Amy T Peterson, Valerie Hewitt, Heather Vaughan, et al

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by The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through American History 1900 to the Present (pdf)


  established themselves in the thirties. In the early years, Green Pastures

  and Of Thee I Sing were hits, as was The Barretts of Wimpole Street. Many

  of the plays produced during this period later became some of Holly-

  wood’s best-known feature films, including The Man Who Came to Dinner.

  Other notables include Life with Father, Pins and Needles, Our Town, Of

  Mice and Men, and George White’s Scandals. Eugene O’Neil, Bernard

  Shaw, Clifford Odets, and Thornton Wilder all had hits on the Great

  White Way. Composers and librettists such as Cole Porter, George

  Gershwin, and the team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart first came

  The 1930s

  75

  to the fore. Actors such as Laurence Olivier, Noel Coward, Preston

  Sturges, Lynn Fontanne, Beatrice Lillie, and Hope Williams all had noted

  roles on the stage.

  Two of the most famous dancers to come out of the thirties were

  Martha Graham and Serge Lifar. Graham, a native New Yorker, was an

  interpretive dancer and choreographer. Lifar was a Russian dancer and

  choreographer, who had danced with Diaghilev in the twenties. A self-

  taught artist, she made her American debut in 1933.

  In part because of the amount of nudity present in the films of the

  early thirties, the Catholic Legion of Decency (also known as the Hayes

  Department) was formed in 1933 and began pressuring the industry to

  enforce the Production Code, a plan for self-censorship that had been

  instituted in the twenties that had been all but ignored. In 1934, the film

  industry succumbed to the pressure and began censoring films for nudity,

  sex, and violence.

  Despite the new censorship, the public still went in droves to the mov-

  ies, primarily to escape the dregs of the Depression. In answer to this,

  many films had a fantastical, elaborate, inflated atmosphere meant to help

  everyday people forget their troubles. Gangster and horror movies were

  especially popular, as were romances, dramas, and musicals.

  Many call this era the ‘‘Golden Age of Hollywood,’’ a time when stars

  were their brightest and films their most impressive. Stars such as Norma

  Shearer, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis,

  Carol Lombard, and Mae West had huge followings, as did male stars

  such as Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, James Stewart, and

  Claude Rains. The most popular comedies featured the Marx Brothers

  and W. C. Fields. Pre-code musicals choreographed by Busby Berkeley

  featured huge numbers of chorus girls in various states of undress. William

  Powell was featured in an extremely popular detective series, beginning

  with The Thin Man.

  Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire danced into the hearts of their ador-

  ing public. Although not dancers, other couples such as Joan Blondell and

  James Cagney or Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were repeatedly

  paired to great success and box office receipts. Child star Shirley Temple

  won the hearts of thousands with her tap-dancing skills and professional

  cuteness.

  The most memorable films of the decade, however, all seem to have

  been produced the same year. Moviegoers were able to see The Wizard of

  Oz; Gone with the Wind; Young Mr. Lincoln; Dark Victory; Goodbye, Mr.

  Chips; and Another Thin Man in 1939 alone. Others produced during that

  76

  ART AND ENTERTAINMENT

  decade included the Marx Brothers’ Animal Crackers, Charlie Chaplin’s

  City Lights, Joseph Von Sternberg’s Blue Angel and Morocco, and George

  Cukor’s The Women and Marie Antoinette.

  During the 1930s, the costume designer became more well known to

  the general public. Because of the emphasis on the lavish, fantastical, and

  glamorous, designers such as Edith Head, Adrian, and Travis Banton

  became known to the general public. These costume designers held mas-

  sive influence not only over the costumes used in movies but the everyday

  fashion trends of the 1930s as well. From the Mata Hari hat, to platinum

  blond hair, to Victorian-style evening capes, these designers unintention-

  ally skewed the fashion world.

  RADIO

  The majority of the necessary technology for commercial radio was devel-

  oped in the previous decade. Government continued to reevaluate the way

  radio was controlled, and, in 1934, the Federal Communications Com-

  mission took over from the Federal Radio Commission that had been

  established in 1927.

  Programming in general became more refined and stable. By the mid-

  thirties, there were regular news broadcasts with substantial news pro-

  grams. The standard morning programming included the weather, talk,

  and recorded music. When FDR became president in 1933, he instituted

  a radio series called fireside chats in which he explained his plans for relief

  from the Great Depression.

  Advertisers and marketers more aggressively targeted radio audiences

  by associating various products with specific programs. Broadway and

  Hollywood performers and famous newscasters used their popularity to

  sell any number of commercial products. Sponsored serial dramas or ‘ soap

  operas’’ including The Romance of Helen Trent and Ma Perkins drew audi-

  ences week after week.

  Some popular entertainment programs included vaudeville-like per-

  formers such as Fibber McGee and Molly, George Burns and Gracie

  Allen, Charlie McCarthy (with ventriloquist Edgar Bergen), Jack Benny,

  and Kate Smith. Amos n’ Andy was a series about two black men from the

  country who were continually confused by city life. It began as a local

  Chicago program in the late 1920s, became a national NBC program in

  1929, and peaked in popularity in the early 1930s at 40 million people

  (Kyvig 2002). Other entertainment programs featured on the radio

  included the quiz show Information Please, One Man’s Family featuring

  typical family chatter, and the WLS Barn Dance.

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  77

  Film Costume Designers and the Fashion

  Industry. Although most costume design-

  ers of the 1920s received little or no atten-

  tion for their work on Hollywood films,

  by the 1930s, these and many more

  designers were beginning to be recognized

  and valued by the industry as a necessary

  component to a film’s success. Attributable

  in part to the increasing interest of execu-

  tives in gaining larger female audiences,

  the costume designer became an integral

  part of the publicity machine. This, in

  turn, caused the fashion press to pay

  greater attention to the ‘ looks’ that these

  designers were creating for the screen,

  looks that appealed to shoppers from all

  walks of life.

  The 1939 film The Women shows examples

  Designers were frequent voices in fan

  of evening gowns with long, flared skirts.

  magazines such as Silver Screen, New

  [Courtesy of Photofest]

  Movie, Screen Book Magazine, Screenland,

  and the ever-popular Photoplay. They dis-

  cussed trends, what their jobs were like,

  client
ele, designing their personal ward-

  and gossip from backstage. Reports in

  robes. A select few attempted to make

  these magazines were keen to note new

  the bridge from film design to fashion,

  designs and highlight the designers’ indi-

  with mixed success. Designers such as

  vidual influences on the fashion industry.

  Edith Head, Orry-Kelly, Walter Plun-

  Adrian, in particular, was often high-

  kett, Travis Banton, and Howard Greer

  lighted for his work with Greta Garbo,

  ventured into fashion design with some

  Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer.

  success. Adrian, however, had one of the

  Designers reacted to this newfound

  more successful cross-over careers into

  appreciation and notoriety in diverse

  fashion in the forties, in part because of

  ways. Many designers used the publicity

  his continual appearance in film fan

  to further their careers within film, get-

  magazines in the thirties and despite

  ting increasingly more important projects.

  having never been nominated for an

  Others used their success to gain celebrity

  Academy Award.

  78

  ART AND ENTERTAINMENT

  In 1937 and 1938, Fortune magazine conducted a survey that found

  radio to be the most popular pastime in the nation. Because of the trust

  listeners placed in radio broadcasts, one of the biggest broadcasting

  debacles occurred on Halloween of 1938. A live performance of H. G.

  Wells’ fictional tale of alien invasion, War of the Worlds, was produced by

  Orson Welles and broadcast on CBS, causing a considerable panic among

  listeners, who believed that the alien invasion was actually taking place.

  Television was still in development in the 1930s, and an early incarna-

  tion was taken by RCA engineers to the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

  Neither programming nor commercial television sets were available to the

  masses until the following decade.

  T H E

  1940S

  ART MOVEMENTS

  As the world was transformed by WWII, the environment of the newly

  global, technological society brought about a larger art movement called

  Modernism. European artists fled their home countries and brought the

  concept of Modernism to the United States with them. This was the sec-

  ond generation of Modernism, a movement that emphasized the power of

  human beings to create, shape, and improve their environment. Artists

  achieved this power by reexamining everything and using scientific knowl-

  edge, technology, and practical experimentation. By the 1940s, Modern-

  ism was infused in all forms of American art: photography, sculpture,

  paintings, literature, wearable art, furniture, and architecture.

  Modernism spawned another movement called abstract expressionism,

  which could be described as an attitude rather than a specific style. It was

  characterized by individuality, spontaneous improvisation, and freedom of

  expression. Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko were

  artists with very different styles, but they are all considered abstract expres-

  sionists. This art was introspective, with artists and writers looking inter-

  nally for their inspiration instead of looking out at the larger world. They

  moved away from political themes and toward individual expression.

  New York City was full of artists who adopted characteristics of

  abstract expressionism. Many of these artists had been introduced to each

  other by the Federal Arts Project in the 1930s. American had seen an

  influx of European artists since the beginning of the war, and these

  emigrants tutored their American counterparts. New York City had

  replaced Paris as the art capital of the world. This informal group was

  The 1940s

  79

  referred to as the New York School, and it grew to its peak in the 1950s

  and 1960s.

  MUSIC AND LITERATURE

  Although classical music remained popular throughout the decade, jazz

  and its many variations eclipsed all other genres of music in the United

  States during the 1940s. This period was known as the Big Band Era,

  and, during it, swing music was king. Swing, or swing jazz, was a varia-

  tion of jazz that featured a strong rhythm section and fast tempos. It had

  evolved from an alternative music style into popular music by 1935, and,

  by the early 1940s, it peaked as a music genre that is inextricably linked

  to WWII. Originally recorded in 1939, Glenn Miller’s ‘‘In the Mood’ is

  considered by most to be the musical anthem of WWII. White audiences

  were drawn to the Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman

  orchestras because the music was easy to dance to and had an upbeat

  rhythm. Most clubs and hotels were still segregated at that time, and

  although black musicians were allowed to entertain, they were not allowed

  to patronize the same establishments.

  Wartime was depressing and good music with lively dancing was one

  way to leave the war behind. Dance bands, or swing bands, got everyone

  on their feet. Dancing in the 1940s was a popular pastime for nearly every

  age and ethnic group. Either live at a club or hotel or heard on the radio,

  people got up and began to dance with any partner available. Swing music

  had a dense rhythm and used a hard riff against which the melody could

  be played. Tightly arranged three-minute pieces were written for 78 RPM

  records, but longer improvisations created open-ended arrangements for

  radio and live performances.

  The instrumentation in swing music was a departure from that of the

  early bands. Larger bands, often 16 pieces, included trumpets and trom-

  bones for lighter and brighter sound, counterbalanced by saxophones and

  clarinets. The rhythm was jazzed up a bit with an expanded drum set,

  piano, and a string bass.

  A lone conductor waving his baton was replaced by leader musicians

  who took center stage. Bandleader Benny Goodman was proclaimed the

  ‘‘King of Swing,’’ but he was also an accomplished clarinetist whose solos

  were flashy and toe tapping. Similarly, bandleaders Glenn Miller, Tommy

  Dorsey, and Artie Shaw would alternate between leading the group and

  playing a solo on each piece. Count Basie and Duke Ellington played

  piano full time on each song while also leading their bands. Many bands

  developed gimmicks that made them stand out from the other bands.

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  ART AND ENTERTAINMENT

  Shep Fields’ band got the name Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm as

  one of his sidemen blew bubbles through a straw in a glass of water. Gary

  Gordon and his Tick Tock Rhythm came about as he developed his

  trademark sound using temple blocks in his arrangements.

  Vocalists traveled with the bands but were considered secondary to the

  instrumentalists. Oftentimes, the entire band would sing or ‘ scat’ an

  entire chorus in the southern tradition of call and response. Patriotic

  music was great for sing-a-longs, and everyone joined in to sing Johnny

  Mercer’s ‘‘G.I. Jive,’’ Carl Hoff ’s ‘ You’re a Sap Mr. Jap,�
�’ and the unforget-

  table ‘‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition’ by Kay Kyser. Kate

  Smith will always be remembered for her rendition of ‘‘God Bless Amer-

  ica,’’ and the Andrews Sisters will forever be associated with ‘‘Boogie

  Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.’’

  Sentimental crooners became popular, and Bing Crosby was the most

  popular. He introduced ‘ White Christmas’’ in 1942 and ‘‘Silent Night’ in

  1943, and, from 1944 to 1948, he was voted the top money-making star

  at the box office five times in the Quigley Publications annual poll

  (Giddins 2001). Frank Sinatra caused fan hysteria early in 1940 and soon

  became the teen idol of America. When he appeared at New York’s Times

  Square in 1943, he was mobbed by ‘ bobbysoxers,’’ teenage girls who wore

  short white socks instead of pantyhose.

  Ballads became slower and more sentimental, whereas fast ‘ jump’’

  tunes became almost frantic. Bands would alternate slow ballads with

  jump tunes to give the dancers a breather. Whereas the action-packed

  dance tunes really livened up a place, the slower ballads were very popular

  and nicknamed ‘‘G.I. nostalgia’ for the young servicemen who left

  girlfriends behind when they went off to war (Hakim 1999).

  Every segment of society found a form of swing appropriate for listen-

  ing or dancing. There was fox-trotting to ‘‘Moonlight Serenade’’ for the

  upper crust, a circle dance to ‘ The Big Apple’’ for college kids, and aerial

  acrobatics of the lindy hop for anyone bold and flexible enough to keep

  up with the rhythm.

  Record companies were selling more records than ever before. The

  durable plastic 45 RPM and 331=3 long-playing records introduced in 1948

  were a huge advancement over the old 78s, which were quite brittle.

  Musicians went on strike twice in the 1940s to get more advantageous

  deals with the record companies. In 1942 and 1948, the strikes effectively

  stopped the issuance of new recordings until musicians and record compa-

  nies could agree on new deals.

  Rhythm and blues (R&B) was coined as a musical marketing term used

  to identify a combination of jazz and blues being played by African-American

  The 1940s

  81

  artists in the late 1940s. It was a specific type of music that was the fore-

  runner of rock and roll, and many swing bands incorporated R&B into

  their music. Count Basie had a weekly live R&B broadcast from Harlem

 

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