ABSTRACT
Proper periodizing of Hollywood history after the coming of sound remains an unsettled matter. We must grapple with this key issue: what is the best way to divide the history of the American film? The most straightforward and obvious causal factor — the coming of television - is fraught with historiographical contradiction. Indeed if the literature on television history tells us anything, it is that the process of how the coming of television changed Hollywood is complex and will require many more studies. 1
