The Movie Industry

The Movie Industry

RKO Pictures

RKO Pictures evolved from another studio called the Mutual Film Corporation and was established in 1928. It was the smallest studio out of the Big Five. But this studio achieved financial and critical success through musicals, and films such as King Kong and Citizen Kane.

By the mid-1920s, movies became a big business worth over $2 billion. By the end of the 1920s, there were 20 Hollywood studios. The movie industry actually had its greatest output of films during the 1920s-1930s, producing 800 films a year. Today, movie production exceeds 500 films per year. In the beginning, films were predominantly soundless. Thomas Edison was one of the people known to invent film. The real birth of the movie started with The Great Train Robbery in 1903. D.W. Griffiths film The Birth of a Nation became the first full-length feature. The very first films featured nudity and female vampires until censorship was placed on it. Movies were also used a propaganda during the World Wars. Over time, films began to be manufactured in Hollywood studios and broken into components such as makeup, directing, costumes, etc. By the end of the 1920s, different genres such as action, musicals, comedies, and western movies were beginning to be made.

The Big Five

Paramount Pictures

The film system was born with long-term contracts for stars, lavish production values, and control of directors and stars by the studios production chief and in-house publicity department. After World War 1, America became the leading producer of films in the world. Film making firms that would rule and monopolize Hollywood for the next couple of decades were known as the giants or The Big Five. They were the studios that dominated the industry and succeeded in integrating all aspects of a films development. They produced more than 90 percent of films in America and films eventually became international. The Big Five are: Warner Bros., Paramount, RKO Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and 20th Century Fox.

Paramount studios was first known as Famous Players-Lasky Corporation until the its name change in 1927. It was mostly known for the movie stars that played in their films like Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, and Bing Crosby.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

It was created in 1923 by Polish brothers(Jack, Harry, Albert, and Sam).

It was known was the “Depression Studio”. The studio became known for its Bugs Bunny animations and other cartoons.

This studio was formed in 1924 and merged from three US film production companies: Metro Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures Company. This studio was ran by Irving Thalberg, also known as boy wonder. They enjoyed many successes such as A Night at the Opera, The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, Tom and Jerry and many more.

20th-Century Fox

Actors and Actress

Introduction

This studio was founded in 1912 by nickelodeon owner William Fox. It became most known for news and western movies. It is also know for Shirley Temple films and Betty Grable musicals.

Other studios existed at the time, but were known to be independent pictures made on low budgets, with second-tier actors. These studios are Universal Pictures, United Artists, Columbia Pictures, Disney Studios, Republic Pictures, and a few more.

The term “movie stars” became popular in the 1920s. They became widely known internationally and influential figures. Movie stars were usually used by studios to advertise their films and monitored every aspect of their lives. The two most popular silent movie stars were Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Mary Pickford was dubbed America’s sweetheart, the Queen of Hollywood, and the most popular star of the generation. She became the first star to become a millionaire. She married Douglas Fairbanks, becoming Hollywoods “hit couple”, starting many different trends. Douglas played in The Mark of Zorro, Robin Hood, The Iron Mask, Sparrows, and many other big-time films.

Today, the movie industry is one of the most popular forms of entertainment around the world. Movie theaters are places known for date nights, spending time with family, and hanging out with friends. The movie industry consists of many institutes such as animation, screenwriting, production companies, film studios, etc. The 1920s is when the movie industry began to truly flourish and transcend into what we know it as today.

The Academy Awards

Clara Bow and Lou Chaney Sr.

Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks

Talkies

Clara Bow was another top actress in the 1920s. She became famous when she first played in the 1925 film The Plastic Age, where she played a flapper and was named “the hottest Jazz baby in film”. She played in many movies, becoming known for her sex appeal. She contributed to the rise of Paramount Records through publicity campaigns, rumor spreading, and fan magazine glamorization. She eventually went on to become the highest paid movie star, earning $35,000 a week.

An actor that also reached stardom was Lou Chaney Sr. He was known as “the man of a thousand faces” and is best known for his role in The Phantom of the Opera.

In 1927, non-profit organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was developed. It was organized by Douglas Fairbanks to reward excellence in the film industry. The organization established the Academy Awards in the late 1920s and held the first show in May 1929. The awards were not known as an Oscar yet, and there was more than one winner for Best Production(now Best Picture). The two films that won Best Picture at the first awards show was the production of Wings and Sunrise. The first musical to win Best Picture was The Broadway Melody. The first major, feature-length Hollywood sound film with an all-black cast was a film called Hallelujah. The first all-talking production was an gangster film called Lights of New York. The first-speaking cartoon was Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie, the production that debuted Mickey Mouse.

Hollywoodland

By late 1920s, though accompanied by musicians and sound effects, movies were known to be called silents. In 1925-1926, Warner Bros. launched sound and talking pictures by creating a sound system called the Vitaphone. This system involved a phonograph that is linked to a film projector. At first this system was only meant to record music and sound effects only, but soon would record dialogue. Many studios began to be changed into sound studios. By the end of the 1920s, more than 40% of movie theaters had sound systems installed. But the transition from silent to sound films was harder than people thought. Sound Films were known to be very costly. Many Hollywood actors/actresses faced difficulty from lacking good voices, stage experience, and their marketability decreased. Some actors/actresses, such as Mary Pickford, weren't able to adapt causing their careers to end.

The Jazz Singer: The Worlds First Talkie

The Movie Industry Today

In a short period of time, Hollywood began to buzz with people coming from throughout the country. In 1919, Hollywoods population was 35,000. By mid-1920s, its population was close to 130,000. Hollywood was finally put on the map and received the famous Hollywood sign. It was built in 1923 and originally named Hollywoodland. It was built as a use of advertising and cost $21,000. By the end of decade, Hollywood was made the movie capital of the world.

On October 6, 1927, a sound feature, directed by Alan Crosland, revolutionized motion pictures forever. The Jazz Singer became the Warner Bros. most expensive film, costing $500,000. It contained six songs and 350 words. The film was about a Jewish cantors son who wanted to become a jazz singer, though his father wanted him to become a Jewish cantor.

Today, the American film industry makes an annual rate of almost $40 billion. Behind China and India, the United States is the third largest film market in the world. In 2015 alone, 1.2 billion tickets were sold in the U.S. Walt Disney currently holds the record for most Academy Awards, winning 26. Also Walt Disney is the top grossing distributor. Adventure movies has become the top grossing genre. With the invention of television in 1927 constantly evolving, the film industry has become a big part of our lives daily. The film industry has become essential in today's political and social scene. It has influenced the way we all thunk and act. Today, movies have started to transition from the theaters to our own homes with the use of the internet. Streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other websites have become the biggest growth in films.