Some like it Indie: How the Independents Revolutionised Postwar Hollywood

About this course

The course traces Hollywood’s shift from the studio system towards film-by-film independent production, focusing particularly on the Mirisch Company. It considers how independent producers assembled talent, developed franchises and adaptations, used locations beyond Hollywood, responded to television and introduced new technologies and styles. Teaching combines short lectures, film extracts and group discussion. Examples include films addressing race, gender, sexuality and antisemitism, alongside debates about package-unit production, censorship, industrial change and alternatives to director-centred accounts of Hollywood.

What you'll learn

• Describe major developments in Hollywood cinema during the 1950s and 1960s.
• Compare classical and post-classical modes of Hollywood production and film style.
• Assess the development and significance of postwar independent companies, including the Mirisch Company.
• Evaluate how package-unit production affected talent and filmmaking in American cinema.
• Assess approaches to understanding Hollywood that offer alternatives to director authorship.

Is this course right for you?

The course is open to learners at all levels and is intended both as an introduction to postwar Hollywood and as a way to extend existing knowledge. No particular skills are required, although the course involves watching film extracts and contributing to group discussions about cinema.

• Some reading and film viewing is expected outside the classroom.
• An enthusiasm for Hollywood and discussing films is identified as useful.

Before you go

• Some reading and viewing is expected outside class.
• Film extracts are screened during classes, with links to freely available complete films provided where possible.