CIN201Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Movie Palace, Douglas Fairbanks, Biograph Girl
Professor Charles Keil Nov. 22, 2016
CIN201 LECTURE 10
AMERICAN SILENT FILM IN THE AGE OF HOLLYWOOD
• You don’t have to go to Hollywood to understand what “Hollywood” is
• Hollywood is “the place where movies are made”
• In 1910, no one had heard of Hollywood (it didn’t really exist); by 1920, almost everyone,
globally, knew what “Hollywood” meant
• They now refer to it as one place, even though a lot int eh film industry happens just outside
of Hollywood
LECTURE OUTLINE:
1) Introduction → Hollywood Becomes “Hollywood” [Extended Play Version]
2) Industry Trends → Expansion and Consolidation
a) Production → the central-producer system
b) Distribution → roadshowing and state’s rights (case study → Paramount)
c) Exhibition → the picture palace
3) Stardom and Hollywood as a Social Institution (case study → Mary Pickford)
- star scandals and the formation of the MPPDA
INTRODUCTION: HOLLYWOOD BECOMES “HOLLYWOOD”
• most filming had been taking place in New York City and Chicago
• When the American film industry shifted production to the West Coast, Hollywood
eventually became the symbolic centre of that filmmaking activity
• By the 1920s, Hollywood would become “Hollywood,” an iconic space that existed primarily
in the imagination of the American public
• When, why, and how did the industry come to locate its production facilities beyond the East
Coast? When, why and how did this shift represent a change in the meanings associated with
“Hollywood”?
- When → Companies first moved west in 1909; within five years, the majority of
films were being shot in California
- Why → Increased demand for film product led to a search for locales that offered
temperate climate, varied topography, and reduced expenses (could produce year-
round, in bigger studios/cheaper real estate, longer daylight hours, cheaper labour)
- How → California promoted itself as an ideal site for new businesses, and new
transportation networks facilitated the trek west (mixed topography = ocean,
metropolitan city, mountains, desert, etc. throughout Southern California; also, train
networks had recently been established from the east coast right through to the west
coast)
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
American silent film in the age of hollywood: you don"t have to go to hollywood to understand what hollywood is, hollywood is the place where movies are made . When, why and how did this shift represent a change in the meanings associated with. When companies first moved west in 1909; within five years, the majority of films were being shot in california. Why increased demand for film product led to a search for locales that offered temperate climate, varied topography, and reduced expenses (could produce year- round, in bigger studios/cheaper real estate, longer daylight hours, cheaper labour) In terms of both its practices and its products, hollywood exemplified the appeal of the consumer ethos of the age. The production practices of figures like thomas ince and mack sennett epitomized the adoption of the central-producer system. Inceville was the model of streamlined studio production.