were not renewed, instead being replaced by tough-talking, working-class types who better fit these pictures. As a result, Dorothy Mackaill, Dolores del Río, Bebe Daniels, Frank Fay, Winnie Lightner, Bernice Claire, Alexander Gray, Alice White, and Jack Mulhall that had characterized the urban, modern, and sophisticated attitude of the 1920s gave way to James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Edward G. Robinson, Warren William and Barbara Stanwyck, who would be more acceptable to the common man. The studio was one of the most prolific producers of Pre-Code pictures and had a lot of trouble with the censors once they started clamping down on what they considered indecency (around 1934).[97] As a result, Warner Bros. turned to historical pictures from around 1935 to avoid confrontations with the Breen office. In 1936, following the success of The Petrified Forest, Jack signed Humphrey Bogart to a studio contract.[98] Warner, however, did not think Bogart was star material,[99] and cast Bogart in infrequent roles as a villain opposite either James Cagney or Edward Robinson over the next five years.[98]
After Hal B. Wallis succeeded Zanuck in 1933,[100] and the Hays Code began to be enforced in 1935, the studio was forced to abandon this realistic approach in order to produce more moralistic, idealized pictures. The studio's historical dramas, melodramas (or "women's pictures"), swashbucklers, and adaptations of best-sellers, with stars like Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Paul Muni, and Errol Flynn, avoided the censors. In 1936, Bette Davis, by now arguably the studio's top star,[101] was unhappy with her roles. She traveled to England and tried to break her contract.[101] Davis lost the lawsuit and returned to America.[102] Although many of the studio's employees had problems with Jack Warner, they considered Albert and Harry fair.[103
(Source Wikipedia 2021)

[@rubberdc]

That last piece of film showing the "nightclub dancers" ,,,,,,ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!!!! I wonder what all those dancers thought about it and if they saw the movie too? Later in life i also wonder what their experiences were and if any of them wrote a book about it .

[@Jabberstax]

Thanks for sharing this 👍

[@davidcheung7789]

Gene Kelly absolutely despised Busby Berkeley direction in the late 40's.

[@johngerry3256]

This is just a clip ripped from Thats Entertainment.