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OverviewFrom the late 1930s to the mid-1950s, five big movie studios-Paramount, Warner Bros., Twentieth Century-Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and RKO-dominated Hollywood's film industry. This """"big studio system"""" operated primarily as a series of assembly-line production factories. Ideally, each churned out fifty-two movies a year, enough to supply showcase theaters across the country with a new lineup each week-with profit being the overriding goal. Of this era, veteran screenwriter Julius Epstein (Casablanca) said: """"It was not called the motion picture industry for nothing. [It] was like working at belts in a factory."""" Studios assigned the majority of the lower-tier screenplays to directors under long-term contract and expected them to stick to the script and keep productions within the budget. These filmmakers, known as """"house directors,"""" often made films quickly, inexpensively, and with limited resources. Just Making Movies: Company Directors on the Studio System collects twelve interviews with house directors from this era, all conducted by the author during the 1980s. These previously unpublished interviews provide a clear picture of how the big studio system operated, as told by those who knew it best. Despite limitations, house directors sometimes made enduring film classics, such as Charles Walters's Easter Parade, Henry Koster's The Bishop's Wife, George Sidney's The Three Musketeers, and Vincent Sherman's The Hasty Heart. In these interviews the filmmakers talk candidly about working with such superstars as Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn, Richard Burton, Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Esther Williams, and Lana Turner. Ronald L. Davis is professor emeritus of history at Southern Methodist University. He is the author of Van Johnson: MGM's Golden Boy (University Press of Mississippi) and The Glamour Factory: Inside Hollywood's Big Studio System. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Ronald L. DavisPublisher: University Press of Mississippi Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.526kg ISBN: 9781578066902ISBN 10: 1578066905 Pages: 277 Publication Date: 30 January 2005 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationRonald L. Davis is professor emeritus of history at Southern Methodist University. He is the author of The Glamour Factory: Inside Hollywood's Big Studio System. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |