Back to Golden Days

In the early 1950s, 20th Century Fox, like all the Hollywood studios, began facing massive declines in theatre attendance. The advent of television provided Americans with a cheaper and more convenient form of entertainment at home, where families could watch a wide variety of programmes at little additional cost. Desperate to lure potential moviegoers away from their television sets, studio chiefs began exploiting the two obvious advantages that film enjoyed over the new medium: the size of its images and, at a time when television broadcasting was in black-and-white, the ability to produce photographic colour. The introduction of Kodak's Eastmancolor film stock in 1950 made movie production more affordable and efficient, since it could be used with conventional cameras, unlike the previous and more cumbersome Technicolor system. Within four years, over 50 percent of all Hollywood features were being produced in colour.   LEFT: A typical 1950s American family gathered around a te...

After World War II, the world was divided into two competing ideological and military blocs: the West, led by the capitalist United States, and the East, which operated within the Soviet Union's communist sphere. Under the authoritarian rule of Mao Zedong, China initially aligned with the USSR, securing much-needed economic and industrial aid, as well as military support to counter American influence in East Asia. In the late 1950s, however, border disputes and ideological disagreements led China to break the alliance with the Eastern Bloc and become an independent power, challenging both Soviet and American policies. As a result of the Sino-Soviet split and the trade restrictions imposed by the United States after the Korean War, China experienced a significant period of economic and cultural isolation that ended only in the early 1970s. In the midst of the political tensions of the Cold War, Chinese-born Eurasian physician and author Han Suyin emerged as a key figure in bridging...

Today is Frank Sinatra's 110th birthday. Regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century, he forged a highly successful career both in music and in film. He recorded 59 studio albums and 297 singles, and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He appeared in over 60 films, as well as several television shows, including his own variety series. He won an Academy Award, four Golden Globes, eleven Grammys, and many other honours throughout his career. He was a workaholic and a womanizer. He was temperamental, brash, and struggled with mental health. He had an immaculate sense of style and was obsessed with cleanliness. He was friends with mobsters, owned a casino, and was put under surveillance by the FBI. He was generous, outspoken against racism, and fought for desegregation and equal rights. He was a complex man, a musical genius, and the greatest singer who ever lived. To celebrate the «Chairman of the Board,» let us take a look at his life in pictures.  ...