1. The Hollywood Studio System 1930-1949 Lecture 18

2. Studio System: Historical Outline b/t 1900-1925: 64 studios After 1930: 8 studios, collecting 95% of revenues – “Big Five” Paramount (Adolph Zukor), formerly Famous-Players-Lasky Loew’s MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Twentieth Century Fox Warner Brothers Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO)—25% smaller – “Little Three Universal (only production and distribution) Columbia (only production and distribution) United Artists (distribution for independents)

3. “The Studio System” Vertical integration oligopoly Misnomer – 94% of investment in exhibition – 5% of total assets invested in production – 1% of investment in distribution Exhibition: the key to the realm Factory system of production modeled on General Motors

4. Two Phases of the Studio Era: Post-depression—early 1930s – Low film-going attendance War boom—1941-1946 1946: peak year for movie attendance – Paramount made 39 million dollars – Fox: 25 million – Warner Brothers: 22 million

5. Screwball Comedy Cycle (mid-1930s-early 1940s) Gained prominence with It happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934) Slapstick, wisecracks, comedy of manners, sexual innuendo Ridiculous situations Fast-paced repartee Mistaken identities Preston Sturges: – The Great McGinty (1939) – Christmas in July (1940) – The Lady Eve (1941)

6. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)