lecture 8.1 Flashcards
(24 cards)
Stalin and the Home Front
during the Great Depression people were attracted to other forms of economics; some became communists because they saw that it was the only force that could stand to Hitler
Popular Front
constructions of communist parties around the world influenced by Stalin to come together in order to gain power; only lasted for two years
Hollywood Guilds and Unions
guilds represented above the line people; unions represented below the line people
House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)
conducted lightweight but predictive investigations of Hollywood communism
Anti-Interventionist Hearings
WWII begins in 1939 but US is neutral; Roosevelt was pro-British and anti-Nazi at the time; but strong forces sympathize with Nazis over British; people who supported Roosevelt were called interventionists; accusations that Hollywood was too pro-British and that Roosevelt was pushing audience towards them started these hearings; dropped after Pearl Harbor
The Mob & IATSE
Al Capone and his mob began to gain control of IATSE; by late 30s, Chicago mob had complete control of IATSE and had their people in prominent positions; if you didn’t want any strikes or wage demands they would help you in exchange for a fee
Roy Brewer & IATSE
exposed mob and IATSE, cleaned up IATSE and unions, anti-corruption campaign led under Roy Brewer, he was strongly anti-mob and anti-communist
Herbert Sorrell & the Conference of Studio Unions
close to Hollywood communists
1947 HUAC Investigation into Communism in Hollywood
began conducting investigations of Hollywood communist parties; many headlines about Hollywood being communist; 41 witnesses were voluntarily interviewed and became known as the friendly witnesses, gave up left-wing friends; John Howard Lawson (head of Communist Party USA) and 9 other witnesses accused refused to testify and became known as the unfriendly witnesses or the Hollywood Ten; these witnesses never admitted to communist beliefs
Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals
created by high profile, politically conservative members of Hollywood film industry; against radicals and later purely against communists
Committee for the First Amendment
group formed by supporters of the Hollywood Ten; claimed the hearing violated the first amendment; wanted to protect free speech in Hollywood; ended up feeling like they couldn’t do anything to protect the Hollywood Ten
The Blacklist
organized by moguls after the HUAC hearings; list of people though to be communist or fascist in Hollywood including the Hollywood Ten; were denied employment in the industry; had to use pseudo names or leave the country
1951 HUAC Hearings
China becomes communist; Korean War begins; witnesses began naming names; evidence of HUAC getting witnesses to name name in order to add them to the blacklist because they were now part of public record; only one noted blacklisted person was ever hired again (Dalton Trumbo was hired by Otto Preminger)
1948 Paramount Consent Decree
landmark United States Supreme Court antitrust case; trust-busting attorney Thurman Arnold went after 8 monopolistic businesses including the film business; Big Five and Little Three were sued and the issue stayed in the courts until the consent decree; tried to negotiate by reducing block booking and block booking in groups of 5 to make it easier for independent companies but it didn’t work; Supreme Court decides against Hollywood and says its not truly competitive
Studios Consent and Break Up
Paramount and RKO first, Warner Bros, Fox, finally MGM; Department of Justice settled for nothing less than a complete change; had to break up production/distribution and exhibition; no more block booking; films distributed and rented to theaters on an individual basis
Impact of the Divestiture
theater chains now separate entities, decrease in productions-released 50 before, but quantity slips down to 19-25 and that’s true today, decline of long term contracts, reduce overhead, studio lots rented-Hollywood studios no longer needed all these studios and personal
Independent Production
independents learn how to turn themselves into businesses; capital gains tax is lower than income; develop projects; have more control over artistic aspects and career; start out as just paper companies but eventually grow larger; actors can become mini studios and hire their own writers
MCA & Lew Wasserman
Jules Stein founded MCA; Lew Wasserman took over after he stepped down; became biggest talent at the largest talent agency
Points of Gross
Jimmy Stewart was the first actor to earn points of gross; actors turned themselves into a corporation and their corporation received part of film’s revenue; you know you’ve made it big when you earn points of gross
Packaging
talent agencies find scripts, directors, and actors; pitch fully drawn products to production companies; ask them to produce or fund it; more power given to talent agencies
Revue
MCA’s television production subsidiary; before 1950 SAG said talent agencies couldn’t own production studios; after Reagan became president of SAG he granted MCA the right to create one; became the top supplier of television for all networks
Universal & MCA
MCA merged with Decca Records which also owned 89% of Universal Pictures; in order to acquire Universal as well, MCA had to break up in to 12+ smaller agencies
UA and Arthur Krim & Robert Benjamin
bought UA from Chaplin and Pickford; came from law and banking background; created the first studio without an actual studio; offered money to independent producers and took care of exhibition; UA did not over overhead expenses like other studio; redefined production financing and distribution
Film Noir
hard boiled detective fiction; German expressionism; femme fatale; no longer All-American stuff; could be affects of the war
