The films of the 30s
The film era of the 1930s is interesting from several points of view. In addition to the purely "film-historical" view, socio-political conditions had a decisive influence on the films and their reception. While technology had improved since the 1920s to the extent that colour and sound were now also brought onto the screen and into the cinema halls, the Second World War broke out in Europe under totalitarian governments that confiscated the medium of film for their propaganda.
Hollywood in the 30s - The concept of entertainment is still present
Hollywood continues to produce according to the concept of entertainment in the years of the 1930s. At the same time, the film industry ventured into serious topics, such as literary adaptations. The Southern love drama about Scarlett O'Hara, based on the literary novel by Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, was produced in the 1930s and remained a film classic for many decades. Fictional genres such as "horror and science fiction" already experience their birth in Hollywood in the 30s. With King Kong, Frankenstein or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, these genres also celebrate great screen successes on Hollywood's already international platform.
Germany's film industry as a propaganda machine
In Germany, the Nazis hijack the film industry for propaganda purposes. Although many grandiose films and classics of their time are made in Germany, a subliminal war message resonates in many of these films.[nbsp]The Blue Angel becomes one of the most successful films and makes Marlene Dietrich, who is courted by the Nazis, world famous. After Dietrich voluntarily moves to the USA, the Nazis look for other idols who are actively promoted by Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry. The Swedish singer Zarah Leander is one of these artists favoured by the Nazis, who maintains her position until the last years of the war.
Differences between Germany and Hollywood
Despite all the Nazi propaganda, comedies also celebrate great successes in Germany. Die drei von der Tankstelle with Heinz Rühmann and the song Ein Freund, ein guter Freund (A Friend, a Good Friend ) became a timeless classic. The difference between the German UFA and Hollywood often lies in the expense of the productions. While Germany tends to focus on "bourgeois comedies" in an urban setting, Hollywood produces something more grandiose and thus more lasting. Many of the films made in Hollywood during this period last for decades and do not let the names of their great stars fade. Gone with the Wind is an apt example. Similarly, the movie musical The Wizard of Oz remains in the hearts of fans for many decades. Such "blockbusters" did not emerge in Germany.
While in Hollywood the stars of the 1930s continued to star in many productions after the war, in Germany many of the actors and actresses disappeared from the subsequent screen. Only a few names manage to survive this "ideological turn". Heinz Rühmann is one such example. Although he began his film career in the 30s, it was not until the 40s that he celebrated his great successes and became a darling of the public.
On today's perception of 30s films
Every now and then, these old films are shown on regional television programmes and still enjoy popularity today. This is not least because the films of the 30s were already devoted to timeless themes without clinging too tightly to their time.
Certainly, the films address the problems of their time. However, provided one understands the films in the context of their time, one will have no problems with them. We point this out because today we tend very much to judge film and literature under the sword of Damocles of our standards. What we might understand as racist or sexist today was part of perfectly normal social interaction in the 1930s. This does not make a Marlene Dietrich in the [nbsp]Blue Angel a sexist farce, but remains a document of her time. The same applies to literature and songs. If we were to measure everything by today's standards, we would hardly enjoy these old cultural works.
The beginning of a development that is not yet complete today
The films of the 1930s were important in the development of cinematic art and set many new standards that are still taken into account in modern productions. In the 30s, a gorilla climbed a skyscraper for the first time to fight a duel with aeroplanes. And who would want to do without all these absurdities of the imagination in films today? Since the 1930s, film has had the opportunity to bring such fantasies to a screen and breathe life into giant gorillas, vampires and Frankenstein's monster. A development that began in the 30s and is still going on today, almost one hundred years later.
Status as a classic
Yet the old films retain their status as classics.[nbsp]Gone with the Wind is as worth watching today as one would consider literature by certain "old writers" worth reading. Yet the films of the 1930s are not just comedies or "scary films with virgin trick technology", but definitely dramas or sensitive films, some of which have hardly lost any of their topicality. As with the films of the 1920s, you have to specifically look for such old films, because they are neither regularly shown on television nor are they part of Netflix's scope of delivery. Lovers of such films will, however, know on which streaming services such films can sometimes be seen for free. If in doubt, you will quickly find what you are looking for on YouTube, as the licensing issue for hundred-year-old film works is often settled and the films can then be seen in full length.
Our recommendation: Fritz Lang's M - A City in Search of a Murderer
At this point we would like to recommend a "serious film" by Fritz Lang, who already achieved great success with Metropolis in the 1920s. The film M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (M - A City in Search of a Murderer), shot in 1931, tells the oppressive story of a child murderer. A topic that has unfortunately not lost any of its topicality today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOtwqmATjDU&t=468s
A not uninteresting aspect of this film is not only the story of this crime, but also the reaction of the public, which can be transferred almost 1:1 to our society; although we are more or less a hundred years ahead in society. This social momentum in the prosecution of such a perpetrator makes the film almost timeless and highly interesting from a sociological point of view.
We would like to refrain from a review of M - A City in Search of a Murderer in order not to anticipate the excitement of watching the film. In addition to the psychogram of a cornered public, the film remains an exciting crime story that, in our opinion, can rival modern Sunday thrillers.
