Hollywood 1930 – 1990: Vertigo and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Compare how far the two films you have studied reflect the times they were made. [40 marks]
Vertigo and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest were released 17 years apart, which means that the
social and political context of their production was very different. For example, rules about what a
film could depict – the Motion Picture Production Code – affected Hitchcock while he was creating
Vertigo, however the Code had been abolished by the time One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest was
released. These differences mean that the two films reflect different themes and ideologies, both
representing the different societies they were made in.
One of the ways the two films reflect the times they were made is the clear difference in the way
they were made. Vertigo is a studio film, which means that Hitchcock had a much larger budget than
Forman, and most of it was filmed on a set rather than on location. This allowed Hitchcock greater
control over the technical aspects of the film – for example, it allowed him to safely film the scene
where Scotty jumps into the water to save Madeleine, with a backdrop of San Francisco Bay rather
than the real thing – as well as giving him control over lighting and set design. The issue with studio
films, however, was that actors were contracted to certain studios, so they had to pay extra for Kim
Novak to star in Vertigo. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, however, is an independent film that
Forman had difficulty financing because of its political themes and criticism of how America treats
people with mental health problems. He chose to film on location in a real mental hospital, where
most of the actors stayed for a week before filming started, to make the film feel more realistic and
grounded than studio films with their painted backdrops. In scenes like the group therapy sessions,
Forman used a multiple camera set up so that the actors never knew where they were being filmed
from, encouraging them towards method acting. Unlike Vertigo, which featured famous people like
James Stewart, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest was not a star vehicle, with most of the actors
being largely unknown (although many of them went on to be famous afterwards). Both of the films
reflect the times in which they were made through their very different methods of production; the
Classical Hollywood studio production, and an independent film.
Another way the films reflect the time they were made in is the kind of content shown in the films.
At the time the Vertigo was made, the Motion Picture Production Code (also known as the Hays
Code) was in effect. Its main rule was that films could only depict “correct standards of life”, and was
brought in after complaints from people that films were encouraging immoral behaviour. This meant
that even if he wanted to, Hitchcock could not include anything like graphic violence or anything
overtly sexual in Vertigo, which is why even the scenes that include death - a key theme in the film -
did not have any blood or detailed injury. For example, the scenes where Madeleine, Judy, or the
police officer fall from heights don’t include any violence, and any scenes where ‘Madeleine’ and
Scotty are together follow the rule that at least one of the female actress’ feet must remain on the
floor at all times. By the time One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest came out, however, the Motion
Picture Production Code had been abolished and replaced with a film rating system. This meant that
Forman had much more freedom when creating One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, which we can
see in the kind of language characters like Mac use throughout the film – for example, swear words
like “fucking” – as well as the inclusion of a character that is a prostitute. Both of the films therefore
reflect the times in which they were made through what the directors chose to depict in the two
films.
Finally, both of the films reflect the times in which they were made through the ideology and the
representation shown in each film. For example, both of the films have very different representation
of the female gender. In Vertigo, Judy is presented as weak-minded – she could have said no to
