1948

1948

Arthur Hiller
Gwen Hiller

Lana Turner
Bob Topping

Television

Candid Camera
Toast of the Town
Hopalong Cassidy

The U.S. supreme Court determined in 1948 that the big Hollywood studios were monopolizing motion-picture production, distribution, and exhibition, and ordered them to give up their chains of theaters, thus freeing exhibitors to show movies from anyone, anywhere. The decision, coupled with the rise of television, caused the old studios to wane.

Uncle Miltie Premiers

Introduced in 1948, NBC's Texaco Star Theater transformed failed radio performer Milton Berle into "Mr. Television." Each week, millions tuned in Berle's zany grab bag of exaggerated impressions, vaudeville skits, pie-in-the-face and cross -dressing routines. Families without TVs soon acquired them just to catch America's most popular entertainer.

1948 Top Movies

Hamlet (Academy Award Best Picture)
Red River (John Wayne)
Easter Parade (Judy Garland)
Fort Apache (J. Wayne - H. Fonda)
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
Key Largo (H. Bogart - L. Bacall)
Macbeth (Orson Welles)
Rope (Alfred Hitchcock)

Red River Premiers

John Wayne's towering portrayal of the obsessed Tom Dunson, a cowboy Captain Bligh, brought new depth and dimension to his screen image. Even John Ford, who had guided Wayne to stardom in Stagecoach, told Hawks after seeing Red River, "I never knew the big son of a bitch could act.

Romance of a Century 

Frank Sinatra, in 1948, found his flame in the sultry charms of Ava Gardner. For three years the couple fueled headlines, fascinated a nation and broke up the furniture with their free-for-all affair.