IN THE MAKING

Hollywood and the Movies of the Sixties – Wild in the Streets

My history of Hollywood in the 1960s will be Part Two of my recent book Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties. In the tumultuous 1960s, the studio system finally ended, and the decade as a whole can be seen as something akin to a prolonged farewell — a spectacular curtain call.

Unlike all the earlier books on the period, which stress the impact of political protest and the flower-power youth culture, mine will examine the full scope of the movies of the time. Furthermore, unlike other historians, who often dismiss most of the decade’s output until the release of BONNIE AND CLYDE in 1967, I will examine the astonishing range of films that give the decade its distinction: the old-school roadshow epics and lavish musicals, the last hurrahs of master directors and Golden Age stars, as well as the attempts — often confused, evasive, and patronizing — to address the contemporary political, social, and sexual revolutions by which the decade is remembered.

I won’t ignore the impact of what I call the Big Five — DR. STRANGELOVE, THE GRADUATE, BONNIE AND CLYDE, MIDNIGHT COWBOY, and EASY RIDER — but will take full account of the edginess and subversion that defined many Hollywood films of the era right from the start. Remember, the decade began with challenging-the-status-quo films like ELMER GANTRY, THE APARTMENT, and PSYCHO, and in ways not often considered, genres of all kinds continued to question, attack, and rewrite earlier cinematic and narrative conventions.

I hope to examine this rich filmmaking decade in ways that readers will find illuminating — and unexpected. I am so proud that Simon and Schuster will be my publisher.