The Hollywood social problem film, 1946--1959

Hollywood of the 1950s is not famous for its social problem films. Quite the opposite: many film historians describe the 1950s as an era of political timidity, a period during which socially conscious filmmaking nearly disappeared. According to this account, movie makers in the age of McCarthyism retreated from overtly social or political subjects and embraced pure entertainment. Yet, as some scholars have pointed out, Hollywood continued to make films throughout the 1950s that explicitly addressed contemporary social problems. The goal of this dissertation is to examine the Hollywood social problem film of the post--World War II period. In particular, this dissertation seeks to answer four questions: What exactly is a social problem film? Did the Hollywood blacklist affect the release of social problem films? Why did Hollywood producers make social problem films? What effects were these films presumed to have on their audiences?...