1930s Depression era

His films like 'It Happened One Night' and 'You Can't Take It with You' captured the resilience and resourcefulness of ordinary Americans struggling through economic hardship.

His masterpiece 'The Crowd' and later Depression-era works explored the vulnerability of working-class families facing unemployment and social collapse.

Films like 'La Grande Illusion' and 'The Rules of the Game' reflected the social tensions and class conflicts that defined the 1930s across Europe.