THE DEVELOPMENT OF FILM INDUSTRY

One of the first cinema films was made by Edison, but the internals between his photographic exposures were too short. This made the eyes tired. When Edison’s machine was brought to France to show films, it was seen there by Auguste and Louis Lumiere. In December 1895they gave the world’s first real cinematograph show. Their film was called The Arrival of a Train at a Station. The film was so good that some of the audience almost expected the train to rush out at them from the screen. In 1903 one of Edison’s cameramen made a new long picture. It was called The Life of an American Fireman. People liked it and asked for more; and so more films of this kind were made. More cinemas were built.

Within a few years the center of motion picture production had shifted to Hollywood, California. Louis B. Mayer and Samuel Goldwyn had built the movies into a national industry.

By 1925 motion pictures were more a necessity than a luxury for many Americans. More than 130 million people went to the movies each week. There were 20000 motion picture theaters, some seating 7000 people. Only sound was lacking to make a reality of everybody’s dream of “true talking pictures”.

By 1923 it was possible to record sound on film, and later musical scores were added to feature films. The first full-length talkie, Warner Brothers’ The Jazz Singer, appeared in 1927. The first sound cartoon was introduced to the public in 1928. It was one of Walt Disney’s best creations Mickey Mouse.

In the 1930s several new film genres delighted audiences and helped ensure Hollywood’s preeminence in world movie making. Those included large-cast musicals, gangster and detective films that made heroes of professional tough guys, and brilliant comedies. Much of the prestige and profit of movies depended both on great actors and the genius of the directors.

Film production costs tripled between 1941 and 1961, and the postwar development of television seemed to signal the end of the old Hollywood. But it did not happen. Hollywood’s days of glory are not over: American movie-makers of a new generation remain among the world’s most innovative directors, and the nation’s interest in films is reviving. The most sought-after award in the movie business is the Oscar, annually presented since 1929 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Five nominees in each of some 25 categories are picked by their fellow craftsmen. Winners are chosen by secret ballot cast by the Academy’s more than 2800 members.