The Star System of Classic Hollywood

Classic Hollywood’s studio system placed an emphasis on certain stars to promote films that the studios produced. The 1920’s through the 1940’s was a landmark time in the history of cinema that is often referred to as the golden age. Although during this same era our nation was recovering from a depression and fighting through World War II, movies provided escapism for most Americans. The depression ruined many of the independent movie theatres and small producers of the time which strengthened the control of a few major players. The five major studios were MGM, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and RKO. They were fully integrated, meaning they had complete control of their movie production, distribution, and exhibition. It is also important to include the three minor studios Universal, Columbia, and United Artist. These three did not have control of their own theatres. The major studios goal was focused towards economies of scale by maximizing profits while limiting production cost. One way they accomplished this was by focusing on the star power of the actor.





The major studios’ realized early on that the audience had strong feelings towards the actors and actresses of their films. They used the popularity of the actor or actress to promote their movies, this technique is known as the star system. The stars were discovered and contracted by the studio in an effort to sell their products. This meant that actors and actresses were prohibited from being in another studios movie unless the studio they were under contract by allowed them to do so. Under this philosophy, stars were used to market products, promote other actors, and even other genres of film. The studio system was set up like a modern factory, often referred to as a “Fordist” meaning everything was assembled on site. This included the actors in which at the time were considered no different than an assembly line worker. However, the stars of the time were the best representations of what the studio was doing.



The stars had a direct effect on the type of movies the studio produced. Each star was attached to a genre of film. They indicated to the studios what the audience wanted to see. When certain actors gained momentum and popularity, Hollywood produced more films starring that actor in order to increase profits. If that actor was known as a gangster, the studio produced more gangster films in order to exploit the actor. Audiences were attracted to the stars of the films more than the plot itself. Certain character traits moved from movie to movie. These character traits could even become more important than the genre of film.




A prime example of an actor that was a product of the star system was Warner Bros. star, Humphrey Bogart. He got his start playing in gangster films like Angels with Dirty Faces. His big break came when he played the role of a detective in The Maltese Falcon which is widely regarded as the defining film of the “film noir” genre. Of course, you cannot mention Humphrey Bogart without noting his remarkable performance as Rick Blaine in the war classic Casablanca. Bogart became more popular than the movies themselves. Audiences flocked to see him play his usual hard cynical character that ultimately is noble by the end of the film. He also had a set of star traits that the audience could count on seeing no matter the plot or even the genre. Take Mr. Bogart’s trademark, his fedora and raincoat,when he slipped on this attire the audience knew Bogart meant business as the day was about to be saved. Together they certainly made for a beautiful friendship.