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1910s – 1950s

Classical Hollywood

The studio system perfects clear storytelling, stars and genres: comedy, western, noir, melodrama.

From the late 1920s to the late 1950s, a handful of studios made most of the world's popular films with a system of contract stars, directors and technicians. The style was built to be invisible: clear continuity editing, three-act stories and glamorous lighting that kept the audience inside the fiction. Within that system, directors such as Hitchcock, Ford, Hawks, Capra, Wilder and Welles found room for personal themes, and genres from the western to the musical and film noir each developed their own rules. The system declined after a 1948 antitrust ruling forced the studios to sell their cinemas, and after the arrival of television.

Where
United States, centred on Hollywood
When
Late 1920s to the late 1950s
Key figures
John Ford, Howard Hawks, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Michael Curtiz, Ernst Lubitsch
Landmark films
Casablanca (1942), Citizen Kane (1941), The Searchers (1956), Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Legacy
Created the genres, the star system and the storytelling model that shaped world cinema

What to look for

  • Smooth continuity editing and clear, three-act stories
  • Studio-built sets, star power and glamorous lighting
  • Genres such as the western, the musical, the screwball comedy and film noir

Famous Directors

D.W. GriffithUSAErich von StroheimAustria / USACharlie ChaplinUK / USABuster KeatonUSAJohn FordUSAHoward HawksUSAFrank CapraUSAErnst LubitschGermany / USAPreston SturgesUSAMichael CurtizHungary / USAAlfred HitchcockUK / USAOrson WellesUSABilly WilderUSAJohn HustonUSADouglas SirkGermany / USAElia KazanUSAJosef von SternbergAustria / USAWilliam WylerUSAGeorge CukorUSAVictor FlemingUSAKing VidorUSAVincente MinnelliUSARaoul WalshUSAJoseph L. MankiewiczUSA
See all 36 directors
Nicholas RayUSAFred ZinnemannAustria / USALeo McCareyUSAJoseph LoseyUSA / UKCecil B. DeMilleUSADelbert MannUSAEdward DmytrykUSA (born in Canada)Gene KellyUSARobert SiodmakGermany / USASamuel FullerUSADon SiegelUSAStanley KramerUSA

Top 100 rated films

  1. It's a Wonderful Life 1946 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.6
  2. City Lights 1931 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.5
  3. Modern Times 1936 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.5
  4. Psycho 1960 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.5
  5. Casablanca 1942 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 8.5
  6. The Great Dictator 1940 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.4
  7. Rear Window 1954 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.4
  8. Sunset Boulevard 1950 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.4
  9. Witness for the Prosecution 1957 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.4
  10. Double Indemnity 1944 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.3
  11. The Apartment 1960 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.3
  12. Singin' in the Rain 1952 · Gene Kelly · IMDb 8.3
  13. Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 8.3
  14. The Kid 1921 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.2
  15. Vertigo 1958 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.2
  16. North by Northwest 1959 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.2
  17. Citizen Kane 1941 · Orson Welles · IMDb 8.2
  18. Some Like It Hot 1959 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.2
  19. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 · John Huston · IMDb 8.2
  20. Gone with the Wind 1939 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 8.2
  21. All About Eve 1950 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 8.2
  22. The General 1926 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  23. One Week 1920 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  24. Sherlock Jr. 1924 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  25. The Gold Rush 1925 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.1
  26. The Circus 1928 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.1
  27. Dial M for Murder 1954 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.1
  28. The Grapes of Wrath 1940 · John Ford · IMDb 8.1
  29. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 · John Ford · IMDb 8.1
  30. To Be or Not to Be 1942 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 8.1
  31. It Happened One Night 1934 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
  32. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
  33. On the Waterfront 1954 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
  34. A Face in the Crowd 1957 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
  35. The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
  36. The Heiress 1949 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
  37. Ben-Hur 1959 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
  38. Make Way for Tomorrow 1937 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 8.1
  39. The Wizard of Oz 1939 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 8.1
  40. White Heat 1949 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 8.1
  41. Inherit the Wind 1960 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 8.1
  42. Limelight 1952 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.0
  43. Greed 1924 · Erich von Stroheim · IMDb 8.0
  44. Rebecca 1940 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.0
  45. The Shop Around the Corner 1940 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 8.0
  46. Ace in the Hole 1951 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.0
  47. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1945 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.0
  48. Roman Holiday 1953 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.0
  49. The Crowd 1928 · King Vidor · IMDb 8.0
  50. The Ten Commandments 1956 · Cecil B. DeMille · IMDb 7.9
  51. Notorious 1946 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
  52. Rope 1948 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
  53. Strangers on a Train 1951 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
  54. Trouble in Paradise 1932 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 7.9
  55. Touch of Evil 1958 · Orson Welles · IMDb 7.9
  56. Stalag 17 1953 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 7.9
  57. Rio Bravo 1959 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.9
  58. The Big Sleep 1946 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.9
  59. Arsenic and Old Lace 1944 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.9
  60. The Maltese Falcon 1941 · John Huston · IMDb 7.9
  61. The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.9
  62. Mildred Pierce 1945 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.9
  63. Sullivan's Travels 1941 · Preston Sturges · IMDb 7.9
  64. A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 7.9
  65. The Little Foxes 1941 · William Wyler · IMDb 7.9
  66. The Big Country 1958 · William Wyler · IMDb 7.9
  67. Captains Courageous 1937 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 7.9
  68. The Roaring Twenties 1939 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 7.9
  69. Sleuth 1972 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 7.9
  70. In a Lonely Place 1950 · Nicholas Ray · IMDb 7.9
  71. High Noon 1952 · Fred Zinnemann · IMDb 7.9
  72. Seven Chances 1925 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.8
  73. Steamboat Bill, Jr. 1928 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.8
  74. Monsieur Verdoux 1947 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.8
  75. The Searchers 1956 · John Ford · IMDb 7.8
  76. Stagecoach 1939 · John Ford · IMDb 7.8
  77. Ninotchka 1939 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 7.8
  78. The Lost Weekend 1945 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 7.8
  79. One, Two, Three 1961 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 7.8
  80. Bringing Up Baby 1938 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.8
  81. His Girl Friday 1940 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.8
  82. To Have and Have Not 1944 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.8
  83. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.8
  84. You Can't Take It with You 1938 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.8
  85. The Asphalt Jungle 1950 · John Huston · IMDb 7.8
  86. Angels with Dirty Faces 1938 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.8
  87. Imitation of Life 1959 · Douglas Sirk · IMDb 7.8
  88. East of Eden 1955 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 7.8
  89. The Children's Hour 1961 · William Wyler · IMDb 7.8
  90. The Philadelphia Story 1940 · George Cukor · IMDb 7.8
  91. Gaslight 1944 · George Cukor · IMDb 7.8
  92. The Big Parade 1925 · King Vidor · IMDb 7.8
  93. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 7.8
  94. The Search (1948) 1948 · Fred Zinnemann · IMDb 7.8
  95. The Day of the Jackal 1973 · Fred Zinnemann · IMDb 7.8
  96. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1967 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 7.8
  97. Our Hospitality 1923 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.7
  98. The Lady Vanishes 1938 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.7
  99. Shadow of a Doubt 1943 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.7
  100. How Green Was My Valley 1941 · John Ford · IMDb 7.7