Also known as the "Golden Age of Hollywood", this was a time when the "studio system" was at its height in Hollywood. During this time, the US film industry was dominated by 5 main studios, nicknamed the Majors or "big 5" - Warner Bros, Lowe's/MGM, Fox, Paramount and RKO. However, there also existed three smaller studios, dubbed the "little three": Columbia, Universal and United Artists. Columbia and Universal had production and distribution facilities, whilst U/A was a distribution company for independent producers, and was founded by director D.W Griffith in 1915.
Despite this, all eight studios were part of an Oligopoly, that is, there existed a state of limited competition between the majors and the little three. The success of the studios during this time was attributed to the fact that they were all vertically integrated, meaning the studios owned the whole process of filmmaking from planning and production through to distribution and exhibition. This was so important during 1930-1949 because film companies with the financial resources to organise themselves in this way stood to dominate the market through pervasive influence and their ability to block out competition.
There are three main divisions of the film industry -
Exhibition (the public screening of a film) was the most influential branch of film-making during this era, as it was where the money was made! It accounted for 90% of the major's total asset value during the years 1930-1949. Even though they owned only 15% of cinemas in the US, that didn't stop them collecting approx 75% of the exhibition revenues.
Distribution - marketing the film by leasing it from the producer and renting it for the exhibitor (ie cinema)
Production - the actual making of the film. Incidentally, in October 1931, Paramount Studios broke away from the central producer system by introducing a "producer-unit" system. This meant emplyoing a head of production to oversee the studio, with associate producers overseeing the production of the film; hence its overall impact was to lessen the influence of the studio executivess on a film's production.
B U T....
In 1948 the famous Paramount Anti-Trust Case brought an end to Vertical Integration, making this method of production illegal.
HOW?
The Paramount Anti-Trust case ended Vertical Integration by calling for the five majors to separate their production and distribution companies with their exhibition chains.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
- To account for the decline in audience numbers after 1948, Hollywood introduced special production methods aimed at drawing cinema-goers back in. Techniques such as Cinemascope were introduced, which enhanced the viewing experience for audiences owing to its widescreen capacities.
- Television was also a source of major competition for Hollywood during the early 1950's, as both British and American society became more affluent. However, even today cinema is seen as spectacle (let's face it - there's nothing quite like seeing a movie on that big screen!) and it is a viewing experience that remains vastly different to anything you might see on television.
- Film companies have also found ways of generating extra revenue through their films by releasing them on video and DVD for domestic consumption.
Critical - a film that consistently receives positive reviews from the media, ie. Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick, 2000)
Popular - a film that has entered into popular culture and is known and enjoyed by a large number of people, ie. the Austin Powers trilogy.
Commercial - a film that earns a large return on the amount of money invested in making it, ie. X-men or Spiderman.
Despite this, some films may not always enjoy all forms of success. A film that receives critical acclaim may not always enter into popular culture. Likewise, a film that has huge commercial success and makes more money than that invested in it may not be popular with the critics. Occasionally, a film can do all three, for example the Star Wars saga.