Title: Hollywood’s Victory Lap: The Films of 1940
Author: Anthony G. Puzzilla
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 978-1432734008
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 280
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott
Pacific Book Review
Author Anthony G. Puzzilla has created a major tribute to the heyday of Hollywood, citing films, stars, producers, directors, critics and legacies of some of its most legendary movies, cartoons, serials and short subjects.
It was critical juncture in American life; the country was not at war, yet war raged on all sides, and the world news wasn’t getting much better. The Oscar winners of 1940 reflect the aspirations of those who wished better for the nation, along with the simple, understandable desire of many to simply “get away from it all” in the comfort of the local movie theater. For the socially conscious there was Grapes of Wrath, a reminder of the Great Depression from which Americans were finally recovering, and The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin’s sardonic take on the rise of Hitler and Nazism. Rumors of war were sounded in The Fighting 69th and the glory days of the cowboy were celebrated in Santa Fe Trail and The Westerner. Romances such as New Moon and Waterloo Bridge provided a pleasant escape route, while women were the focus of memorable works like Kitty Foyle and the classic Pride and Prejudice. Also for a trip to total make-believe, it’s still hard to find a better conveyance than Walt Disney’s remarkable Fantasia.
The names of the major participants ring out over the years: actors Clark Gable, Walter Brennan, Gary Cooper, Fred Astaire; actresses Judy Garland, Rosalind Russell, Vivien Leigh; directors John Ford, George Cukor, Charlie Chaplin; and the big money men like Darryl Zanuck, the Warner Brothers and Louis B. Mayer. But in this thorough examination, the lesser-knowns are noted as well – for example, the 1940 Academy Awards paid special tribute to a Col. Nathan Levinson, producer of army defense films. Each film listing in Puzzilla’s vast catalog includes: The Story; The Basics; Production Notes and Reception; and Critical Reviews. The latter imparts the feisty flavor of film journalism: W.C. Fields’ hilarious The Bank Dick was heralded as “a wow that will bring ‘em in” while Grapes of Wrath is cited for its unusual-for-Hollywood fidelity to John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize winning book.
Bringing together and organizing this compendium presented in big, colorful coffee-table format is a task for which Puzzilla deserves high praise. His wide-ranging, well-illustrated work will stir sentimental reminiscence in those who lived through or near the era, and may incite younger readers to seek out these vintage films for a serious look or just, as with the earlier generation, some enjoyable escapism.
