History of Film 3: The Golden Age, 1927-1941

Famous last words:

"Who in the hell wants to hear actors talk?"

H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers Studios, 1927

To Sound From Silence

By the mid-1920s technology had been developed for adding sound to films, but the big studios were opposed to sound for 10 reasons:

1) They weren't sure the public would accept it.2) Some of the top stars were foreign born with heavy accents.3) Many stars had weak voices that didn't match their macho or seductive images.

Early Challenges I

4) Many actors who didn't have stage experience had voice and diction problems.5) The studios had spent large sums of money promoting their stable of silent stars and many of them would not be able to make it in "talkies."6) It would mean investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in building sound stages.

Early Challenges II

7) Producing sound films would be significantly more expensive than making silent films; a one-million dollar silent film would cost at least one and one-half million dollars with sound.8) Although it was relatively easy to use subtitles to meet the needs of foreign distribution, you couldn't expect actors to speak different languages.

Early Challenges III

9) Silent film directors talked actors through their moves while they were on camera. Sound meant that actors would have to remember what to do and they would have to memorize dialogue.10) In 1927, there were 15,000 theaters showing silent films, all of which would have to be equipped with the expensive new technology.

Early Challenges IV

The big studios stuck together for some time in discouraging the introduction of sound. However, one studio, Warner Brothers, was outside that group. Given the formidable competition from the other studios, they were struggling to survive.

Warner’s Takes the Lead

Warner Brothers had nothing to lose by trying something daring. They reportedly didn't feel that sound would be more than a passing novelty, but, for as long as it lasted, they figured it might make them enough money to stay afloat. Sound was already being used in some theaters for news shorts, so at least those theaters were equipped for sound.

Banking on a Novelty

In 1927, Warner Bros. introduced the first feature-length sound film: The Jazz Singer with Al Jolson.

The film consisted mostly of background music and contained only two segments with synchronized (lip-sync) sound - a total of only 354 spoken words - but that was enough to set off the sound revolution.

The Jazz Singer

Once the film captured public attention, people were lined up around the block from early morning until late at night to get tickets.

The Warner Bros. gamble paid off - big time. As a result, the studio has remained a powerful industry leader for the last 80 years.

The Gamble Pays Off

The First Sound Star: Al JolsonRecognizing a good thing, Warner Brothers rushed another film with Al Jolson into production. This one, The Singing Fool, was an even a bigger hit. It cost $200,000 to make and brought in $5 million. Al Jolson, a vaudeville performer, was perfect choice to launch sound. He had a natural talent for relating to audiences.

Now, the major studios were worried

Faced with the inevitable, the major studios reluctantly abandoned their stand against sound and started building their own sound stages.

Within a few years almost all films were "talkies."

The Tide Turns

But, the move to sound was not without its consequences.

Many stars couldn't make the transition and left the business. Others quickly signed up for voice and diction lessons in an effort to try to save their careers. Even so, the studios used the special needs of sound as an excuse to get rid of some actors.

The ArtistThe Academy Award

for Best Picture of 2011 went to the French film The Artist, which captures the fading fortunes of one such silent film star, George Valentin, and his relationship with Peppy Miller, an “extra” on her way to becoming a star in the new sound era.

Capturing SoundHampered by the early limitations of sound equipment and the influx of sound technicians who were all but dictating how everything should be done, film production techniques took a giant step backward.

Many of the early sound films were not only crudely done, they were downright boring.

Another major problem was that the camera had to be housed in a soundproof, telephone booth-like enclosure to keep the noise of the camera from being picked up by the microphone. This meant that the camera was virtually immobile; and since this was before the advent of zoom lenses, shots tended to be static and unimaginative.

Capturing Sound, cont’d

By this time, the movie industry had clearly established three basic economic divisions: production, distribution, and exhibition.

When the MPPC guild was dissolved by government antitrust action, the studio heads gradually moved to another type of control - the Studio System.

The Birth of the Studio System

The Golden AgeThe Golden Age of Hollywood was the most

powerful and prolific period of film history yet known.

It included the transition from silents to sound, the consolidation of the studio system, exploitation and establishment of familiar genres, imposition of The Production Code (which would govern movie morality until 1968), changes in the look of movies, and the tremendous economic success of feature-length narrative films.

The Studio SystemMovies defined America, and America defined itself

through the movies. The studio system standardized the way films were produced, which led to prolific output.

Once the transition to sound was complete, attendance climbed 50%, proving the adage that one must give the people what they want. (This was to become increasingly difficult after the age of television.)

Genres dominated production, and film-making was efficient: screwball comedies, musicals, gangster films, historical epics, melodramas, and horror movies.

The Studio System, cont’dThe Academy of motion Picture Arts and

Sciences was formed in 1927.The production code was established in 1930,

replaced only in 1968 with a ratings system.Surprisingly, or not, this time period did not

produce as many great films as you may think; if an idea worked once, it was likely to work again in a string os similar movies. The idea was to get people out of the house and give them a diversion from the economic realities of the time.

The Studio System, Cont’dThe films of the day reflected a curious duality: on one hand, they presented and celebrated the

family values of the day (and the production code assured they were moral) and cast a judgmental eye upon immoral or criminal entertainment. Even serious films were softened with comic elements and, often, incongruous happy endings. On the other hand, companies sought to exploit the public’s demand for the unsavoury. Then, as now, sex sold, as did crime, and the public ate it up, while simultaneously condemning it!

MGM, 20th Century Fox, RKO, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, and Columbia dominated the studio years between 1930 and 1950.

During this era the studios created elaborate sound stages and back-lot movie sets and developed a well-coordinated and efficient factory system for creating films.

The Studio Hierarchy

The Studio HierarchyMajors Studios

owned theatres and produced “A” movies:

ParamountMGMWarner Bros.20th Century FoxRKO

Minor Studios did not own theatres and depended on majors to show their films:

UniversalColumbiaUnited Artists

The Studio Hierarchy Cont’d“B” Studios or “Poverty

Row Studios” produced inexpensive “B” movies for the bottom half of double bills:

Republic PicturesMonogram ProductionsGrand NationalEagle-Lion FilmsProducers Releasing

Independent Producers

owned studios and released their films through their own companies or one of the majors:

Walt Disney StudiosDavid O. Selznick

Prod.Samuel Goldwyn Prod.

These studios hired a stable of stars and production people to do as many films as possible. These people were under contract and were not allowed to work for any other studio without permission.

During this period each of the major studios specialized in different kinds of films.

Studio as Fiefdom

Universal Studios

Universal Studios specialized in Horror Films such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein, our core film this week!

Warner BrothersWarner Brothers

specialized in gangster films, such as Public Enemy, Little Caesar, and Angels with Dirty Faces.

Metro Goldwyn MayerMGM, meanwhile,

produced lavish prestigious films such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. MGM was also one of the first studios to work with technicolor.

Gone with the Wind (1939)Gone with the Wind

was the greatest film of the 1930’s. It won 10 Academy Award and set a box office record that would go unchallenged until The Sound of Music. It was the first true blockbuster and demonstrated the studios at their height.

An oligopoly is when a few companies control such a large part of an industry that the action of one affects all of the others.

Although most of the studios were located in the Hollywood-Los Angeles area, they were managed through their New York business offices.

What is an Oligopoly?

The studio heads like Louis Mayer and Darryl Zanuck controlled all of the business decisions, right down to managing the lives of the actors that were in their films.

These companies also controlled theater chains and distribution of their films. Having shed the control of the MPPC, the film industry was now under the control of a few powerful studios.

The Studios Triumphant

By this time, films had changed from the small wooden bench nickelodeons to lavish theaters. During the boom, theaters were opening at the rate of one a week. These theatres were owned by the major studios.

At this time, everyone regularly went to the movies and at an average ticket price of 65 cents almost everyone could afford to!

The Birth of the Movie Palace

During the “Golden age of Hollywood” the studios controlled the industry - and the profits.

One way to maintain control was block booking, or requiring theaters to take many inexpensive, second-rate films in order to be able to show a few really good movies. Theaters were sometimes required to sign up for packages of 100 or more films, sight unseen.

The Golden Age of Hollywood

Movie Palaces in Vancouver

Vancouver Movie PalacesThe Orpheum 1927The Capitol 1931

(gone)The Stanley 1931The Vogue 1941The Strand 1920

(gone)The Park 1941The Ridge 1950

(Happy to say I’ve seen a movie at all of these!)

And then came Citizen KaneHollywood during the Golden Age was not Europe,

with its passion for the avante-garde, the revolutionary, or art film. It was, rather, a dream factory that churned out largely predictable, satisfying, forgettable product.

There were significant advancements in the craft of making films: editing, cinematography, lighting, etc.

Black and white gave way to colour only gradually, as colour stock was not widely available during the war.

Still, the movies remained largely the same, until 1941, when an upstart genius named Orson Welles came to town and made Citizen Kane.