ABSTRACT
The 1950s French film industry did indeed create a middlebrow cinema. The trajectory of this new class was not that of the pre-existing petite-bourgeoisie of the Belle Epoque and inter-war eras, whose wealth came from small businesses or civil-service posts, and which emerged as distinct from the bourgeoisie. Post-war France was in dire need of reconstruction and urgently required America’s offer of Marshall Aid. The 1950s were France’s heydays of cinema-going. With yearly audiences of over 400 million, it is crucial also to note that spectators cut across all types and classes. The term ‘middlebrow’ has been used both to describe a certain type of easily accessible art, usually literature, and to refer to a certain section of society seeking to acquire a cachet of culture and class that is considered inaccessible to them.
