The 1930s were, without a doubt, the height of the classical Hollywood era. It is no accident that 1939 has historically been designated as the pinnacle of Hollywood film history. The era was known for its lavish studio productions, with MGM, RKO, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox all operating at the height of their powers. Every major studio possessed a long roster of contract players, with films released at such a rapid pace that it made for an especially competitive environment within the industry. Even while America remained in the throes of the Great Depression, the film industry continued to flourish, and movies easily supplanted the theater as the main attraction for American entertainment. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to claim that the film industry reached its zenith during the decade precisely because it offered an affordable (if very temporary) escape from the anxieties of the economic woes of the era.
The 1930s were also a time in which Hollywood boasted an unprecedented array of famous leading men. Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Fred Astaire were just a handful of the A-list stars of the decade, along with star actresses like Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford. Perhaps it's no surprise that many actors and actresses had romances not just on the screen, but off of it as well, leading to some of the most memorable pop culture stories of the 20th century.
