Film TV 106A

Lights of NY

horrible movie, but first full talking

Clara Bow

"It Girl"- is the first big actress to capture this new modern woman through her films and becomes biggest female in the box offices. Led to trend for other girls in Hollywood bobbing their hair and becoming flappers

Florence Lawrence

"The Biograph Girl". Carl Laemmie lures her from Biograph to make her a star then reveals her to public after fake death stunt. Became huge and expensive

Production Code & Joseph Breen

•create the production code with Catholic church leaders •was the head of PCA •initially ignored, but all filmmakers gave in because of boycott threats when the Legions of Decency were hammering away at them •Mae West was number one in box office, and after PCA, Shirley Temple became the most popular actress •Betty Boop was censored from being a flapper to a housewife •Strictly imposed from mid 1934-1966 •High moral standards, correct standards of life portrayed, law can't be ridiculed, murder could not be graphic, revenge is not okay, no sex outside of marriage, adultery must suffer, "foot on the ground" love, no bathroom humor

MPPDA & Will Hays

•first president of MPPDA •set up the "don'ts and be careful's" •set up committees of regulation •former postmaster general/ elder of Presbyterian church •established the Central Casting •ran into more issues when sound films came about

Mae West

•was arrested 3 times on stage •hired by Paramount •was the most popular actress in her time •frank view on sexuality •her career was over by 1936-37 because of the PCA

Thomas Ince: mass production of films

•was the first executive producer in Hollywood and devised the plan for successful studio management. He introduced detailed shooting scripts, tight schedules, and production notes. introduced the studio system. •introduced early Hollywood to the "assembly line" system of film making •Ince built his studio, named "Inceville". The studio was the first of its kind in that it featured stages, offices, labs, commissaries (large enough to serve lunch to hundreds of workers), dressing rooms, props houses, elaborate sets, and other necessities in one location. Sold it and made •Triangle Studios- was one of the first vertically integrated film companies. Sold his shares to Griffith and Sennett in 1918. Three years later the studios were acquired by Goldwyn Pictures, and in 1924 the facility was turned into the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. •Made he independent releasing company, Associated Producers, Inc., and served as its president. Associated Producers distributed major producer-directors like Sennett, but could not function on its own successfully. In 1922, Ince's company merged with First National. Ince's production company still made movies that were released through First National until 1924.

Singing Fool

$3 admission price, biggest financial hit

1 reel, edited narrative films

-10 minute long films -more movie subjects due to editing, compared to previous single subject matter

Harold Lloyd

All American nerdy boy look, in all his films his cute nerdyness leads to difficulties but they were always good fun and pleasant. His hand was partly blown off in an accident and wore a prosthetic glove which makes his stunt work more amazing

Distribution Exchange

-Chicago main hub (80% traffic controlled by 15 chicago exchanges) -Carl Laemmle: created independent movie picture -created exchange that became largest in America -IMP independent movie picture -> universal -Laemmle film service, Universal directly controlled all distribution of films worldwide -General Film Company - controlled distribution -MMPPC (motion pictures patent company) (trust) - went after independents that created films

Musicals

-First popular genre of sound films -Seemed at first to exploit everything that sound had to give -The Broadway Melody wins the best picture Oscar in 1929 Busby Berkeley at Goldwyn & Warner Bros. -Had special vision of men and women dancing in unisons, which formed kaleidoscopic designs as the camera swoops around the act. -Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers at RKO -One man and one woman doing ballroom dancing to classic songs.

Selig Polyscope Company

-First to shoot in SoCal -Chicago based -Shot a lot of nature scenes, wild animal

Gangster Films

-Seemed to lend themselves to Sound Films -The sound of the machine guns, cars, vocabulary and slang

The Nickelodeon

-Theater, seats 75-300 people -Low admission price (nickel) -Started in Mid-west -One reel subjects -Frequent change of program, audience was lower-middle class -Immigrant Jewish owners -Compete with Vaudeville -Films rented from distribution exchange

RCA Photophone (Radio)

1895 Guglielmo Marconi Wireless Telegraph- Point to point WWI- Research, training, military use: saw the radio as a great weapon of war. Generals and troops could now communicate to each other General Electric, Westinghouse, AT&T were hired by the Gov. in order to do research and improve the radio During WWI, the US Gov. trained 10,000 soldiers to use the radio 1919- Radio Corporation of America- RCA would inherit all of Marconi's assets, and was led by David Sarnoff 1920 ‚ Dr. Frank Conrad- KDKA, Pittsburg- First Broadcast Station 1922 Toll (commercial) broadcasting. People began to realize that they could sell things over the radio, and also broadcast news 1922 Network radio nationwide coverage 1926- RCA creates NBC Radio Network- send a broadcast out, and give the same broadcast nationwide. 1927- CBS Radio Network - RCA, NBC & David Sarnoff

United Artists

1919 Mary Pickford Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., D.W. Griffith. Rebelled against the strict studio systems of distribution and formed their own studio. Their styles each complemented each other. •They could make their films, but they had to go through the big distribution companies like Paramount to get their films distributed and Paramount and these huge studios would charge like 35% •Stars salaries became hugest budget on films •Zukor realized he needed to cut actor salaries if he wanted to maintain power •That's why a lot of actors welcomed First National •There was a rumor going around that Paramount and First National would merge •This scared Chaplin, Pickford, Griffith, and Fairbanks) they concluded that their problem was distribution so in 1919 they get together to create UNITED ARTISTS. •United Artists promised they would not block book and every producer would get his own profits •Special entity to distribute independent producers •Main heads are Chaplin and Pickford •Griffith and Fairbanks would dwindle out because of their economic interests

Jazz Singer

1927 first feature length film to have sound for dialogue; highlights the impact/importance that (changing) technology has on the entertainment industry with the resulting death of silent films and the start of union/labor conflicts

Cinemagraph

A device that created by the Lumiere Brothers that is capable of recording projecting moving images.

Kinetoscope

A moving-picture device, invented by Thomas Edison and his associates in 1892, that allowed one person at a time to watch a motion picture by looking through the viewer.

Vitascope

A new large screen system through which longer film strips could be projected without interruption.

Vaudeville

A type of inexpensive variety show that first appeared in the 1870s, often consisting of comic sketches, song-and-dance routines, and magic acts.

Motion Picture Patents Company

Also known as the Movie Trust, Edison Trust, or the Trust, this coalition, which lasted from 1908 to 1912, was organized by the ten largest movie companies, whose producers and distributors attempted to gain complete control of the motion-picture industry in the US primarily through control of patents It was sought to control all aspects of motion picture production, distribution, and exhibition

Lumiere Brothers

Auguste and Louis; invented the cinematographe, a box that could record, develop, and show films; "there had never been a technology that could do so accurately produce an illusion of reality"; in two years, the Lumiere's made over 1,000 films shot all over the world

Independent Motion Picture Company

Carl Laemmle founded this company and hired actors and actresses exclusively.

Mutoscope

Created by the Biograph company under Dicksons. it had postard-size flipcards instead of the strip film that the kinetoscope had.

General Film Company

Created in 1910 as single distributor of Trust films by MPPC

Kinetograph

Early motion picture camera invented by Thomas Edison

Film D'Art

Early silent French "art" films consisting of filmed stage productions.

Synchronized & amplified sound

Edison Kinetophone/ Gaumont Chronophone: uses a record player, and a projector to run a film at the same speed, both were a terrible failure.

Edwin S. Porter

Employee of Edison who began making early films for the Edison Company. Director of "The Great Train Robbery". This film is considered by many to be the first narrative film (1903) Jack in the Beanstalk Life of an American Fireman Editing: crosscutting

Biograph Company

First and primary competition for Edison. Started out as American Mutoscope Company. Founded by WKL Dickson, a former Edison employee

Mack Sennett

Founded Keystone Studios and essentially created the slapstick genre that was later perfected and enhanced by early comic film actors.

William Fox

Founder of Fox Film Corporation, also worked to film outside the restrictions of the Trust. British inventor; introduced a paper film process; more important to the development of photography than the metal film system; was one of the key people to break Edison trust with MPPC

Fox Movietone

Fox Case optical sound on Film 1927 April 30: Movietone New premieres- first synch news reels 1927 May 20: Lindberg flight - fox recorded him taking off Lindberg becomes a hero, and Fox began to distribute all of his speeches, interviews, etc. in their movie reels.

Eadweard Muybridge

He achieved a sense of motion by positioning cameras at different intervals along a racetrack and arranging for the shutters to click in sequence, Photographer. Set stage for movies. Took serial photographs of horses to prove all 4 hooves left the ground at once. Indication that motion pictures could exist.

Pathé

In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment and production company, as well as a major producer of phonograph records. In 1908, Pathé invented the newsreel that was shown in cinemas prior to a feature film.

W.K.L. Dickson

Invented the kinetoscope and Edison put his name on it. He then left Edison and invented the mutoscope. 35mm film, would leave Edison and start his own company Biograph

Georges Méliès

Known for development of narrative cinema. Wasn't concerned with technology, just the story. Was a professional magician who often acted in his own films which lacked a linear storyline- just filled the space in between magic tricks. Developed first theater in the world for movie industry-- Theater Robert Houdin. One of the most important early directors. A Trip to The Moon--1st full length film. Designed and constructed sets on canvas flats. Films involved sophisticated stop motion effects. Ex: people vanishing

Contracts & Publicity

Long Term Option Contract - binding top talent for seven years, every year studios had option to drop star or give a raise

Famous Players

Major players were Adolf Zukor and Jesse Lasky This is the beginning of what will be Paramount. The strategy they used was advertising certain actors. Very shortly after, companies do this as well

Loew's Inc (Metro Goldwyn Mayer)

Marcus Loew, Nicholas Schenck, Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg •Marcus Loew realized early on that he had to pay Paramount (Zukor) to get films to be played in his nice theaters •So he decides to start his own production company: MGM •Samuel Goldfish is head of Goldfish company but changes his name to GOLDWYN but then he falls under economic hardship and Loews buys his company •Then Sam Goldwyn starts Goldwyn Pictures but Loew's says you cant do this so they called it Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer •And independent company called Samuel Goldwyn company formed not at all tied to MGM •MGM bought this independent company from Goldwyn's son •Now became Paramount vs. MGM but Fox was also big •MGM comes out with many great films (The Big Parade, Ben-Hur, Creed)

Étienne-Jules Marey

Marey's chronophotographic gun was made in 1882, this instrument was capable of taking 12 consecutive frames a second, and the most interesting fact is that all the frames were recorded on the same picture, using these pictures he studied horses, among other animals

motion picture technology

Patented by Edison in 1888, perforated film that traveled from a sprocketed reel across a revolving shutter in front of a strong continuous light source

Gaumont

Pathe's main rival. A smaller French firm founded by Leon Gaumont. Also originated in dealing with photographic equipment. In 1897, it began producing films. In 1905, it built a production studio.

Lubin Manufacturing Company

Philadelphia film company from Germany, film pirate, copyrighter -made his own copy of great Train Robbery, -later made own movies

William S. Hart

Silent film actor who made 65 movies, most of them westerns. He became well known for his portrayal of the American cowboy. The stock characters and situations - the fight in the saloon, the faithful horse, the dude who goes west, the sheriff who cleans up the town, the showdown, the trip west in a covered wagon -- that are now clichés of western movies were first introduced to film audiences by Hart. Many of the actors who appeared in his films had lived the experiences of the western frontier.

The Egyptian Theater

The Egyptian Theatre started the idea of the "Premiere" where stars would show up, there would be an announcer, fans would line up

Vitaphone

The sound-on-disc process first used by Warner Bros; eventually made obsolete by the sound-on-film process.

Vitagraph

United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925. Created war films, journalism, Spanish American war movies

blind bidding

a common practice during the studio era in which exhibitors were forced to rent a film without having seen it, though they were provided with advance publicity materials

Lon Chaney

a different kind of star, elaborate make up and costume and crazy different faces, his films helped begin the horror film genre that would become very popular coming out of Hollywood. Many of his films influenced modern horror (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera, etc.)

Tom Mix

a great star of 20s westerns. By this time Westernt werent necessarily taken seriously but basically just seen as fun and light and is accompanied by Tony the wonder horse

Buster Keaton

an acrobatic skilled comedian and his parents were Vaudeville comedians so he started at a very young age and got the nickname Buster from Harry Houdini. At 21 he was still doing Vaudeville and ran into Roscoe Arbuckle who had left Vaudeville and become a superstar, he encouraged him to get out of Vaud and get into movies and invited him to NYC to check it out. His films are more he against the world and taking on grand foes. "The General" was his greatest film, but then in one year goes from being a big star to a terrible alcoholic

Greta Garbo

from 1925 onward is MGM's new big star and embodies the sexy other woman in films and always is going for guys with girls. She has a great intensity and gets even bigger in Europe. She was the first star that theatre critics actually took seriously as a talented actress. She didn't make public appearances or do bullshit interviews but was very reclusive

Rudolph Valentino

olive skinned, slim, and sexy with slick backed hair and just seduces women, became another famous male figure, very opposite of Fairbanks. Valentino plays Latin playboys/lovers and dances Tango in his movies. Legend of the most romantic male lead, and dies at 31 sadly

Douglas Fairbanks

one of the great stars of silent Hollywood (eventually marries Mary Pickford). Great fun and big smile on his face, plays all American boys in his early films and then starts playing superheroes when he plays Zorro. He does gigantic costume comedy hero films and this helps create the secret identity superhero drama

Carl Laemmle

quits MPPC to start IMPC organizes distribution exchanges with independent theaters, builds Universal City 1915 and creates the star system

double bill

two plays or other works staged on a single program.

Hal Roach

was a producer and good friends with Harold Lloyd and produced his films. His studios became most popular comedy factory in Hollywood and created the Laurel and Hardy comedy team with a fat and skinny comedian. Created the "Little rascals (Our Gang)" kid comedy show which was fully racially integrated

D.W. Griffith

• An innovative American filmmaker of the early twentieth century. He is famous for his epic silent films, such as The Birth of a Nation, which required huge casts and enormous sets., • An early pioneer of moving picture art for the Biograph Company who extended the vocabulary of visual narrative.

Adolph Zukor

• Comes to United States in 1916 and works in businesses like fur • Then in early 1920's owns Nickelodeons, shows the Great Train Robbery • He believed that if you gave them something longer people would be wanting to pay something more than a nickel • Proved this ^ • Zukor gets the rights to a film with Sara Burnheart (France) who was the most famous actor in the world. • They film several of her stage plays like Queen Elizabeth • Then created Famous Players and in 1912, Queen Elizabeth was a huge success • Film longer movies and charge higher prices • Film plays, now many producers are adopting this form of filmmaking, Zukor leads the way • They start popping out these films every week as promised • Start the feature film length craze •End of 1913 he has a new feature with Mary Pickford every month •Pickford is becoming the famous movie star •The craze for the Feature Film starts in 1913 and is going to change the distribution of film and the way films are made (Zukor did this) •Filmed plays and books with movie stars usually an hour and a half long •First ever feature film shot in Hollywood credited to Jesse Lasky

Kalem Company

• In 1903, he started distributing Biograph films as well as European films and was one of the first to start renting films out to theatres. He became involved in patent disputes with Edison in 1908, causing members of the industry to establish the Motion Picture Patents Company. • He founded Kalem Company, an American film studio in New York City in 1907 with Samuel Long, and Frank J. Marion. The company was named for their initials, K, L, and M.

Essanay

• The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an American motion picture studio. It is best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies of 1915. • Produced silent films with stars

Mary Pickford

•"America's Sweetheart," top female star of the silent movies, married Fairbanks and started United Artists with Fairbanks, Griffith, and Chaplin •She brought in 1 million dollars a year •Always plays teenage movie star •She married the biggest male film star of the time Douglas Fairbanks

Don Juan

•1926; Movie made by the Warner Brothers and had a cheap Vitaphone because they needed something to make Warner Bros studios better than others •First film to have sound, but no dialogue

Hollywood Studio System

•A model of industrial organization in the film industry from about 1915 to 1946, characterized by the development of major and minor studios that produced, distributed, and exhibited films, and held film actors, directors, art directors, and other technical crew under contract. •Big Five: Fox Film Corporation, Loew's Incorporated (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, Warner Bros •Little Three: Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, United Artists

Guilds & Unions

•Academy brought together management and talent to settle disputes •Stars went to the Academy to discuss the 50% salary cuts → big stars created the Screen Actors Guild in 1932 and 1933 • Directors formed the Directors Guild •Writers formed the Writers guild → there was a battle for recognition that lasted until 1940

The Deluxe Theater

•Admission $1-2 •Capacity 300-6000, idea of bigger is better, better for the buck, same movie plays •Feature with live music •Weekly change of program, idea of getting people in the habit of seeing movies •Picture Palaces, needed dozens of people. •Designed to have big lobbies to keep people of the weather while people waited for their movie •Theaters had elaborate décor

vertical integration

•An attempt by one company to simultaneously control several related aspects of the media business. •With Paramount Zukor creates Vertical Integration which combined Production, Distribution and Exhibition •This is the first time a company had combined all three disciplines •This started a huge race amongst competitors to control the industry. •Film Industry fights to control all three disciplines. •Studio system established.

block booking

•An early tactic of movie studios to control exhibition, involving pressuring theater operators to accept marginal films with no stars in order to get access to films with the most popular stars, •An outlawed studio era practice, where studios forced exhibitors to book groups of films at once, thus ensuring a market for their failures along with their successes •Block booking made it difficult for the independents to get their own movies into theaters when exhibitors had already purchased a block of films that would provide the theater with plenty of movies. But even worse, since the independent released their films through the studio-owned exchanges, the independents found that their films were being used by the Hollywood distributors to pawn off low-budget studio B-pictures. The producers believed that block booking encouraged slack filmmaking by forcing inferior films on the theaters and the moviegoers.

Italian Spectaculars

•Around 1910 we see the beginnings of a film business in Italy. •grand opera (appealed to elite) •long stories about Ancient Rome •mostly 2 hour fiction films •George Kleine got the rights to films from Italy •Instead of putting them in Nickelodeon, he rented theaters or concert halls and he would hire orchestras & charge a dollar for admission

AT&T, Western Electric, sound on disk

•Bell Labs •bought Western Electric (largest telephone manufacturers , research company) •Sound on Disk- an electrical signal working between two motors in order to create synchronized sound. •In 1914, AT&T bought the patent to the Audion tube, and applied it to their phones to develop their long distance phones. •AT&T developed the first loudspeakers in 1916 and microphones in 1917 •1925 Electrical recording •leaves Warner Bros, form the ERPI (electrical research products inc) in order to sell ever production company equipment •1928 Big Five sign with AT&T, Western Electric, and Electrical Research Products Inc.

How the oligopoly worked

•Big 5 ran first run theater chains (where movies were screened were the first time); was split regionally •Big 5 cooperated to reach national audience → had to share their films around •Theaters required 100+ films per year → they had to go to other studios and make arrangements to use their films •Little 3 had symbiotic relationship with the Big 5 because they provided B films for the double bills Structure of Hollywood film company •Distribution and Exhibition was based in New York •Headquarters determined the budget, type & quantity of films •Each of the majors had a building in NY They started making movies with a built-in audience based on books → had a more conservative voice •Agreed no block booking

Theda Bara

•Biggest film star for Fox •Vamp: to seduce a man •90% of Thedas films are lost •Reaction against Mary Pickford (anti-Mary Pickford) •Embodied by Theda Bara •Mature, dark haired woman •Played the seductresses of history (outright sexuality and seduction as opposed to Pickford's innocence)

US Film Industry and the Great Depression

•Box office began to plunge in 1931; almost every company is losing money except MGM & Columbia (through costsaving methods) •By 1931, people couldn't afford to go to the movies •By 1933, half of the major companies were bankrupt: Paramount, Fox, RKO, and Universal declared bankruptcy/receivership •Exhibitors were hit first - half price Tuesdays -giveaways

First National

•By 1917 - Theaters' were getting nervous because studios were gaining so much power and Theaters had a lot of expenses in terms of making these beautiful Theater palaces •At a meeting in 1917 a team of leading Theater owners met to agree they needed a production company for their theaters o Created by Theater chains o Exhibition o Distribution o Production o Vertical Integration o Burbank Lot •First company in the industry to be production, distribution and showing •Zukor sees this as a threat •Zukor goes to wall street and begins to raise money from stock and bonds, raises millions, and buys builds theater chain for Paramount. More than 1000 theaters for Paramount.

Legion of Decency

•Created by the catholic church •Boycotted movies that they considered indecent •Condemned all Mae West films

Lee de Forest & Optical Sound

•Developed and patented the Audion tube (1907), or the modern amplifier. Most amplifiers in the 20th century are descendants from the Audion Tube. •In 1922, he attempted to create a synchronized optical soundtrack device called the De Forest Phonofilm •De Forest pitched his invention to Hollywood, but they rejected it because society was used to silent films Optical sound on film adopted first by Fox Films

Theater Food Sales

•Extremely successful •Where they get most of their profit from •push carts, soda, popcorn (most popular) •Loew's chains did not start selling food until later

Warner Bros

•Harry, Jack, Sam & Al Warner •Goldman Sachs & Waddill Catchlings (wizard of wall street)- invested in Warner Bros., and turned the company into the next Paramount in the early 1920s. •As a result, they can hire bigger stars, produce more movies, and expand their distribution. •They bought KFWB, a radio station in LA to broadcast their films to the public. •Sam Warner was introduced to Synchronized Films, and pitched the idea to his brothers. Sam argued that they could save millions from hiring orchestras if they switched to synchronized films. •Warner Bros. partnered with Western Electric to make the Vitaphone Company- they would prerecord the music and sound, and play it in the theaters. •They also realized that they could add synchronized sound effects. •Produced a film about the behind the scenes life in Germany right as the US was about to enter WWI, and as a result was a huge success. •Rin-Tin-Tin movies = cheap to film and extremely popular.

Structure of Hollywood Studio

•Hollywood production lots, backlots, and ranches •Studio Boss - negotiate contracts, liaison to NY boss •Head of Production - get 50 films made, oversaw producer •Story Dept

Star System

•Independent Moving PIcture Co. developed the ideas of the movie star •Stars became source of marketing •People started going to watch films because of the popularity of the actors •Moved from theater actors to young, attractive stars •Hollywood brought out a whole generation of stars after the transition to sound films •Mary Pickford: biggest star in the world from 18921979 → played heroines •Theda Bara was the "sexy" actress → played the vamp roles

Griffith at Biograph

•Long shot, medium shot, close up •Moving camera •He breaks the stage tradition, and gets up close with his characters and different camera shots •He was well known for working with his actors, his actors were very loyal to him, he also worked with rehearsing with the actors before they appeared in front of the camera •Griffith & actors: Pickford, Gish •Editing for meaning - Griffith clearly saw the logic and power of film editing. How you can use editing to create pace, rhythm and a beat for the film •Lighting and camera: Billy Bitzer, Griffith not only saw lighting for good exposure but also to create drama and lighting effects. His lighting schemes are quite complex and dramatic •Social commentary and big themes. •Griffith took films very seriously and thought it was the biggest thing of the century, he would deliver many serious messages in his films. •Griffith always felt constricted by making films for Biograph and Nickelodeon's •Griffith had more to say than just 1 reel films, 1910, 1911 and 1912 he makes 2 real films •Griffith is one of the first people to come out to Los Angeles to expose the good weather out here •In 1912 he shoots a Western that is 3 reels long and he brings it back to New York and the executives are kind of upset because they did not know how to shoot a 3 reel film so they put it on the shelf •After 1912 he leaves Biograph and finds a Producer that is outside financing him

Charlie Chaplin

•Most famous comedian of the time •Came to Keystone •With brother Sydney Chaplin in Fred Karno Comedy Troupe. They became popular in Vaudeville •1913 December Chaplin joins Mack Sennett & Keystone (1 year contract makes 35 films) •"The Tramp" - plays the tramp with the big clothes, fake mustache with hat. Bottom of society, homeless person, always the person at the bottom of the ladder. He becomes the most popular comedian working for Sennett •The complete filmmaker - writing, directing, acting •1915 Essanay - signs with a trust company Essanay for a higher salary makes films there •1916 Mutual - then joins Mutual, for a million dollars a year. Most popular male star in the world. •1917 La Brea Studio - builds his own studio •1918 First National - making films for first National •1919 United Artists - creates his own distribution company

National Industrial Recovery Act

•National Recovery Administration were supposed to help businesses •Companies couldn't afford making two high budget movies → they created the B movie: old set scripts and no big stars; cheaper and shorter •Code of Fair Practices •reduces competition and asked for the board of fair practice Double bill

Nationwide Distribution: Paramount

•Nationwide feature film distribution •1914 - W.W. Hodkinson - he had contacts with distributors all over America. Hodkinson made a company called Paramount. He got the contracts from Zukor and Famous Players Lasky to distribute its films. Also the Jesse Lasky and Cecil DeMille. Zukor does the math. He realizes he is making good money with Famous players but Paramount is doing better. If I could bring together production and distribution in the same company then I would be the most powerful film person ever •He wanted to bring together Hodkinson and his company •Hodkinson thought it was a bad idea •In 1916 Hodkinson denies merging with Zukor •Zukor says it doesn't matter I'm taking over your company and you are released •He takes Famous Players and combines it with Paramount •Famous Players Paramount •Biggest distributor of anyone else •Then Zukor does an Edison thing where he thinks he can take over the film distribution •Paramount attempts to make 100 films a year and tries to make 2 features a week •But it doesn't work, its too overwhelming. Too much money •So soon drop back at 50 features a year. Its still a lot •50 features a year becomes a standard for Hollywood •Goal for big distributors ^ •Zukor is trying different methods (Block Booking) so successful it is going to sweep through the country •You could rent Paramount's films each year on a all or nothing basis •This guarantees that all the movies are being seen to make money •That means that the big actors like Mary Pickford had to carry the program •It was hard to have a huge flop or failure because the theaters had to show them. •Block booking great policy for Paramount and Famous Players •Theatre owners would complain decades after about the oligopoly of Hollywood and monopolistic controlling •1916 - Zukor & Famous Players Lasky merge production and distribution •1917 - distributes over 100 features

Early Sound Films

•Paramount reopened one of their NY studios to film stage performers during the day time, and at night the performers would go onto Broadway •By 1930- The Love Parade •1931- City Streets is one of the first films to capture impressionistic sound

Sound Changes in Production

•Production is profoundly altered by the need to record sound on set. •Production studios had to motorize the cameras for precise synchronization- made the cameras heavier, bulkier, and more stationary. •The motor caused so much noise that cameras had to be placed in a soundproof booth to not interfere with the recording. •Boom Microphones- walk and talk •Sound and lightproof studios to prevent city noise •Sound Changes in Exhibition (US theaters wired 1926-1931) •Wiring 6-10 theaters a night to play Sound films •Started in larger cities to reach larger audiences, and then moved to smaller and smaller populated towns.

RKO

•RCA buys Victor (the biggest record company), and forms RCA Victor •R.K.O.- Radio/Keith/Orpheum •The RCA photophone •Optical Sound on Film •FBO- Kennedy's Film Booking Office •Pathe American •Keith-Albee-Orpheum theaters •Radio Pictures When Joseph P. Kennedy and other investors merged Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain and Radio Corporation of America, the resulting movie studio RKO Radio Pictures used RCA Photophone as their primary sound system.

1929

•RCA, RKA, NBC, -Victor- David Sarnoff •Paramount Vitaphone CBS- Adolph Zukor, Warner Bros. decide to sell out •DOJ goes to Zukor and tells him that he can't go through •with the merger •Loew's Inc. President Nicholas Schenck •Fox Loews MGM First National- DOJ comes down on Fox for his mergers too •1929 Oct. Stock Market crash •Foxes empire crashes •Spring of 1930, the Board of Fox engineers a takeover and takes the company •Fox goes to jail for jury tampering •The Big 5: Paramount, MGM, Fox, Warners, RKO. Five vertically integrated companies who dominate Hollywood Hollywood depression proof

Balaban & Katz / S.L. Rothafel (Roxy)

•Roxy became a phrase used to describe a nice theatre •Told workers to never accept tips, to be very polite and get the audience in a great mood, give them the best possible experience •Balaban and Katz were based in Chicago, they began to build picture palaces •During the summer business went down. Why? •People did not want to stay in doors during hot summer they wanted to be outside •Balaban and Katz couldn't afford this so they had to do something about this •Slaughterhouses had created areas of large space that could be refrigerated and cool down large places •Balaban and Katz bought this equipment to put into the theatre to cool it down •Attendance began to go up instead of down now during the summer. Public loved this. •Movie theatres were the first public spaces to have air-conditioning •They would advertise it with the movie that was playing

Birth of a Nation & Intolerance

•The Birth of a Nation (Feb. 1915) most expensive film shot at that time •Griffith becomes the most prominent and advanced filmmaker in the world •Most controversial film in the world at the time •2.5 hours in length and risking a lot of money •Movie about the civil war time, it was the 50th anniversary of the civil war, maybe created it as a commercial decision so people would go see it •Griffith had the Southern perspective of the civil war, story about before the civil war where 2 families are really good friends and boy and girl love each other but one is from the north and the other is from the south and they have to kill each other •He decides with the huge sum of money he made off Birth of a Nation and creates Intolerance (1916) and its even more spectacular film, 3-hour length. Its 4 different films in different times. •He loses a lot of his money on Intolerance, its not 100% clear why Intolerance was a failure. Intolerance comes out while the United States is getting prepared for WWI

Sound Stars

•Vocal Coaches •Composers and songwriters are brought into Hollywood to write new and original musicals. •Voice tests in the 1920s - make the transition from silent to sound films •Foreign born stars had a difficult time making the transition •Greta Garbo continued to do silent films due to her accent, and eventually starred in her first speaking role in Anna Christie •Mickey Mouse became a superstar in the early 1930s through synchronized sound within the animation genre.

Hollywood Scandals of 1920s

•William Desmond Taylor: he was gunned down in his room; no one was arrested •Wallace Reid: became morphine/heroin addict → went to sanitarium and died there •Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle: went to trial for manslaughter for Virginia Rappe and was acquitted

Studio era vertical integration

•combined exhibition, production, and distribution to create films faster and more efficiently •The Big 5 (Paramount, MGM, 20th Century Fox, RKO, Warner Bros) •The Little 3: Universal, Columbia, UA → supplied B and independent films