When it comes to the functionality and system of the film studio network, I find that the vertical integration practice is one of great power.This system consists of a company that owns or contracts every level of the production of a film, its producers, directors, actors, studios, theaters, etc. With this type of film production a company is enabled to control much of the processes that go into the making of a film, they can decide what ideas and people are used and make decisions without consulting another company. They were even able to sell the productions that were considered B-films to smaller theaters, making money using a movie that otherwise may not have been very successful.
At the dawn of the vertical filming industry were five companies referred to as the "Big Five" because of the power that they held in the public domain of movie viewers.These companies were Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, MGM, Paramount, and RKO. Their role in Hollywood during this time was very prominent as the made and released some of the most treasured films of all time. Such as MGM's The Wizard of Oz, Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer, and 20th Century Fox's The Sound of Music.
One of the ways in which a company could display their authority was by contracting certain actresses and actors to their studios alone, therefore making them the face that the public saw. Oftentimes this face was associated with a specific genre or type of film which in turn served as a link to the audience that represented a company as normally producing a certain type of film. For example, Warner Bros. made a name for themselves as a tradition of "urban crime films' with the help of Humphry Bogart. Also, under MGM studios performers such as Judy Garland, who was expected to sing in her films, and Gene Kelly, who as expected to dance, served as mediums that inform viewers of what to expect when they went to see a MGM film.
Studios that were vertically integrated found much freedom in using their stars to further their success and broaden their audiences. For example, Judy Garland was consistently used to introduce new and up coming actors. Being a very iconic and popular figure in their industry, she drew audiences into the theaters and aided in the rising of new stars such as Gene Kelly whom she serenaded in For Me and My Gal.
The vertical integration system was a major part of the "Golden Age in Film". This period of time includes the 1920's through the 1960's and is epitomized by the vertically assembled companies that made up "Classical Hollywood". This era serves as the foundation for what is the film industry today, it laid the groundwork for the cultures and practices within the movie culture that exists now. The roles of actresses and actors such as Judy Garland and Humphry Bogart were the innovators of screen genres, they repeatedly acted in films that fit the cinematic genetic makeup that defined them to their audience, much like many do today. For example, Adam Sandler and Kristen Bell tend to make comedies and Samuel L. Jackson and Helen Mirren are often seen in dramas.
Vertical integration within film corporations provide an atmosphere of power within the public film culture. Many abilities and much authority accompanies this system as companies have the privilege to contract and practically control the climate of their own company, all the while using their own actors and actresses to promote others. I think that this system is a very important aspect of the film industry as it affected the production of films then and now.
A picture of MGM actress Judy Garland.
A picture of Humphry Bogart.
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