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Hollywood Studio System

Studio System Research

During which decades was the Hollywood studio system at its most powerful?
- 1920s and 1930s

What were the major 'big five' studios?
- MGM
- Paramount
- Warner Bros
- RKO and Fox
- The Little Three 

What areas and roles in film production did the studio system have direct control over?
- By 1945, the studios owned either partially or outright 17% of the theatres in America, accounting for 45% of the film-rental revenue. So the studios had a guarantee that their movies would be distributed. They also controlled the process of making the movies, they usually had the actors, producers, directors and writers under contract, owned the film processing and laboratories and created the prints. The studio was also infamous for 'owning' their stars, a practice that is known as 'The Star System'. 

Why was the factory method of production successful?
- Because the studio pursued vertical integration through ownership or effective control over producers, artists, distributors, and movie theatres. By owning everything, the studio maximised their potential revenues.

Why did the studio system lose power and control in the 1950s and 1960s? 
- The decline of the Studio System began in 1948 with the verdict in the antitrust case. This decision outlawed the practice of block booking, blind bidding, zoning policies, long-term contracts etc and forced the studio to sell their theatre chains. A lawsuit had already been filed in 1938, but it was settled with a consent decree in 1940, which allowed the government to reinstate the lawsuit if it had not seen a satisfactory level of compliance. 
- 'The Big Five' suffered after the court decision because they didn't have the assurance that their films would be seen anymore, they had to cut back on productions and their list of stars, producers, directors and writers and made fewer films. 
- Paramounts profits dropped from 20 million to 6 million in one year.
- The end of the Studio System marked the end of Classical Hollywood. 

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