Learning Our Morals

 

In the 1950s and early 1960s (in that time zone), CBS Television centered in New York City, had an extensive library of black-and-white films.  Probably the best library in the world.  I know because I’m sure that I viewed most of those movies myself.

Then in the 60s, I think, the library was divided up, with parts of it sold off to other markets (meaning other television regions where the population can receive the same television/radio station offerings).  Something that I always found unfortunate because it dispersed a treasure trove of some of the greats in black-and-white. 

These films played a role in the morals of my time, at least for me. Because between the opening and closing credits, we got to view film as a microcosm of civilized behavior as it should be.  In other words: good triumphed and was rewarded, and evil got its well-deserved punishment. That’s it, that was the consistent, enduring lesson. It was born in the studios of Hollywood, among the studio heads, and came to make a lot of sense in the context of the time.