Juan Monroy — History of Cinema: Class 05, Formation of the Studio System

1 Fall of the Trust
- 1.1 Kodak leaves MPPC in 1911
- 1.2 Moved West to Southern California
  - 1.2.1 abundant sunshine
  - 1.2.2 cheap land
  - 1.2.3 diverse terrain
  - 1.2.4 myth: easy escape to Mexico
- 1.3 End of the Latham Loop patent
  - 1.3.1 expires in 1913
- 1.4 US v. MPPC (1915)
  - 1.4.1 anti-trust suit against the MPPC, beginning in 1912
  - 1.4.2 Trust controlled as high as 80% of $100 million industry.
- 1.5 Rise of the Independents
  - 1.5.1 Carl Laemmle
  - 1.5.2 William Fox
  - 1.5.3 Marcus Loew
  - 1.5.4 Adolph Zukor
  - 1.5.5 Exhibition
    - started as nickelodeon operators
  - 1.5.6 Distribution
    - imported films from outside of the Trust
  - 1.5.7 Production
    - producing their own films to ensure steady supply
2 Rise of the Independents
- 2.1 Redefined the Movies
  - 2.1.1 Famous Actors
    - Sarah Bernhardt
  - 2.1.2 Multi-reel Films
    - Queen Elizabeth (1912)
- 2.2 Imported and Influenced by Italian Epics
  - 2.2.1 Quo Vadis (1913)
  - 2.2.2 Cabiria (1914)
- 2.3 Begat a Movie Star System
  - 2.3.1 Florence Lawrence
    - “Biograph Girl”
    - lured by Laemmle
    - rumored death
    - The new IMP girl in The Broken Bath (1910)
  - 2.3.2 Theda Bara
    - The vamp
    - early movie sex symbol
    - daughter of French artistocrat and Egyptian mistress… or was she
  - 2.3.3 Mary Pickford
    - America’s sweetheart, despite being Canadian
    - started with Biograph
    - lured by Laemmle (to IMP) then Zukor (Paramount)
3 Vertical Integration
- 3.1 Production
  - 3.1.1 Movie factories
  - 3.1.2 mass production
  - 3.1.3 assembly line
  - 3.1.4 interchangeable pieces
- 3.2 Distribution
  - 3.2.1 block booking
  - 3.2.2 blind bidding
  - 3.2.3 run-zone-clearance
  - 3.2.4 price discrimination
- 3.3 Exhibition
  - 3.3.1 picture palaces
  - 3.3.2 first-run houses
4 Studio System
- 4.1 Moguls
- 4.2 United Artists, 1919
  - 4.2.1 new independents
  - 4.2.2 Douglas Fairbanks
  - 4.2.3 Mary Pickford
  - 4.2.4 D.W. Griffith
  - 4.2.5 Charlie Chaplin
- 4.3 Big Three
  - 4.3.1 Paramount
  - 4.3.2 MGM-Lowe’s
  - 4.3.3 First National
- 4.4 Little Three
  - 4.4.1 Film Booking Office
  - 4.4.2 Producer-Distributor’s Corporation
  - 4.4.3 Universal
  - 4.4.4 Warner Brothers
  - 4.4.5 Fox
5 The Cheat
- 5.1 star is presented prominently
  - 5.1.1 Fannie Ward
- 5.2 chiaroscuro lighting
  - 5.2.1 play of light and shadow not seen at the time