STRUGGLES FOR CONTROL
The Rise of Hollywood
&
The Star System
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CONTROL OF THE INDUSTRY
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American film industry is controlled by
restricting entry
3 PHASES of the industry:
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PRODUCTION
DISTRIBUTION
EXHIBITION
MOTION PICTURE PATENTS CO.
(MPPC, or the TRUST)
• ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TRUST
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EDISON CO. & AMERICAN BIOGRAPH
engaged in extensive & expensive legal
battles
1908, compromise between 2 companies
• Allowed all existing production companies to
join
• Maintained distinct identities
• Competed with 1 another
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PRACTICES
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Selected distributors & exhibitors received
licenses; no unlicensed parties could obtain
Trust films
Licensees bought equipment only from the
Trust
Distributors distributed only Trust films,
exhibitors showed only Trust films
Exhibitors paid license fee of $2 per week
Production companies bought raw film stock
only from Eastman Kodak; Kodak sold only to
the Trust
In 1910, the Trust created the GENERAL
FILM COMPANY
• THE END OF THE TRUST
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Began to lose control of the industry
around 1911
THE DEFECTION OF EASTMAN KODAK
• 1911, contract modified to allow Kodak to
sell to independents
• Within a year, 33% increase in number of
theaters showing independent films
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INTERNAL STRIFE
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Edison received 1/2 of royalties received by
the Trust, Biograph 1/3, & Armat 1/6; other
8 members split the remainder
But legal costs split differently: 1/3 MPPC,
1/3 GFC, 1/3 members
WORLD WAR I
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The MPPC made a strong effort to control
the international market, allowing
independents to gain strength at home
World War I eliminated foreign revenues
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ADVENT OF THE FEATURE FILM
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REFUSAL TO ACCEPT WALL ST. FINANCING
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MPPC failed to see growing popularity of
longer films
Didn't want to go into debt, used only
internal revenues
Not enough money left to fight legal battles,
keep stars, directors, etc.
In 1915, the Supreme Court declared
the Trust in violation of the Sherman
Antitrust Act
THE RISE OF HOLLYWOOD
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1915-1925 saw transition from Trust to STUDIO
SYSTEM
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5 changes:
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end of nickelodeons & beginning of picture “palaces”
Movie audiences became more universal
Short (1-reel) films replaced by feature-length films
Trust replaced by independents
Industry moved to Hollywood for 3 reasons
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More sunshine
More diverse geography
Cheaper labor
Industry organized by studio system, characterized by
OLIGOPOLY & VERTICAL INTEGRATION
Filming in NY, 1916
Filming in New Jersey, 1919
Star Film Ranch,
San Antonio Texas
Biograph Studio
Biograph Advertisement
Hollywood, 1903
Hollywood, 1906
Metropolitan Studios
Biograph (LA)
Rolin Studio
Universal Studios
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OLIGOPOLY: a few large firms control an
entire industry
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After dissolution of Trust, industry truly
competitive
Films soon became more expensive for 3
reasons:
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Feature-length
Salaries increased
Production values increased
Small companies began to merge in order to
compete
By late 1920s, “8 Majors” controlled 91% of
box-office
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VERTICAL INTEGRATION: Control from
production to retail sale
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BIG 5 (MGM, PARAMOUNT, FOX, WARNER BROS.,
& RKO) totally vertically integrated
LITTLE 3 (COLUMBIA, UNIVERSAL, & UNITED
ARTISTS) not totally vertically integrated
EXHIBITION UNDER VERTICAL INTEGRATION
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Big 5 owned about 17 % of American theaters
Enjoyed over 50% of the industry’s gross box-office
RUN-ZONE-CLEARANCE
• 1st RUN - DOWNTOWN THEATERS
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“Picture palaces” owned by the majors
Run was about 1 week long
Highest ticket price
Heavily advertised by the studio
Live orchestra
RUN-ZONE-CLEARANCE
• 2nd RUN - OUTLYING BUSINESS
DISTRICTS
– Smaller, less ornate, usually owned by an
independent chain
– Clearance of 2-3 weeks after 1st run
– Run was about 1-2 weeks long
– Lower ticket price
– Not advertised by the studio
– No orchestra; usually a small band
RUN-ZONE-CLEARANCE
• 3rd RUN - SUBURBS & RESIDENTIAL
AREAS
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Small, “mom & pop” operations
Clearance of 2-3 weeks after 2nd run
Run was about 2-3 weeks long
Bargain ticket price
Not advertised by the studio
No band; usually a piano player
• BLOCK-BOOKING: System whereby
majors rented films to independents
• Independents forced to rent films in
blocks of 10
– 2 or 3 films, high production values, big
stars (“A” films)
– Rest inferior films (“B” films), which often
would not even be shown
– “B” films used as training for new talent
THE STAR SYSTEM
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Hollywood stars serve important function
in industry
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Established value of movies as marketable
commodities
Establish & stabilize rental prices
Actually, they were “servants of the system”
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They were subject to strict contractual control
They were “products” of the studios
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THE ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE:
ESTABLISHING THE MARKET VALUE OF
FILMS
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Rentals charged by studios to their own
theaters were arbitrary
But rental prices charged to other
studio’s theaters & independents
required bargaining & negotiation
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How to establish percentage?
Answer found in stars
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PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION
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PHILOSOPHY
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Most products are well known to consumer
However, all films are different
If demand could be stabilized, so could price
HISTORY
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Originally, trademarks used to differentiate films
Next, emphasis on particular kinds of narratives
Therefore, producers realized that stars would:
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Help predict the success of a film
Provide a basis for setting the rental price
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Also encouraged raising rentals on star
vehicles
This is due to demand elasticity
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Refers to insensitivity of demand to changes
in price; demand is inelastic
If demand can be fixed & stabilized, prices
may be increased without decreasing
demand
Therefore, publicity & advertising
focused on stars
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THE PROCESS; How was a star developed?
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Initially, actor designed to fit narratives
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THE FUNCTION OF ADVERTISING & PUBLICITY
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Studio would differentiate actor to match demand
Demand determined by audience reaction to films
Studio used advertising & publicity to transform star’s
personal life to match screen persona
Accomplished through “authorized biography”
Publicist assigned to each star
Glamour photographs taken & disseminated
Advertising campaigns promoted star’s films
Exploitation campaigns coincided with 1st runs
Could be changed to “adjust” star’s persona
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THE STAR & NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
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Later, narratives designed as vehicles for
star
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Audience expectations used in scriptwriting
Scriptwriters aware of the star’s persona
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“OFFCASTING”
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Casting star in a role that was the
opposite of image already established
Linked to 2 economic needs:
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Efficient use of resources
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Stars paid by year, not by film
Salary would be amortized across many films
Reduced cost of the star per film
Product variation
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Limit to number of films audiences would pay to
see featuring the identical star persona
Allowed use of the persona in advertising
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THE CONTRACT CONTROLS
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Actor’s contract provided studio with
salary control
Also gave studio control over star’s
image
DW Griffith
D W GRIFFITH
• Earliest major American director; the 1st
master of dramatic involvement
• Felt that film appealed to the emotions;
overwhelmed audience with emotional
power
• Born in 1875 in Kentucky; father was a Lt.
Col. in the Confederate Army
• The family once was fairly prosperous,
but was reduced to poverty during
Reconstruction
• Joined an acting company when he was
22
• Spent about 10 years with traveling
acting troupes
• He actually wanted to be a writer
• Sold his 1st play in 1907 (A Fool & A Girl)
• In 1907, found employment at Biograph
Rescued From an Eagle’s Nest (1907)
BIOGRAPH YEARS
• First film, The Adventures of Dolly
(1908); unremarkable cinematically,
thematically important
• GRIFFITH'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT
BIOGRAPH
– Overcame dominant methods of acting
– Mise-en-scene more carefully composed,
"opened up" the frame
– Editing
• Associational cutting
• Flashback
• Tempo
– Combined spatial lengths; establishing shot, medium
shot, close-up
– Used long shots & close ups, camera angles for
psychological & emotional effects
• Helped to codify the meanings of these
transitions: Fade-in, fade-out, dissolve
– Camera movement
• Increased the use of camera movement to create
a sense of space & depth
• Helped perfect:
– Panning & tilting
– Tracking (trucking)
– Dolly (in & out)
• Real contribution was the perfection (not
invention) of these, their systematic use
for narrative, psychological & emotional
impact
• Billy Bitzer deserves half of the credit
Death’s Marathon (1913)
POST BIOGRAPH YEARS
– Joined Reliance-Majestic in 1913, began
work on The Birth of a Nation, released in
1915
– Combined all of the techniques Griffith
had perfected
– Appealed to the middle class Rabidly,
embarrassingly racist
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
• AFTER THE BIRTH OF A NATION
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Intolerance, 1916 at Triangle Productions
Broken Blossoms (1919)
Way Down East (1920)
Orphans of the Storm (1922)
• In 1919, formed United Artists with
Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, &
Charlie Chaplin
Intolerance (1916)
Broken Blossoms (1919)
Way Down East (1920)
Orphans of the Storm (1922)
United Artists
Marcel Duchamp