1941-1970
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| During WWII, the Department of Cinema experiences the loss of faculty to military service. Classes are rescheduled to accommodate accelerated degree programs "to provide trained men and women for the national war effort." |
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| In 1945, returning GIs pour into the university. During the postwar years, about 70 percent of film students - among them William Fraker - attended USC on the GI Bill. |
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| "Films for Television" is added to the Cinema Department's course list in 1947. |
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| In 1949, the Cinema Department introduces a class in documentary production and direction. |
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| Between 1951 and 1959, the Cinema Department staff produces dozens of educational films. |
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| The now-legendary CTPR 480 (Production Workshop I) class is offered for the first time in 1951. |
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| In 1955, The Face of Lincoln, co-produced by USC and Cavalcade Pictures, wins the Academy Award for best two-reel short subject and is nominated for Best Documentary. |
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| USC President Rufus von KleinSmid, Sophia Loren, George Cukor, and Judy Garland at a DKA event circa 1959. |
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| Bernard Kantor is appointed chair of USC's Cinema Department in 1965. |
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| USC student George Lucas wins the National Student Film Festival (NSFF) award for his futuristic Electronic Labyrinth: THX1138 4EB in 1967. |
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| Also in 1967, USC student John Milius is honored by NSFF for his animated short, Marcello, I'm So Bored. |
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| In 1970, Cinema Chair Bernie Kantor accepts the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Subject for The Resurrection of Broncho Billy, a USC/Universal co-production. |
