AVAILABLE FROM KNOPF
Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties
The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher — Television
“Hirsch has written the definitive book on 1950s Hollywood.” —Booklist
A fascinating look at Hollywood’s most turbulent decade and the demise of the studio system—set against the boom of the post–World War II years, the Cold War, and the atomic age—and the movies that reflected the seismic shifts in Hollywood in the 1950s was a period when the film industry both set conventions and broke norms and traditions—from Cinerama, CinemaScope, and VistaVision to the epic film and lavish musical.
It was a decade that saw the rise of the anti-hero; the smoldering, the hidden, and the unspoken; teenagers gone wild in the streets; the sacred and the profane; the revolution of the Method; the socially conscious; the implosion of the studios; the end of the production code; and the invasion of the ultimate body snatcher: the “small screen” television. READ MORE
Events and appearances
On Sunday, December 10 at 3:00 pm, IMITATION OF LIFE (1959) will be screened in 35mm at the magnificently renovated Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The event features a discussion with the film’s Oscar-nominated co-star Susan Kohner in person, as well as a book signing for Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifites one hour before the show. See the events page for additional upcoming events and appearances. READ
Foster Hirsch
A movie fan from an early age, I have been ‘writing’ my new book for over seventy years. A long distance runner, I have also been teaching film history at Brooklyn College for over fifty years and counting. When I am not seeing and talking and reading and writing about movies, I am interviewing actors and directors from the Golden Age. Thank goodness I like to travel and swim, which breaks things up a bit. My history of the 50s is my longest and most ambitious and most personal project, and I am looking forward to promoting the book