1 What were the Big 5 studios & what type of movies was each studio famous for?

1. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
2. Wizard of Oz, Warner Bros
3. Casablanca, Paramount
4. A farewell to Arms, Fox
5. Miracle on 34th Street and RKO – Citizen Kane

2.  Explain what vertical integration and block-booking was?

vertical integration  the practice of a large corporation controlling multiple aspects of the film industry, from production and distribution, to exhibition and even ownership of the theaters

.Block-booking An act or instance of reserving a large number of tickets,

3. Why and when did the original studio system collapse?

The Court ruled in United States v. Paramount in, 1948, finding that the studios had violated anti-trust laws,

4. What was happening in America in 1948

. President Truman signs Executive Order 9981, ending racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces

1. The five big studios

Paramount was famous for  “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1931) and “Shanghai Express” (1932), and were able to showcase the ability to adapt and innovate.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was famous for inventing the Hollywood stable-of-stars system.

Twentieth Century Fox is famous for producing mainly westerns, musicals, screen biographies, and religious epics.

Warner Bros Throughout the 1920s was known for its musicals and colour films.

RKO was famous for movie classics such as King Kong (1933), The Informer (1935), and Citizen Kane (1941), as well as a series of stylish musicals.

2) Vertical integration is when one company owns and has control over each step of a process in media: the production, exhibition, distribution and circulation.

Block booking was a system of selling multiple films to a theatre as a unit. Block booking was the prevailing practice in the Hollywood studio system from the turn of the 1930s.

3) The studio system collapsed as the supreme court ruled over the case in 1948. This was because the studios had a near monopoly and violated anti-trust laws, affecting 5 big studios and 3 smaller ones.

4) post world war 2 there was fear against communism which affected many actors such as Charley Chaplin

1. the big 5 studios: Most of Hollywood of the 1930s through the end of the Golden Age was ruled by five studios:

Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) – famous for musicals e.g. the wizard of oz.

RKO – monster movies/horror films, famous for stop motion and special effects.

20th Century Fox – drama films

Warner Bros – action pictures

Paramount Pictures – big budget lavish costume dramas – adaptations of classic novels

2. Vertical integration enabled studios to achieve control over the entire film industry and this studio system (from the 1930s to the1950s) affected the way films were made and the way they were watched. Films were made very cheaply during the studio system.

Block booking meant that a studio would sell its films in packages on an all-or-nothing basis – usually requiring theatres to buy several mediocre pictures for every desirable one

3. In the end, the Court ruled in United States v. Paramount on May 4, 1948, finding that the studios had violated anti-trust laws, in a devastating blow to five major studios and three smaller ones. The case had roots dating back to 1921, when concerns first arose about the studios and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

4. The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the start of World War II on the European front were some of the most impactful historical events of the time. (1930-1947)

•1) What were the Big 5 studios & what type of movies was each studio famous for? – MGM/Metro Goldwyn Mayer (The Wizard of Oz), RKO (Citizen Kane), 20th Century Fox (Miracle on 34th Street), Warner Bros (Casablanca), Paramount ( A Farewell to Arms)

•2) Explain what vertical integration and block-booking was? – When a media company controls two or more key stages of the release of their product.

•3) Why and when did the original studio system collapse? – The ‘block booking’ system (selling multiple films to cinemas as one unit) was killed in court, where it was also suggested that studio-theatre monopiles should be dismantled.

•4) What was happening in America(and around the world) at this time? – The stock market crash, the Great Depression and the events of the 2nd world war.

1930 – 1947 :

1) What were the Big 5 studios & what type of movies was each studio famous for?

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – Wizard of Oz, Warner Bros – Casablanca, Paramount – A farewell to Arms, Fox – Miracle on 34th Street and RKO – Citizen Kane.

2) Explain what vertical integration and block-booking was?

Vertical integration – production, distribution, exhibition were handled “in house”, meaning the company takes ownership of 2 or more key stages of its supply chain.

Block-booking – An act or instance of reserving a large number of tickets, seats, etc.

3) Why and when did the original studio system collapse?

It ended when Block-Booking was banned in court on may 4th 1948. Causing the five major studios to take devastating blows.

4) What was happening in America(and around the world) at this time?

Due to the events of the Wall street crash in 1929, this led onto the ‘Great Depression’ where money lost most of its value. The film industry was effected as movie attendance and industry revenues had fallen by 40% by 1933.

Aditionally America was at War with Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan, as a result numerous films to raise money for the war effort were made.

1. MGM, Warner bros, Paramount, Fox, RKO
2. vertical integration: when a company controls different stages of the supply chain. block booking: selling multiple movies at once to a theatre at once.

1. Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), RKO, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures.
2. Vertical integration enabled studios to achieve control over the entire film industry and this studio system (from the 1930s to the1950s) affected the way films were made and the way they were watched. Films were made very cheaply during the studio system.Block Booking is three or more presenting organizations coordinating to book an artist or artistic group, making an offer which pools the combined individual offers of the “block” and offering performances along a route and in a timeframe beneficial to the artist.
3. The Justice Department won the first round of the fight in 1930, when the Supreme Court ruled that the movies studios were monopolies. A key finding was that the process of “block booking” was illegal. In block booking, studios forced theaters to buy films as a group well in advance, and often without seeing them.
4. During the 1930s, the entire film industry transformed and “Hollywood” became synonymous with big studio pictures and became the standard for movies around the world. Films became cheaper to produce as studios vertically integrated the production process, which allowed the price of film attendance to go down