Digital History
Digital History: Hollywood During the Great Depression
One can trace the cynicism and despair at the beginning of the Great Depression to a more optimistic point of view by the end of the New Deal by looking at the movies produced by Hollywood. Read about the subject matter of the movies...
Other
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: Dinosaur Institute: Dinosaurs
The origins, evolution and diversification of dinosaurs through geologic time are described, as well as their portrayal in Hollywood movies. There is also information about how birds evolved from dinosaurs.
Other
Media History Digital Library: Hollywood Studio System Collection (1913 1948)
A large collection of original periodicals that focused on the movie industry covering periods from 1905 to the 1960s.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Anti Communism in the 1950s
[Free Registration/Login Required] An essay tracing the anti-Communist hysteria beginning in earnest at the end of World War II that resulted in Truman's federal Loyalty Security program and ending with McCarthyism in the 1950s.
Other
Media History Digital Library: Fan Magazine Collection (1911 1963)
A large collection of original fan magazines that focused on movies and movie stars covering periods from 1911 to 1960.
Made From Media
Made From History:10 Historical Myths Everyone Believes Because of Hollywood
An article which highlights either myths that have emerged from factually incorrect movies or historical films that have had their facts tweaked in the name of art.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: The Tech: Clunky French Camille Claudel Gets Stuck in Hollywood
This is a review of the film about Camille Claudel's sad life and aspiring career as a sculptress.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Red Scare America
Describes the events that took place during the McCarthy Era and actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Ordinary Americans feared being identified as a Communist sympathizer and libraries removed books from their shelves...
Digital History
Digital History: Trailers of Historically Significant Films
This resource provides links to trailers of historically significant American films.
Michigan State University
Michigan State University: Msu Libraries: American Radicalism
The American Radicalism Collection holds over 17,000 items. It includes books, pamphlets, periodicals, posters, and ephemeral material covering a wide range of viewpoints on political, social, and economic issues in America. The emphasis...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Machine: Movies
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Felix the Cat
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Anticommunism in the 1950s
Looks at the paranoia of the 1950s when Americans lived in fear of communism. The House Committee on Un-American Activities created blacklists of people working in Hollywood, McCarthyism flourished, and the Rosenberg couple were tried...
PBS
Pbs News Hour: Reel Politics: How Hollywood Exercises Free Speech (Lesson Plan)
A instructional activity for exploring how films can be used as political tools and as vehicles for informing the public and promoting political agendas. Students research critically acclaimed political films throughout history and...
Other
Reel Classics: Shirley Temple
This guide offers a history of child film star Shirley Temple's career. Includes audio and video. Requires Quicktime.
Other
California Newsreel: Videos on African American Life
This company claims to be the "oldest and most notable non-profit documentary production and distribution center in the nation." It offers a rich collection of videos on all aspects of African American life and history: e.g., Academy...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Civil Liberties in Wartime
This website contains an interactive timeline about the history of civil liberties at wartime.
Ibis Communications
Eyewitness to History: Making Movies, 1920
Firsthand account of the filmimg of director D.W. Griffith's movie Way Down East staring actress Lillian Gish.
Other
Something About Mary Pickford
This article is about the life and career of Mary Pickford, a Canadian-born actress who gained fame as a silent film star in Hollywood.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bill Robinson
Learn about the life and career of Bill Robinson, an American dancer of Broadway and Hollywood, best known for his dancing roles with Shirley Temple in films of the 1930s.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Prosperity and Cold War Fears 1945 60: Popular Culture and Mass Media
Examines the impact that rock and roll music, movies and the invention of television had on America in the 1950s.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Oscar Micheaux
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Oscar Micheaux, a prolific African American producer and director who made films independently of the Hollywood film industry from the silent era until 1948.
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: Confidential Magazine Trial (1957)
Thomas Wolfe called Confidential (1952-58) "the most scandalous scandal magazine in the history of the world." Confidential went where no publication had gone before in exposing to the public the private lives of celebrities. Truth,...
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: The Legends of King Arthur
This article tracks the many appearances of King Arthur, from a 9th-century history to a Hollywood blockbuster, via the works of Chretien de Troyes, Thomas Malory, and the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.