Hollywood films of the 1930s are frequently treated as if they all conformed to one cinematographic style. This book shows that this was not the case and describes the various stylistic changes in the use of the camera and lighting which took place between the early sound films of 1930 and "Gone With the Wind" at the end of 1939. Detailed analyses of four films-- "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930), "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1932), "The Awful Truth" (1937) and "Dead End" (1937)-- are juxtaposed with more general chapters covering the main periods within the decade. These stylistic changes did not, of course, occur in a vacuum and the ideological conditions in which the films were made is shown to be a crucial factor in explaining these changes.

The book thus links the historical context of the USA in the thirties with the cinematographic style of Hollywood films.