What was the greatest decade in the history of American movies? Buy Book Amazon Barnes & Noble Books a Million BookshopAs exhilarating as that span was, the movie industry itself was experiencing a number of crises. As Mr. Hirsch observes in “Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties,” the government forced studios to sell their theaters on antitrust grounds, while increasing numbers of moviegoers stayed home to watch their new televisions. Creative types had provocative stories to tell, rousing the wrath of censors—even as congressional committees investigated the presence of Communists in the business. Mr. Hirsch, a professor of film at Brooklyn College and the author of many books, has written an entertaining survey of this productive and problematic period.

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Persons: Foster Hirsch, Eve ”, “, Eden ”, —, Barnes, Hirsch Organizations: Foster Hirsch Knopf, Noble, Brooklyn College Locations: “ An American, Paris, “, Hollywood