The Studio System

The Box Office

Art within, not vs, Capitalism Cinema is the most expensive art form Cheap shows for cheap people Popular art as opposed to the European artistic ideal Differences based on social conditions after WWI

Queen Christina

The Studio System

The Big 5
Paramount - 25% Warner Bros. - 25% Twentieth Century Fox MGM RKO

The Remaining 10%

Columbia Universal United Artists

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Paramount
Adolph Zukor Most sophisticated studio Refined block booking Originated by Thomas Ince in the 20s Produce Exactly As Written

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Preston Sturges
Sullivans Travels

Ernst Lubitsch
Trouble in Paradise

Josef von Sternnberg

The Scarlett Empress

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Warner Brothers
Torn from the headlines Darryl F. Zanuck & Hal B. Wallis The Jazz Singer

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Public Enemy I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang Little Caesar

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20th Century Fox
Darryl F. Zanuck Biographies, Detectives and, oddly enough, quality literary adaptation

The Grapes of Wrath

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20th Century Fox Movietone News

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MGM
Irving Thalberg, the Boy Wonder Hands-on management of all talent soon emulated by everyone Hired literary figures such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Ben Hecht Genius of promotion with Garbo Talks!

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Louis B. Mayer ousted Thalberg before his death at age 37 Crowd-pleasing lavish musicals

The Great Ziegfeld & Broadway Melody of 1936

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The Wizard of Oz

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RKO
David O. Selznick 29 years old Also worked at Paramount, MGM (Gone with the Wind) and his own company distributing through United Artists
King Kong, Little Women, Stagecoach, Gunga Din

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Production, distribution and exhibition all consolidated under one entity - Vertical Integration maximized profits like manufacturing lets think Apple for a sec

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Block or Blind booking Owned theatres Monopoly System of manufacture Front office assigned personnel Had to divest in the 1948 but through various reasons still exists today its even stronger

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Creative Producer
David O. Selznick Walt Disney

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Producer/Director
Frank Capra Started with Mack Sennett Columbia Pictures Had control over script, casting and final product

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Independents
Samuel Goldwyn Started in silents Left MGM, Paramount and United Artists Wuthering Heights, Stella Dallas, The Little Foxes

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Role of the writer
Even in silents where there was no script, multiple scenarists were common Studio system insisted on more organized process to control product and make money Scripts assembled not written by one person Imported well know writers

F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Story editor
Literary adaptations more prestigious than original work Loose adaptations to adjust for box-office potential Assembly line First draft Polish dialogue Add comic relief etc.

William Faulkner

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Stars were investments and properties for the major studios Were loaned to other studios

Greta Garbo

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A films
Big stars Literary adaptations Large budget

Captains Courageous

B films
Not so famous actors Some genre films Many directors started this way
Dracula

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Preston Sturges, 1898-1959
"The most incredible thing about my career is that I had one. Sturges thought one should never take ones self too seriously and comedy wasnt always nice The Father of Screwball Comedy, a sub-genre that combined physical slapstick comedy with rapid-fire dialogue Set a precedent for writers directing their own material

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A real Autuer, he wrote and directed his own material His 7 films at Paramount are the pinnacle of his career Born wealthy, he led a welltraveled eccentric life - his mother sent him to school in a Greek tunic When he became independent, he had a string of commercial failures and acquired a reputation as an free-spending perfectionist

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The Great McGinty The Miracle of Morgans Creek The Lady Eve Christmas in July The Palm Beach Story Hail the Conquering Hero

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Sullivans Travels, 1941
Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake John L. Sullivan plans to make a movie entitled O Brother, Where Art Thou? - a title borrowed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for their 2000 film