1930
Paramount introduces commercials to cinemas.
Greta Garbo makes the transition from silent to sound in MGM’s production of Anna Christie.
1931
Universal begin their horror cycle with productions of Dracula and Frankenstein.
David O. Selznick takes charge of RKO production.
1932
Disney’s Flowers and Trees is the first commercial film to be produced in three-strip Technicolor.
As a result of the Depression, attendance has fallen to 55 million a week and 4,000 theatres have closed.
1933
The Screen Actors & Screen Writers guild are formed.
Universal disposes of its theatres.
The Code of Fair Competition sanctions the Big Five’s distribution practices.
1934
The Production Code Administration (PCA) is given greater authority to enforce self-regulation in production.
Loew’s Inc. acquires Goldwyn Pictures and establishes Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as its production company.
Columbia’s It Happened One Night, directed by Frank Capra, is the first film to win all five major Academy Awards.
1935
Twentieth Century Pictures merges with Fox to become Twentieth Century-Fox.
RKO release Becky Sharp, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, the first feature film in three-strip Technicolor.
David O.Selznick forms Selznick International Pictures.
1936
Irving Thalberg dies on September 14th.
The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League is formed.
Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times marks the last appearance of the Tramp and is Chaplin’s final silent film.
1937
Walt Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated feature.
The Screen Directors Guild is formed.
408 films are produced by the major studios; movies account for 75 percent of American money spent on entertainment.
1938
Sales of popcorn and candy in movie theatres become an important source of profit for smaller exhibitors.
The Department of Justice begins an anti-trust suite against the eight major studios.
1939
Hollywood enjoys its “greatest year” with the Hollywood Golden Age is at its height.
MGM release Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both directed by Victor Fleming.
Confessions of a Nazi Spy is the first explicitly anti-Nazi film from a major Hollywood studio.
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