The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era

by Thomas Schatz, Steven Bach (Preface by)

Overview

In The Genius of the System, Thomas Schatz recalls Hollywood’s Golden Age from the 1920s until the dawn of television in the late 1940s, when quality films were produced swiftly and cost efficiently thanks to the intricate design of the system. Schatz takes us through the rise and fall of individual careers and the making—and unmaking—of movies such as Frankenstein, Casablanca, and Hitchcock’s Notorious. Through detailed analysis of major Hollywood moviemakers including Universal, Warner Bros., and MGM, he reminds us of a time when studios had distinct personalities and the relationship between contracts and creativity was not mutually exclusive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780816670109
Publisher:	University of Minnesota Press
Publication date:	03/03/2010
Pages:	528
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Thomas Schatz is professor of communication at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of several books, including Hollywood Genres and Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Preface: The Center of Gravity ix

Introduction: "The Whole Equation of Pictures"

Part I The 1920s: Beginnings

1 Universal: the System Takes shape 15

2 MGM: Dawn of the Thalberg Era 29

3 Selznick at MGM: Climbing the Executive Ranks 48

4 Warner Bros: Talking Their Way to the Top 58

Part II 1928 - 1932: The Powers That Be

5 Selznick at Paramount: From Boom to Bust 69

6 Universal: Renaissance and Retrenchment 82

7 MGM and Thalberg: Alone at the Top 98

8 Selznick at Rko: At the Helm of a Foundering Studio 125

9 Warner Bros: The Zanuck Era 135

Part III The 1930s: Golden Age

10 MGM in the Mid-Thirties: Charmed Interval 159

11 Selznick International Pictures: Going Independent 176

12 Warner Bros.: Power Plays and Prestige 199

13 Universal: Playing Both ends Against the Middle 228

14 MGM: Life after Thalberg 252

15 Selznick and Hitchcock: Balance of Power 271

Part IV 1941-1946: War Boom

16 Warner Bros.: Warfare at Home and Abroad 297

17 David O. Selznick Productions: Packaging Prestige 322

18 Universal: The Best of Both Worlds 340

19 MGM: The High Cost of Quality 359

20 Selznick and Hitchcock: Separate Ways 381

Part V 1947-1960: Decline

21 Warner Bros.: Top of the world, end of the Line 411

22 MGM: Last Gasp of the studio Era 440

23 UNIVERSAL: Blueprint for the Television age 463

24 Epilogue: Into the new Hollywood 482

Notes on Sources 493

Photograph Credits 508

Index 509

Editorial Reviews

There was much to criticize in the Hollywood system, and much to marvel at. But one can't do either without the means to make sense of it. This book provides that.” —Elizabeth Kendall, The New York Times Book Review

“Brings the pace and confusion and inspiration of filmmaking to life...Schatz has made a lasting contribution to film history.” —Directors Guild of America Newsletter

From the Publisher

Paul Boehmer’s versatile and highly listenable voice has made him the narrator of choice for scores of audiobooks ranging in subject from demons and dragons to the fiction of William Faulkner. Here, with a crisp analytical tone and a high degree of affection, he reconstructs the Golden Years of Hollywood’s studio system, which crested in the 1930s and ‘40s. Author Schatz’s painstaking research is sometimes too detailed, especially on the subject of budgets and shooting schedules. But Boehmer sustains a firm pace, so this behind-the-scenes history of filmmaking, with its cavalcade of beloved stars and films, will fascinate and delight fans, students, and scholars alike. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile

Paul Boehmer’s versatile and highly listenable voice has made him the narrator of choice for scores of audiobooks ranging in subject from demons and dragons to the fiction of William Faulkner. Here, with a crisp analytical tone and a high degree of affection, he reconstructs the Golden Years of Hollywood’s studio system, which crested in the 1930s and ‘40s. Author Schatz’s painstaking research is sometimes too detailed, especially on the subject of budgets and shooting schedules. But Boehmer sustains a firm pace, so this behind-the-scenes history of filmmaking, with its cavalcade of beloved stars and films, will fascinate and delight fans, students, and scholars alike. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile