Markets

By 1950 it was estimated that over 10.5 million U.S.
households had a television, and that number was climbing
rapidly. Post-war affluence seemed ripe for the taking.
However, with this affluence came a number of alternate
leisure activities.

Not only was television grabbing a larger share of the
entertainment pie, but there were also newly created
opportunities outside the movie theater. A couple of
examples would be; 'fast food restaurants,' and 'drive-ins'.
It didn't take long for these to catch on and gain their
share of the publics leisure time and dollar..

The motion picture industry needed to again change a large
portion of its focus. Older viewers became the ones most
likely to stay home and watch television. The younger market
was growing in both size and spending power, and the
youth-oriented movie goer had little interest in films
produced to appeal to the older market. They demanded
something fresh, and whenever possible a bit of a rebellious
edge.

Hollywood found its creativity challenged in reaching for
this new market. They tried the "bigger is
better" approach, hoping to draw people away from
the small-screen television and back into the full-color,
large-screen motion picture theatre. They experimented with
gimmicks such as 1952's 3-D efforts Bwana Devil, and This is
Cinerama. 1953 brought to the big-screen lavish new color
filming techniques such as 20th Century-Fox's CinemaScope
production of The Robe, and Paramount's Vista Vision
presentation of White Christmas.

While these efforts worked to some extent, Hollywood
realized that these newer color production methods were very
costly and would not solve their problem. They had to be
more topic specific to reach the teenage youth-oriented
market by providing them with both stories and stars they
could relate to.

Motion pictures were specifically produced to include the
popularity of Rock and Roll music in their story lines and
literally on the screen. Many of the most popular singers
and singing groups of this time would appear in these films
much to the delight of the younger fan. An example being
Rock Around the Clock, featuring disc jockey Allan Freed,
Bill Haley and His Comets (performing the classic title
song), The Platters, and more. Don't Knock the Rock, was a
response to the older generations lack of acceptance of rock
and roll music. There were biographical films like The Buddy
Holly Story, and La Bamba which told the story of the
careers of both Buddy Holly and Richie Valens as well as
their tragic ending along with fellow star The Big Bopper in
a 1959 plane crash.

Hollywood's marketing efforts in this area proved very
successful with the youth market reaching $10 billion per
year. Hollywood hit a goldmine in its exploitation of this
market and with teenagers becoming more socially rebellious,
capitalized on their sentiment with films like The
Blackboard Jungle, High School Confidential, The Wild One,
and Rebel Without a Cause.

It wasn't only the pictures portraying rebellion, it was
also the stars. Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Elvis Presley
provided enough personal controversy to be very successfully
marketed to the young audience.

1950's Hollywood produced a great many memories that linked
to traditional movie making, but now also provided the
foundation for the movie memories of a new generation.

Carl DiNello is an Article Author and Blog Owner whose
passion is Hollywood history and those movies from the
1920's - 1950's that make up this rich history.

Hollywood Movie Memories Movies to Remember and Discover!

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