The Cinema of Dreams - A Short History of Fantasy Cinema

Part Three - Early Sound Fantasy Features

THE SOUND ERA BEGINS

By 1930, many of the most talented European filmakers had left for Hollywood, which had firmly established itself as the world's "dream factory." The rise of Hollywood, the beginning of the sound era, and the increasing cultural upheavals which would soon consume Europe in a second world war brought an end to the golden age of European fantasy films. The European film industries would survive the war, but while the language of the silent movie was universal (once the occasional intertitles were translated), it would be years before "foreign language" sound films would be able to find a market outside their country of origin. Unless they were from Hollywood.

Hollywood benefitted enormously from the influx of European filmmakers who moved to the United States in the 1920s and 1930s, and with creative contributions of the European fantasy filmmakers, American fantasy films went from being a category of rare and often unremarkable films to a significant genre. The most obvious result of this European influence was in the Universal Studios horror film cycle which began in 1927, when Universal president Carl Laemmle invited Paul Leni to direct The Cat and the Canary in Hollywood. Leni stayed in the United States to direct the classic horror film The Man Who Laughs (1928), but although these horror films have the look and style of the European fantasy films, there is as little actual fantasy in these movies as any other American film of the period. Still, changes were beginning to occur.

In 1931, two fantasy horror films became huge successes for Universal studios, and while neither Dracula(Tod Browning), or Frankenstein (James Whale), were directed by European horror veterans, they were both heavily derived from the European fantasy horror tradition of the previous decade. Dracula benefitted from the cinematography of Karl Freund, who'd filmed The Golem and Metropolis before emigrating to the U.S. in 1929, and the visual design of Frankenstein was clearly inspired by the massive sets of Wegener's The Golem and other European fantasy epics.

In the wake of the Dracula/Frankenstein phenomena, American filmmakers who only a few years before had seemed to avoid committing to any supernatural or fantastic elements in their horror films began to make horror movies completely dependent on elements of the fantastic. These new American horror films were surprisingly well made, and by the mid 1930s, the previously-thin ranks of classic American fantasy horror films included such classic titles as the Frederick March Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1930), The Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 1931), The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932), White Zombie (Victor Halperin, 1932), and King Kong (Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933). The development of Technicolor encouraged the production of fantasy films as well, and the major Hollywood adaptations of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Studios, 1937) and L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) both used the hyper-vivid color process to create classic fantsy film adaptations.

Beyond horror films and family animation, a new type of fantasy feature film began to evolve in the 1930s. Successful stage plays provided a steady source for material throughout the early years of the sound era, and several of these plays dealt with issues of life and death in the form of a fantasy allegory. Outward Bound (Robert Milton, 1930) featured a ocean liner full of passengers who found themselves between life and the afterlife in a drama adapted from Sutton Vane's play. In Berkley Square (Frank Lloyd, 1933), a 20th century man found himself transported to 18th century London and falling in love with a woman he is separated from by time itself. And Death Takes a Holiday (Mitchell Leisen, 1934), based on the play by Alberto Casella, featured Frederick March as Death, who entered the material world learn about human life, only to fall in love.

These filmed adaptations of theatrical fantasies helped to establish a type of cinematic fantasy film that was produced specifically for adult audiences. Featuring grown-up love stories, sophisticated humor, and elegant art direction, these metaphysical fantasies developed into a unique cinema sub-genre. There have been comparatively few box-office blockbusters among the metaphysical fantasies, but when movie fans are asked the question, "What are your all-time favorite films?", many of these fantasy films show up in the list. Here Comes Mr. Jordan (Alexander Hall, 1941). Stairway to Heaven (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1946). It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946). Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1949). Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1988).

Part Four - The Fantasy Serial.