In the early days of the film industry, the studio system was the means by which Hollywood produced and distributed films. There were several aspects involved in the system, including the contracting of crew members and actors to work on a string of films for a particular studio, and the vertical integration of all aspects of film making and distribution within each individual studio. I think that an important aspect of the studio system was the fact that actors were contracted to work for certain companies, and were known for starring in a handful of films each year. An actor could gain popularity by conveying a certain image in each film they acted in, and accumulate a loyal audience who would see each film they were in no matter the subject matter or genre. Several movies ran on their star power alone.
Actors would often take on certain personas in each film, and tended to stick with what they were good at. Once the actors had been in enough films, and the public had the oppurtunity to "cast their vote", if you will, as to which role they felt best suited a particular actor, the studios would often tailor their films around that actor and the genre that best fit him or her. For example, Jimmy Stewart was often portrayed as a likable, relateable nice guy in his films. As was mentioned in class, he was contracted under MGM, and performed in one of my favorite films, "It's a Wonderful Life", conveying the wholesome, underdog-everyone-roots-for fellow, as mentioned above. As we continue to see in films even in the present, star power can be a very powerful contributer towards the success of a movie. We also continue to see certain actors and actresses in variations of the same role time after time, playing off what the audience continues to respond positively to. The studio system may be gone, but there are still aspects within it that are still influential in Hollywood today.
This clip embodies Jimmy Stewart's typical role of the good-guy:
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