Hollywood practical effects they pulled off from way back as early as the 1930s

I watched an interview with a Japanese director of recent horror films talking about how he thought the effects in a 1968 ghost film were amazing and he had no idea how they did it without CGI and on actual film stock instead of digital video.

It made me realize old movies are becoming like the pyramids: everyone looks at them and wonders how it was done without modern equipment.

A good example of what you are referring to is the movie "San Francisco" from 1936 - the earthquake scenes are still impressive today.

Watch the Warner Bros gangster films where live rounds were used ... yikes!

James Cagney recalled a scene in Angels With Dirty Faces where a bullet got a bit too close to his head.

Edit: Corrected studio from MGM to Warner Brothers....my bad.

Watch '33 Invisible Man.