Top 20 Dark Truths About Classic Hollywood

#20: The Hollywood Blacklist

Old school Hollywood was in the midst of intense political paranoia. In the late 1940s and ‘50s, the Cold War’s Red Scare seeped into Los Angeles. And in that time, the House Un-American Activities Committee investigated alleged Communist influence in the industry. When a defiant group dubbed the “Hollywood Ten” refused to testify, they were sent to prison. In response, studios began caving to government pressure and implemented a ruthless blacklist. Hundreds of talented actors, screenwriters, and musicians were suddenly unemployable. Many lost their livelihoods overnight, and writers were forced to ghostwrite under fake names for decades just to survive. It’s no exaggeration to say that it changed American cinema forever.

#19: Toxic Costumes & Makeup

Before modern safety standards, the pursuit of the perfect on-screen aesthetic frequently came at the expense of an actor’s well-being. Today, special effects makeup is highly regulated, and health and safety is taken very seriously. But back then, actors were basically guinea pigs for health experiments. For example, Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz,” but he was forced to withdraw after the aluminum dust makeup coated his lungs and put him in an oxygen tent. Similarly, original Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow used a highly toxic mixture of peroxide, ammonia, and bleach for her iconic hair - a horrific concoction that severely damaged her scalp and caused her hair to fall out.

#18: A Deadly Lack of On-Set Safety

It wasn’t just the actors who were suffering. In the wild west days of cinema, stuntmen and extras were treated as little more than disposable commodities. Without union protections, ambitious directors pushed the envelope for spectacle, and often with fatal consequences. One infamous example occurred while filming the 1928 biblical epic “Noah’s Ark.” Director Michael Curtiz was so obsessed with making the climactic flood scene authentic that he ordered hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to be violently dumped into the studio. The results were catastrophic. Three extras tragically drowned, another had his leg amputated, and dozens more were hospitalized with varying degrees of injury. It’s a stark reminder of the human cost behind old school movie magic.

#17: Asbestos as Fake Snow

Continuing with the theme of horrific dangers, there’s nothing quite like the cozy magic of classic Hollywood holiday movies. But the pristine snow blanketing those old soundstages hides a terrifying secret. From the late 1920s through the 1940s, a product marketed as “White Magic” was used to simulate snowfall. Of course, this was 100% pure chrysotile asbestos. That’s right - the highly toxic material known far and wide for causing cancer was casually sprinkled all over the era’s biggest stars. So when you’re watching those classic Christmas movies like “Holiday Inn,” just know that the actors are actively breathing in poison for the sake of our entertainment.

#16: Lavender Marriages

Back in the day, studios would often sign their actors to “morality clauses” that intensely governed their public personas. One devastating application was the forced concealment of an actor’s sexual orientation. To maintain the illusion of heterosexual desirability for the box office, studios ruthlessly orchestrated fake unions known as “lavender marriages.” Gay and lesbian stars were often forced to marry opposite-sex partners simply to quell malicious press rumors and keep their true sexual orientation under wraps. Perhaps the greatest example is heartthrob Rock Hudson, who was forced to marry his agent’s secretary. These look like glamorous actors and actresses, but they were often forced to live painful lies just to keep their careers afloat.

#15: Horrific Animal Cruelty

If you thought stuntmen were treated poorly, you haven’t heard anything yet. Nowadays, we’re all accustomed to the modern disclaimer: “No animals were harmed in the making of this film.” However, that vital assurance exists strictly because of how barbaric Old Hollywood used to be toward animals. For example, war movies were really big back in the day, and to get those sweeping cavalry charges, productions utilized a brutal tripwire system called the “Running W.” Wires attached to horses’ legs were violently pulled at a full gallop, sending them crashing to the ground. During the 1936 film “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” dozens of horses were killed or euthanized due to broken legs, and it was this that finally prompted the first major push for legal animal welfare.

#14: Murder & Crime Cover-Ups

The studio machinery didn’t just control the press; it sometimes operated completely above the law. While “fixers” like Eddie Mannix would try to put the kibosh on certain scandals, their dark duties frequently went far beyond silencing columnists. In some cases, they actively tampered with crime scenes to protect their assets. For example, when MGM executive Paul Bern died of a gunshot wound, fixers allegedly scrubbed the scene before police arrived to ensure the scandal didn’t taint the reputation of his wife - the aforementioned Jean Harlow. And many unsolved mysteries, including the murder of director William Desmond Taylor, were heavily muddied by executives rummaging through crime scenes and tainting evidence.

#13: Yellowface & Whitewashing

Classic Hollywood systematically denied major opportunities to actors of color, relying instead on deeply offensive casting practices. Not only were performers of color often restricted to stereotyped supporting roles, but studios routinely gave their roles to white people in grossly offensive makeup. A glaring example occurred in 1937’s “The Good Earth,” when white actress Luise Rainer won an Academy Award after wearing yellowface to play a Chinese peasant. At one point John Wayne played Genghis Khan. Imagine that. This infuriating practice remained a staple in Hollywood for decades, even reaching into the 1960s with Mickey Rooney’s heinous performance as Mr. Yunioshi.

#12: Mob Control of the Unions

Organized crime was absolutely everywhere in the ‘20s and ‘30s, and wouldn’t you know it, it had a violent hand in shaping the Golden Age of Hollywood. In the 1930s, the notorious Chicago Outfit extorted the flowing wealth of the film industry by controlling its labor force. Infamous mobster Willie Bioff successfully infiltrated the theatrical stage employees union and gained total control over projectionists and stagehands. By doing so, Bioff could shut down movie theaters nationwide. He ruthlessly used this immense power to extort millions of dollars from terrified studio heads, often demanding huge illicit cash payoffs to prevent catastrophic labor strikes. Let’s just say that the famous horse head scene from “The Godfather” isn’t too far off.

#11: The Hays Code’s Explicit Bigotry

Starting in 1934, movies began facing the strict enforcement of morality policies outlined in the “Hays Code.” And the implementation of the Code wasn’t just about banning sex and swear words. It was actually a formalized system of extreme bigotry. The Code strictly prohibited any depiction of interracial romance and completely erased queer identities by classifying them under “sex perversion.” By the 1960s, Hollywood studios were suffering due to the rise of uncensored foreign films. To survive, filmmakers began blatantly violating the Code to produce grittier movies like “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Recognizing the Code was obsolete and bad for business, the MPAA formally abandoned it in 1968, replacing it with the age-based rating system we still use today.

#10: The Pressures of Beauty

Hollywood is, among many other things, artifice. Yet we often worship old school, Tinseltown idols for the perceived standards of beauty espoused by their films. However, appearing that glamorous came at a price. Icons such as Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford and Judy Garland were all pressured to look a certain way. For instance, Dietrich reportedly lost weight and dramatically altered her look in a bid to meet often unattainable ideals. Crawford, for her part, allegedly had her back teeth removed, which in turn raised her cheekbones. Her autobiography also touches upon intense beauty practices, one of which involves using boric acid on your eyelids.

#9: Contract Pressure

Outside appearances weren't the only cause of pressure for old Hollywood stars. Nowadays, actors have a decent amount of freedom, and can often sign on to any picture, regardless of which studio is at the helm. However, the system used to be quite different. Back in the day, performers were signed to hefty contracts, some of which had rather lengthy terms. As a result, they typically had to take jobs given to them, regardless of whether they wanted to or not. Turning one down was intensely frowned upon, and could be punished via things like suspensions. In other words, film studios wielded what’s considered an unreasonable amount of power. Many careers, including silent film star John Gilbert’s, suffered as a result.

#8: Spying

These days, celebrities are often forced to fight for their right to privacy. Old Hollywood actors didn’t have it easy either — but it was often due to the studios’ desire for control over their personal lives. It apparently wasn’t uncommon for private spaces to be bugged, or for studio employees to act as publicists and friends to the stars while going behind their backs. For instance, Judy Garland was allegedly deceived by such a “confidant”. Sammy Davis Jr., meanwhile, also had to deal with a sort of spy game. His romance with screen icon Kim Novak was strictly forbidden. So intent was Columbia head Harry Cohn on nixing the love affair that he reportedly had organized crime associates threaten to harm Davis Jr.

#7: Thomas Edison’s Monopoly

Hollywood as we know it today might look very different were it not for Thomas Edison. Indeed, the inventor was responsible for developing the first film studio in the late 1800s, named the Black Maria. He also invented — and patented — lots of movie-making equipment, like the motion picture camera. Importantly, this all took place in New Jersey and New York, where he eventually assisted in establishing the Motion Picture Patents Company. With that, he got himself a monopoly. In a bid to get away from it, his intimidation tactics, and his infamous litigiousness, numerous filmmakers reportedly moved out to California. Edison’s monopoly essentially ended after the United States v. Motion Picture Patents Co. court case in 1915, though LA remains the industry’s home base.

#6: Child Labor

It can be difficult to reconcile the affection we feel for adorable young actors with Hollywood’s historically horrible child labor record. “The Addams Family” actor Jackie Coogan was notoriously robbed of his earnings by his parents, leading to the California Child Actor’s Bill of 1939. Elsewhere, directors and others reportedly went to cruel lengths getting young performers to cry on camera. Many even resorted to punishment when someone was perceived to be wasting time. “The Black Box”, a cramped space with only a block of ice as a seat, was one example of this. Finally, it wasn’t unheard of for productions to make youth work insanely long hours, something that’s unthinkable today,

#5: Award Show Racism

The lack of diverse representation at Hollywood award shows is an issue that remains today. And while there’s a lot that still needs to be done, the industry has come a long way. In 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first Black person to be awarded an Oscar, which marked a historic moment. Yet before the ceremony, there was a real worry that the actress wouldn’t be allowed to attend. In the end, she was cruelly seated separately from Vivien Leigh and the rest of her “Gone with the Wind” co-stars. McDaniel showed great courage amid the racism and prejudice she faced, and gave a deeply stirring speech when she was named Best Supporting Actress. But the journey for her and many others was very difficult.

#4: Pre-Code Hollywood

The enforcement of ‘morality’ can be a slippery slope, and it’s easy to fall backwards with regards to cultural sensitivity and representation. Pre-Code Hollywood refers to a time between the mid-late ‘20s until 1934, before films faced the strict enforcement of morality policies outlined in the Hays Code. These policies were put in place, in part, to clean up Hollywood’s perceived reputation as an immoral Babylon. As a result, filmmakers were required to skirt around issues of intimacy and substance use via innuendo. This could notably be seen in the film noir movement of the ‘40s and ’50s. However, pre-Code films were often rife with anti-heroes,strong female leads and plenty of romantic liaisons. Film lovers just need to seek them out.

#3: Incentivized Substance Use

We’ve discussed how poorly child actors were often treated within the old school Hollywood system. Unfortunately, emotional manipulation and long work days weren’t the only hurdles they faced. Studios reportedly often incentivized substance use amongst their most popular young stars, such as Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. The idea was apparently that “time is money”, so studios would dole out uppers to make hours upon hours of work possible, and downers and/or sedatives when the time came to sleep. Time is also precious, however. And too little of it was spent considering the dependencies these vulnerable actors would develop as they grew up, and the often tragic consequences.

#2: Morality Clauses

The 2016 Coen brothers film “Hail, Caesar!” does a great job at satirizing the back-door dealings of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Specifically, it expertly separates the artifice we mentioned earlier with the very real behind-the-scenes drama. Studios would often sign their actors to “morality clauses” that intensely governed their public personas. Hollywood and the press reportedly collaborated often on star stories, while “fixers” like Eddie Mannix would try to put the kibosh on certain scandals. A pregnancy like the one Scarlett Johansson’s character experiences in “Hail, Caesar!”, for example, would have likely been ‘handled’ with a hush-hush abortion. This was all to protect the studios’ investments in the perceived “purity” of their biggest stars.

#1: The Casting Couch

The l practice of having to exchange intimate “favors” for career advancement doesn’t solely exist within the realm of moving pictures. However, “casting couch” practices have been dogging the film industry since the days of Old Hollywood, with seemingly never-ending stories about predatory behavior. The phrase even shows up in a 1924 stag film of the same name. “The Casting Couch” plays this behavior up for the prurient interest, as well as for laughs. But there’s absolutely nothing funny about how many actors have been victims of these exploitative tactics. The Time’s Up organization has brought more attention to harassment and assault within the industry in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. But it remains an active talking point.

What do you think about old Hollywood? Glory, or disaster? Let us know in the comments below!