Pros And Cons Of Working Under The Studio System

In the early 1900’s, as films stated centering their focus on profit, large scale studios came onto the film scene. The studios that were discussed in the chapter were: Universal, United Artists, Paramount, Warner Bros, MGM, Fox, Columbia, and RKO. These studios employed some of the biggest names in the film world at the time. Many of these studios are still in business today, and have given prominent actors and directors their shot at fame. Universal was the first studio to move to the west coast. They produced popular films such as The

To begin with, some background information on movies and Hollywood in the 1920’s. In the 1920’s, movie attendance soared (The Rise of Hollywood par. 4). As stated in the introduction, with the influx of money in the American economic system, the average person also had an influx of time on their hands. The normal solution was to spend that time on entertainment and movies were the perfect way to do that. By the mid-decade, movie attendance rose to fifty million and only increased from then. The five main movie studios were Warner Brothers, Paramount, MGM, RKO Radio Pictures, and 20th Century Fox (Dirks 1). Before these studios were formed, every aspect of making movies was separated into different companies. The aspects may include filming, editing, or distributing. With the spark of interest in movies, these five companies took it upon

This further demonstrates how the affluence of that period enabled people to support this industry and help its enormous growth. It was during the roaring 20s that the first real celebrities began to appear, with the ever-increasing role of cinema having a huge role to play. Similarly their fame contributed to the growing status of Hollywood and the American film industry. (Source J). Charlie Chaplin is one example of an actor that gained worldwide recognition in the twenties; he was particularly famous for his ‘highly visual style of acting’ (Soucre J). The 1920s was often referred to as “The Golden Age of Hollywood” (Source G) emphasizing how this period represents the era of greatest output in the United States movie market [an average of 800 films were produced annually]. ‘The cinema came of age in the 1920s and Hollywood confirmed its position as the “dream factory” of the English- speaking world. It was there that fame and fortune could be found.’ (Source J) This also highlights the growing image of Hollywood ‘throughout the roaring 20s, which started to represent wealth and achievement. ‘The establishment of the Academy Awards showed the maturing cinema as an industry confident of its own technical and artistic standards.’ (Source J) This further shows how there were many other expansions and transformations from this industry that occurred during this period. Artists, directors and other personalities of the film making industry received acknowledgement and recognition of their work in this industry. ‘The awards soon acquired international status’ (Source J) showing how Hollywood’s film industry developed into a global sensation that was supported by people all over

The censorship conflicts in the 1900s were extremely intriguing and intense. Around the end of the 1920s, individuals possessed immense moral shifts powered by religious groups during the Great Depression, which resulted in decisions that created a new revolution that dealt particularly with the regulation of content of films. Consequently, in 1934, at the same time that the “Golden Age of Hollywood” began, the Hollywood Production code was formally implemented. The film

Drawn by the cheap land and abundant California sunshine, filmmakers such as Griffith followed the lead of Nestor Studios, which built the first Hollywood movie studio in 1911. According to the Fort Lee Film Commission, the year 1918 proved a death knell to the New Jersey movie industry. A coal shortage imposed by World War I combined with the coldest winter in decades caused motion picture companies, unable to heat their large studios, to curtail filming. The ensuing influenza epidemic after the end of the war forced studios to shutter for weeks on end. The exodus to Hollywood took full flight. The major studios abandoned New Jersey, and the curtain came down on Fort Lee’s tinseltown

Thomas Schatz cites the 1950’s as the inevitable end of the Hollywood film studio system, with the signs appearing as early as the height of the second World War (472). However, the seeds of discontent and disintegration within the system were apparent as soon as the late 1930’s, exemplified in such films as Destry Rides Again (1939, George Marshall) and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939, Frank Capra). The production of these two films and the paths down which they led their star (James Stewart), directors (at least Frank Capra), and studios (Universal and Columbia, respectively) are evidence of the decline of the studio system. The

Hollywood underwent this transformation extremely well and by supporting the war effort they showed to be extremely successful. This proved to be true by its production of better quality movies. As well informing and providing propaganda to American soldier and civilians. Hollywood profited largely financially. World War 2 proved to be in fact a great time for Hollywood. This was evident in the fact that the Big Eight combined profits rose from 20 million in 1940 to 35 million in 1941.There profits then rose even more in 1942 and grew even more in the next three years after.

One of the many industries that were radically changed by World War II was the film industry. This change altered the content and style of films that were produced in Hollywood. A long period of decline was seen after experiencing boom years from 1939 to 1946. Within several years, attendance and box receipts fell. This was partly caused by reasons that were external to the industry. Veterans returning from the war got married, started families, attended college ( Due to the GI Bill), and bought homes in suburban areas. A toll was taken on box office receipts due to these activities. It was preferable for families that had children to listen to the radio rather than going to the

There were many physical changes that took place with the theatres and the productions. Depression hit New York pretty hard, 1.6 million out of 7 million people were in some sort of welfare programs, as well as one third of the city’s factories were forced to be shutdown. Theatres were either closed down or were tuned into movie houses. Production output slowed down, before the depression there were 264 productions between 1927-28 and then during the depression, (1930-31) there was only 187 productions, because it was difficult to fundraise money. It was also very difficult to get a job in a theatrical field during the recession, there were about five thousand people that were jobless.

Variety magazine wrote: "The wonder is not the scarcity of outstanding, smashing film hits, but that under the present system of industry operation there are any hits at all." (Hollywood Renegades (Archive, Hollywood in slump 1938: Variety. 12/14/1938, accessed 6/8/17). By 1947, the United States Supreme Court Anti-Trust law split the Studio System from its distribution component, which led the way for independent theaters. By 1947 the Sherman Anti-Trust Law put an end to the studio system by dissolving the relationship between the theaters and the

1a.) The American Studio System is a specific way of producing a film in which the film takes place mostly in a controlled environment created by the producers of the film. These studios had complete control over the film production market and used this control to dominate the film industry in the 1930’s and early 1940’s.

During the 1920s, American Film was at the peak of its glory. 1920s Film was the biggest form of entertainment and a weekly pastime for millions of Americans, regardless of race and social background. Silent films continued to improve and innovate the film industry. Hollywood established themselves as an American force and produced hundreds of silent films. Also, Hollywood became the birthplace of “movie stars” such as Janet Gaynor, Rudolph Valentino, and Charlie Chaplin. Movie studios such as Warner Brothers Pictures, RKO, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, and 20th Century Fox owned thousands of theaters and received public acclamation for hundreds of films produced. The 1920’s American film industry is the epitome of the ascension of Hollywood and the innovation era of film.

At the beginning of the great depression, holding non-essential jobs was an extremely difficult task. The film industry took advantage of this and placed all aspect of making a film on its payroll. While the labor portion (i.e. costume designers and set hands) of film production appreciated a steady and guaranteed

Sound films were new and exciting and becoming very popular. Very many people were fascinated by this new technology… creating “talking pictures” was a really big deal. Another positive contribution was the pioneer disc system. This wasn’t talked about very much but it was certainly a big part of sound films. Instead of having an orchestra add sound to the films, a record was used and it was a lot easier. Two negative contributions would be sound films (yes, it was a good and bad thing) and the noises of the cameras. The reason sound films could also be a negative is because of the controversy they caused. Many people disagreed with replacing silent stages with sound proof stages and spending all that money because they didn’t know if the sound films were just a fad. Letters poured in from citizens asking them to stop production because they were used to silent films and they weren’t really sure how to feel about these new films with sound. The other negative contribution is the loud noises of the cameras. Noisy cameras had to be stored in huge insulated sound booths with sound proof covers to avoid picking up camera noise on the soundtrack. Plus, It was hard to record live dialogue because hidden microphones would impede the movement of

Hollywood has influenced American history since it began. It boosted and shaped the morale of a nation for almost a century. But Hollywood has not only been the influencing American society, it has been influenced by American society. In the 1920s, American society was booming; people were getting rich, spending and borrowing money, and they thought life was looking good. Then in October of 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost all they owned. People had invested all their money into the banks before the Crash. After the Crash, the banks had nothing. People were destitute. They had no money to pay for their houses, electrical bills, and food. It became the Great Depression. Likewise, Hollywood was impacted by the Great