Carl DiNello

After World War II, 1940's peacetime Hollywood required a little something old and a little something new to keep the attention of moviegoers. During the war Hollywood had experimented, and found success, with the production of war themed pictures as well as more mature films with new topical subject matter.

1940's Hollywood was undergoing a bout with subconscious guilt over the film industries depiction of racial and religious minorities in cinema. Or, was it just another avenue of profit to be explored. This was and is still subject for debate.

The old adage states that "crime does not pay," but in 1940's Hollywood, World War II would pay big dividends at the box office. For those not serving in the Armed Forces there was plenty of work and less ways to spend the earnings.

By the 1930's Hollywood films had made a major transition from silent pictures to films with sound. This was an historic advancement that at times must have felt like one giant step forward and one step back.

Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection includes eight distinctive and iconic horror films produced by Universal Studios during the 1930's through the 1950's. Universal has provided a treasure chest of horror films for their fans since the 1920's. However, those films included in this collection have proven to be some of their most popular.

The 1920's were a very notable era in film making primarily due to the transition from silent films to "talkies." The technology of synchronized sound was introduced in 1927 with the film debut of "The Jazz Singer," starring Al Jolsen, and the motion picture industry would never be the same again.

The Wild One starring Marlon Brando is an loosely based adaptation of a real-life 1947 incident that happened during a Fourth of July weekend in Hollister, California, when a gang of motorcyclists converged on and overwhelmed the small town for two days.

For movie fans and creators alike, the name Ray Harryhausen brings to mind a film industry genius. His imagination and creativity paved the way for pre-cgi special effects innovation. Without a doubt, Ray Harryhausen set the stage for strengthening the visual power of motion pictures.

Herbert George Wells was an English novelist and prolific writer. His many works included contemporary novels, writings on history, along with political and social commentary. He is, to most of us, most familiar for his science fiction novels. Wells, and author Jules Verne, are considered to be the foremost innovators of the science fiction genre and have been referred to as the "fathers of science fiction."

The Hollywood blacklist, also known as the entertainment black list, was directed towards a multitude of Hollywood producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, musicians, and other entertainment professionals. These individuals were denied employment in the motion picture industry based on their real or suspected political associations or beliefs.