Title: The genius of the system :
Authors: Schatz, Thomas,
Date: 1988
Publisher: Pantheon Books,
Physical description: xii, 514 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Language: English
LC classification: P
Abstract: "Film historian Thomas Schatz focuses on four representative companies--Warner Brothers, MGM, Universal, and Selznick International--tracing their distinctive house styles and studio operations from the 1920's through the 1950's."--jacket.
Contents: Introduction: "The whole equation of pictures" -- Pt. 1: The 1920s: beginnings -- Universal: the system takes shape -- MGM: dawn of the Thalberg era -- Selznick at MGM: climbing the executive ranks -- Warner Bros.: talking their way to the top -- Pt. 2: 1928-1932: the powers that be -- Selznick at Paramount: from boom to bust -- Universal: renaissance and retrenchment -- MGM and Thalberg: alone at the top -- Selznick at RKO: at the helm of a foundering studio -- Warner Bros.: the Zanuck era -- Pt. 3: The 1930s: golden age -- MGM in the mid-thirties: charmed interval -- Selznick international pictures: going independent -- Warner Bros.: power plays and prestige -- Universal: playing both ends against the middle -- MGM: life after Thalberg -- Selznick and Hitchcock: balance of power -- Pt. 4: 1941-1946: war boom -- Warner Bros.: warfare at home and abroad -- David O. Selznick productions: packing prestige -- Universal: the high cost of quality -- Selznick and Hitchcock: separate ways -- Pt. 5: 1947-1960: decline -- Warner Bros.: top of the world, end of the line -- MGM: last gasp of the studio era -- Universal: blueprint for the television age -- Epilogue: into the new Hollywood.
Notes: Includes index.
Subject headings (LCSH): Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)--History.; Industries--California--Hollywood (Los Angeles); Industries--California--Los Angeles.; Los Angeles (Calif.)--History.; Motion picture industry--California--Los Angeles--History.; Motion picture studios--California--Los Angeles--History.; Motion pictures--California--Los Angeles--History.