1. Hollywood:
Studio System, Stars and the
Golden Age
FS2 Producers and Audiences
Wednesday 14th
November 2007

2. Aims and Objectives
• To gain understanding of the major
Hollywood studios during the golden age
• To explore the relationship between stars
and studios

3. Hollywood
Dream
Factory
Tinsel
Town
Walk of
Fame
Oscars
Celebrity Lights,
Camera,
Action

4. Types of Organisation
Monopoly – one company maintains domination
within a sector
Oligopoly – few companies with domination in
one sector
Conglomerate – one large company, that owns
smaller companies in different sectors
Multinational – one company based in many
countries

5. Why Hollywood?
• Climate
• Landscape
• Lighting
• Real estate
• Labour costs

6. The Golden Age
The studio era 1931-1951

7. The Big Five…
Warner Brothers
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO)
Paramount
Twentieth Century-Fox

8. …and the little three
Universal
Columbia Pictures
United Artists

9. Stages of Production
Production:
Fordist model
Distribution and Exhibition:
Run-Zone-Clearance

10. Studio Contracts
• Up to 7 year contracts
• Control of image and
career
• Exhibition: Block and
Blind booking
Before After
Rita Hayworth
Marilyn Monroe

11. Homework
Due: Tuesday 20th
November 2007
Part 1 Cinema as institution:
Read pages 4-15, then complete Q1-4 on p.15
Part 2 Warner Brothers:
Using the information from the reading research
contemporary Warner Brothers, focus on
ownership, products and vertical/horizontal
integration.