37The U.S. Hollywood Studio System (1920s-1960s) *The greatest movie-producing system the world has ever known. 1. An Oligopoly: A limited number of studios--5 "majors" (#1-#5 below), 3 "minors" (#6-#8), Disney, and two independent producers (#10, #11); others not listed included such small “poverty row” studios as Monogram, Hal Roach, and Republic. During the Depression, the U.S. Justice Dept. encouraged this; later, the 1948 Paramount Case decision ended it. 2. Moguls: The importance of a handful of similar men in formulating the system 3. The studio characterized by a large physical plant * soundstages vs. backlots * other facilities that ensured the independence of the studio (e.g., fire station, medical center, sleeping bungalows, restaurants) 4. A stable of crew and contract players (both stars and bit players); e.g., Donna Reed, Jimmy Stewart, Thomas Mitchell, Beulah Bondi, Lionel Barrymore, Ward Bond, Frank Faylen from It’s a Wonderful Life (1947) 5. The star system * the "grooming" of stars under contract * star vehicles 6. Studios as family or "protectorates"38* studio head as patriarch (e.g., Louis B. Mayer) 7. Properties developed from within the studios 8. The importance to most studios of the development of one or more genres *From the 1950s on, this system fell apart with competition from TV, and buyouts by huge conglomerates. _________________________________________ *Each studio had its own "personality" profile: The 5 Majors 1. MGM ("The Supreme") Moguls: Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg Genres: Musicals, comedies Stable: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, Vincente Minnelli Other: Mottos--"The Greatest Motion Picture Studio the World Has Even Known," "More Stars Than There Are in Heaven"; prestigious and flashy 2. Paramount ("The Sophisticate") Mogul: Adolph Zukor Genres: Romantic comedies, epics Stable: Cecil B. DeMille, Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges, Bing Crosby, Marlene Dietrich Other: The studio with a European accent; its stars39had "sexy elegance, wit and dinner clothes" 3. RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) ("The New Yorker") Mogul: Pandro Berman, Howard Hughes (later) Genres: Musicals (early), film noir Stable: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Irene Dunne Other: The urban counterpart to Fox; only studio to actually disappear, after Hughes bankrupted it and Lucy bought it ("Desilu") 4. 20th Century Fox ("The Rube") Mogul: Darryl Zanuck (the only non-Jewish mogul) Genres: Social message films, action/adventure, soaps, disaster films Stable: Shirley Temple, Betty Grable, Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda Other: Rural in focus 5. Warner Brothers ("The Slicker" or "The Cynic") Mogul: Jack L. Warner Genres: Film noir, gangster, weepies, "women's films," war films Stable: James Cagney, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Erroll Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, John Garfield, Ida Lupino Other: The "factory" studio, made movies "fast, cheap and furious"; featured themes of prejudice and inequities, "the cynicism of the sociopolitically disinherited"40The 3 Minors 6. Columbia Mogul: Harry Cohn Genres: Screwball comedies, "Capra-corn" Stable: Frank Capra, the 3 Stooges Other: "Poverty Row" studio, borrowed stars from other studios; was first to adapt to TV, via Screen Gems 7. United Artists Mogul: Joseph Schenck Genres: "Quality" films Stable: The four founders--Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith Other: The first "logo without a lot," just like today's model 8. Universal ("The Old Monster") Mogul: Carl Laemmle Sr. Genres: Horror, weepies Stable: Deanna Durbin, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Abbot & Costello, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis Other: Old-fashioned, often behind the times; last studio to survive intact41Disney (a category of its own) 9. Disney Mogul: Walt Disney Genres: Animated features, live-action family films Stable: Mickey & Minnie, Fred MacMurray Other: Has continued to diversify, e.g., with Touchstone Films Independent Producers 10. Samuel Goldwyn (independent producer) Mogul: Samuel Goldwyn Genres: Classics, drama Stable: William Wyler, Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper, Gregg Toland Other: The mogul hired the elite, but was rough himself, known for "Goldwynisms" (e.g., "Include me out") 11. Selznick International (independent producer) Mogul: David O. Selznick Genres: Mysteries, epics Stable: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotten, Joan Fontaine, Jennifer Jones, Hitchcock (early) Other: Produced many star vehicles for the stars under "personal"