- 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)