Classic Hollywood

• What years does Classic Hollywood span?

  The 1930s- 1950s.
• What nickname does Classic Hollywood have?

  "The Golden Age"
• What were classic Hollywood films like?

  • Not experimental
  • Simple narrative
• What was the classic narrative structure in classic Hollywood?

  • Equilibrium (everything is normal)
  • Disequilibrium (something kicks off/ happens)
  • New equilibrium ( whatever happened has been resolved- NOT NECESSARILY back to normal)
• What was the Hollywood Studio System?

  • A business method where Hollywood movie studios controlled everything- production, distribution and exhibition.
  • Characteristics of the Studio System: studios owning their own movie theatres, offering block booking to independent theatres.
• What was "block booking"?

  When independent theatres were offered a block set of films mixing desirable movies with unwanted ones.
• Who were the "Big Five" film studios?

  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
  • Warner Bros.
  • Paramount
  • Fox
  • RKO

  All these studios were "vertically integrated"- they took control of production, distribution and exhibition.
• Who were the "Little Three" studios?

  • Universal
  • Columbia
  • United Artists

  United Artists was founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglass Fairbanks, and D.W Griffiths, who wanted to make films their own way.
• What was the "star system"?

  A system by which Hollywood studios created and managed movie stars. It emphasised idealistic personas over acting. Actors were contracted to a particular studio.
• What was the Hays Code, or PCA (Production Code Administration)?

  A set of rules and guidelines that Hollywood films had to follow in the 1930s-1960s.

  The creator was a strong Catholic, and so he wanted to make sure that films kept the Catholic and family values.

  Examples of rules: no sexually explicit content, good guys always win & bad guys always lose, no offensive language, nothing that promotes bad values or perversion.