The following analysis classifies the class-A feature films of the major Hollywood studios into six broad production trends: (1) prestige pictures; (2) musicals; (3) the woman's film; (4) comedy; (5) social problem films; and (6) horror films. The names given to the production trends are those used in the trade; the arrangement of the trends reflects a hierarchical ranking based on relative production costs, duration, and box-office performance. Individual trends are broken down into their component production cycles-comedy, for example, is broken down into sentimental, screwball, comedian-centered, and so on-and each is discussed from the perspective of product differentiation, studio by studio. As pointed out in the Introduction, the discussion is informed by contemporaneous polls and awards, especially Film Daily's Ten Best, and industry discourse in the trade press and in reviews.

Prestige Pictures

The prestige picture was far and away the most popular production trend of the decade. Before defining the...