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The 1930s were a decade of great political and economic turmoil. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the entire world was consumed by an economic downfall called the Great Depression, which led to widespread unemployment and poverty. As a result, authoritarian political movements emerged in several countries in South America and Europe. Notorious among them was Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in Germany, whose expansionist policy resulted in the outbreak of World War II a few months before the end of the decade. In between, Gandhi walked to the Arabian Sea in the Salt March, a civil war established an authoritarian dictatorship in Spain, the Hindenburg exploded over New Jersey, Amelia Earhart became the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and the Empire of Japan invaded China. (from left to right) Gandhi and his followers during the Salt March (March-April 1930); Japanese troops entering Manchuria (September 1931); the Hindenburg disaster (May 1937); German troo...

« Sweethearts of the Silver Screen » In 1936, after appearing in a Broadway play called St. Joan , a 22-year-old Tyrone Power was approached by 20th Century Fox and offered a screen test. His first film at the studio was Girls' Dormitory (1936), starring Herbert Marshall and Ruth Chatterton. Although his appearance in the film was very brief, he was a sensation and Fox was invaded by hundreds of fan letters. Legend goes that columnist Hedda Hopper even stayed for a second showing of the film to find out who that handsome young man was.   In Ladies In Love After Girls' Dormitory , Ty was given a bigger chance to shine in the romantic comedy Ladies in Love (1936) , starring Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett and 23-year-old beauty Loretta Young. In the film, Loretta plays a young peasant called Susie, who falls madly in love with Tyrone's character, Count Karl Lanyi. They were such a success that Daryl F. Zanuck wasted no time in pairing them again. Their nex...