In most cases, masonic themes don't normally play a major role in most high-profile, big budget summer releases. At the same time, there's no denying the fact that masonic references have had a higher profile and been included in a growing number of mainstream films over the past ten years. Apart from the routine documentaries and "investigative reports" on the Craft which make their regular appearances on second tier networks and the ocasional 20/20 special, it appears that Hollywood has identified the established audience of over 250,000 North American Freemasons (and their families) and has shown a growing fondness for tapping this market. Of course it works both ways. It's become more common in recent years to hear the brethren argue the strengths and weaknesses of the latest depiction of silver screen Freemasonry post-Lodge.
For better or for worse, there's no denying that a large part of the growth in Freemasonry film references has been brought on by Dan Brown. With the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code" - "The Widow's Son" (tentative title) squarely rooted in Freemasonry and its publication date fast approaching, there seems little doubt that the film version will be in theatres by 2011. So, while we wait for Ron Howard and Tom Hanks to delve behind the square and compass, here's a list of Hollywood's top 10 "masonic movies" of the past half century. In http://hubpages.com/hub/Freemasonry-research-Masonic-Movies
