Attitudes and lifestyles had changed, but most importantly audiences had changed.
Here was an opportunity: MGMs chance to start afresh.
And so in 1944, MGM embarked on what would become the most successful period in its history.
After the war, the slate was wiped clean.
But it wasnt just the musicals pulling in the crowds.
The studio also branched out as far as Britain to producePerfect Strangers, its first British collaboration.
However, the real hit of the year wasThe Clock.
MGM wasnt the only studio that prospered after the war.
By the end of 1946, audience figures, admission prices and MGMs profits were up.
And competition from Great Britain in the form ofBrief EncounterandGreat Expectationsmeant MGM had to up its game.
The decade turned, and once again, MGM had to prove its immunity to change.
The studio system which MGM had given birth to was beginning to crumble.
Behind the scenes, co-founder Louis B Mayer had reached breaking point.
A new decade and a new approach to filmmaking began, as other studios continued to rival MGM.
Sadly, the studios British collaboration failed to meet expectations whenThe Miniver Storyfared poorly at the box office.
The film was an ill-advised sequel to the 1942 hit,Mrs Miniver,and lacked the originals spirit.
MGM continued to foster fresh talent, and introduced screen newcomer Bobby Van inSmall Town Girlin 1953.
MGMs output was by now more balanced, as it released musicals, dramas and thrillers.
Once again, audiences were changing, as was the social climate.
The most successful of these wasDunkirk,released in 1958 and starring Richard Attenborough.
The moving story was produced by Ealing Studios and distributed by MGM.
The film focused on a husbands homosexuality and its effect on his wife.
The film was praised by critics, and did well at the box office.
However, the future still remained unsure for MGM.
The end of the decade was approaching fast, and what it held for MGM was unknown.
