Film history: key movements and developments

¶ … movie industry in America has been controlled by some of the monolithic companies which not only provided a place for making the movies, but also made the movies themselves and then distributed it throughout the entire country. These are movie companies and their entire image revolved around the number of participants of their films. People who wanted to see the movies being made had to go to the "studios" in order to see them. They made movies in a profitable manner for the sake of the studios, but placed the entire industry under their control and dominated over it. The discussion here is about some of those famous studios inclusive of that of names like Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Culver, RKO, Paramount Studios, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Universal Studios, Raleigh Studio, Hollywood Center Studio, Sunset Gower Studio, Ren-Mar Studios, Charlie Chaplin Studios and now, Manhattan Beach Studio. In the past there were different kinds of movies being made by different kinds of studios. A Warner's picture looked completely different from a Paramount picture, which again looked very different from a MGM picture, which was also very different from a Republic picture, and again different from an RKO picture. Now, you go and you see the same people in the same movies. The stars may be in a Miramax movie this week, but two months ago may have been in a 20th Century Fox picture. Thus there is no longer that kind of differentiation of expression. The usage of the studios has also changed from the times that they were set up in, and that is probably expected.

Film History

At one stage, the history and culture of United States spread all through the world, and one of the main instruments of this "cultural expansion" was Hollywood. The entire production of films was being controlled by some studios and they had total control over the industry. In casual usage, the term has become confused with production companies as in the United States, the important well-known production companies of the "Golden Era of Film" usually owned their own studio subsidiaries during the period from 1925-1960. However, throughout the world, as well as in the U.S.A., most production companies do not own their own studios but rent needed space at independently-owned studios. The studios generally do not produce a film directly. (Movie studio) At the early stage, the movie industry in America was being controlled by some studios of Hollywood, and the control was not only for production of pictures, but an indirect control of emotions and feelings. Among the studios, the first was Warner Bros incorporated in 1923, and then was MGM in 1924, Columbia Pictures, and MCA in the same period. Then was the starting of RKO Pictures in 1928 and in 1926 was the expenditure of Lasky Corporation of $1 million on United Studio's property where Paramount Pictures was located from 1935. (Hollywood Film Studios in the 20s)

The greatest among these studios was probably MGM. This is now known as Sony Picture Studios 10202, W. Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA and is situated seven miles southwest of Hollywood and vine. The origin of the studios was as Triangle Pictures in 1915. The first building on the lot was built even before MGM owned the place and the studio became Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1924. Louis B. Mayer persuaded both the then President Calvin Coolidge and performer Will Rogers to come for the grand opening. The name was a combination of Metro which was an earlier film company belonging to showman Marcus Loew, Goldwyn was from producer Samuel Goldwyn and Mayer from Louis B. Mayer. This was the most powerful among all studios in Hollywood with its glossy, bright, Technicolor films along with lavish wardrobes, high priced sets and a large number of stars under contract. (The Historic MGM Studios)

Among the stars under contract were Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Lucille Ball, Jean Harlow, Laurel & Hardy, Esther Williams, Buster Keaton, Greta Garbo, Red Skeleton, Bette Davis, Jimmy Durante, Margaret O'Brien, Donna Reed, Robert Young, Lana Turner, Jane Powell, Wallace Beery & Marjorie Main, Peter Lawford, Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, Paul Newman, Kathryn Grayson, Hedy Lamarr, Mario Lanza, Greer Garson, Angela Lansbury, Rosalind Russell, Robert Taylor and Jackie Cooper. Another two stars, Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn, has the world records for the most Oscars which were won by an actor and actress. Many memorable debuts were made here including Judy Garland Dorothy in "The wizard of Oz" in 1939. Some of the sets are still inside as is the "Yellow Brick Road."

The studio gave the audience many famous movies including classics like "Boys Town" in the year 1938, "The Philadelphia Story" in the year 1940, "Mrs. Miniver" in the year 1942, "Father of the Bride" in the year 1950, "A Patch of Blue" in the year 1965, "Doctor Zhivago" in the year 1965, "The Dirty Dozen" in the year 1967, and "2001: A Space Odyssey" in the year 1968. Apart from this were "The Wizard of Oz" in the year 1939, "Meet Me In St. Louis" in the year 1944, "Anchors Aweigh" in the year 1945, "The Harvey Girls" in the year 1946, "Easter Parade" in the year 1948, "The Pirate" in the year 1948, "Show Boat" in the year 1951, "An American in Paris" in the year 1951, "Singing in the Rain" in the year 1952, "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" in the year 1954, "Guys & Dolls" in the year 1955, "Gigi" in the year 1958 and "That's Entertainment" in the year 1974. Apart from this there were many famous movies like seventeen "Andy Hardy" movies made by Mickey Rooney, "The Thin Man" mysteries, the "Tarzan" adventures and the Marx Brothers comics. The speed of production was high -- one movie a week on an average. (The Historic MGM Studios)

One of the most famous films was "Gone with the Wind" and this is the movie with the highest collections in the history of making movies. The picture was however shot at the studio next door -- Culver. The highest number of Oscars was won by "Ben Hur" which was released in 1959 with Charlton Heston. Another movie called "Quo Vadis" holds the record for the largest number of costumes used -- 32,000. The end of the studio came with the corporate raider, Kirk Kerkorian buying out the company and selling off the prized possessions of the studio and selling off land to the housing developers -- 38 acres. The money collected by him went into the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, and then the studios films were purchased by Ted turner for his cable TV channel. At the last step, the studio was purchased by Sony entertainment of Japan. The reason for the purchase was again the library of color movies including franchises like "James Bond," "Pink Panther" and "Rocky." It is expected that under the latest arrangement, it will turnout some movies in a year. (The Historic MGM Studios)

Another studio which has been mentioned is Culver and that is situated to the northeast of what used to be MGM studios. This particular area has been the homes earlier to other studios named as RKO, Laird, Howard Hughes and Desilu. The remarkable factor about this studio is the frontage which looks like a grand colonial mansion with green lawns, sculpted hedges, flowering rose bushes, etc. Some of the great movies were filmed here -- "Citizen Kane" in the year 1941, the first "King Kong" with Fay Wray in the year 1933, "Rebecca" in the year 1940 and as mentioned earlier, "Gone with the Wind" in the year 1939. Other important movies filmed here were "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" in the year 1938, "Portrait of Jennie" in the year 1948, "Since You Went Away" in 1944, "The Farmer's Daughter" in the year 1947, "Made for Each Other" in the year 1939, and "The Prisoner of Zenda" in the year 1946, "Notorious" in the year 1946 and "Spellbound" in 1945. Another interesting trivial matter is that both MGM and Culver were part of Ince Studios and there is still a street called Ince Boulevard in his honor in the area. In the year 2004, the last owners, Sony informed that they had sold off this studio to a private investment group for $125 million as they did not require so much area for television production. (Culver Studios)

Another studio with an old history is RKO and this was formed by an English group who set it up as FBO studios. Then Joseph P. Kennedy bought it over and pulled in some theatres as also a partnership with RCA who developed a sound system for movies. Then came the name RKO and it released its first film in the year 1929 called "Syncopation." Then the studio got the rights for distribution of Walt Disney, but the studio was not doing well till in the year 1933 they started with "King Kong." Other famous films released at the same time were "Little Women" and "Flying Down to Rio." Other famous titles include "Bringing up baby" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame." (RKO studios) "It's a Wonderful Life," "Suspicion," "Hitler's Children," "The Bells of St. Mary's," "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "The Magnificent Ambersons" are some of the other titles. At one stage stars like Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Orson Welles, Johnny Weissmuller, Robert Mitchum, Bette Davis, John Ford, George Cuckor and Alfred Hitchcock were with them. (RKO: www.portaljuice.com) The period of development ended with Howard Hughes and in 1959 he sold off the physical studios to Desilu Productions as a place to make "I love Lucy" and other shows. (RKO studios)

Unlike those studios which are strictly speaking not in Hollywood, there is Paramount. This has been operating continuously since the year 1926 at the present site before being in a rented horse barn from the year 1913. The studio began with classic silent films like "The Sheik." It also won an Academy award for the best picture. The studio was the home studio for stars like Mae West, W.C. Fields, and Mary Pickford, as well as directors Cecil B. Demille, D.W. Griffith, Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, William Powell, Claudette Colbert, Alan Ladd, and Marlene Dietrich. (Paramount Studios)

Their famous films are "Going My Way" in the year 1944, "Sunset Blvd." In the year 1950, "Psycho" in the year 1960, "Rear Window" in the year 1954, "Vertigo" in the year 1958, "Coconuts" in the year 1929, "Duck Soup" in the year 1933, "The Court Jester" in the year 1956,"White Christmas" in the year 1954,"The Greatest Show on Earth" in the year 1952, "The Ten Commandments" in the year 1956, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in the year 1961, "True Grit" in the year 1969, "Love Story" in the year 1970, "The Godfather" in the year 1972, "Chinatown" in the year 1974, seventeen Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis comedies, and all of those Bob Hope & Bing Crosby "Road Pictures' with Dorothy Lamour from 1940-1962, "Blue Hawaii" and "Girls, Girls, Girls." In later years, Paramount had major hits with "Saturday Night Fever" in the year 1977, "Heaven Can Wait" in the year 1978, "Grease" in the year 1978, "Reds" in the year 1981, "Flashdance" in the year 1983, "Fatal Attraction" in the year 1987, "The Untouchables" in the year 1987, "Coming to America," "The Accused" in the year 1988, the series of extremely popular "Star Trek" movies, "Raiders of the Lost Ark / Indiana Jones" adventures, "The Bad News Bears" comedies, the satirical "Airplane!" flicks, the "Beverly Hills Cop," "Naked Gun," "48 Hours" films, and the seemingly endless "Friday the 13th" horror series.

Recent releases include "The Italian Job," "School of Rock," "Vanilla Sky," "Star Trek: Nemesis," "Sum of All Fears," "Crossroads," "Tomb Raider," "Vanilla Sky," "We Were Soldiers," "Mission Impossible II," "Shaft," "Double Jeopardy," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Sleepy Hollow," "Angela's Ashes," "The General's Daughter," "The Truman Show," "Star Trek: Insurrection," "Snake Eyes," "The Rugrat's Movie," "Payback," "Varsity Blues," "The Odd Couple II," Titanic co-produced with Fox, "Face Off," "Breakdown," "In and Out," "Kiss the Girls," "Star Trek: First contact," "Mission Impossible," "Forrest Gump," "Sabrina," Clueless," "Braveheart," "Ghost," "The Brady Bunch" movies, "Indecent Proposal," Clear and Present Danger," "The Firm" and "Hunt for Red October." In the year 1994, the entire studio was bought by Viacom for $10 billion. Then there was the purchase by Viacom of CBS television network and in the year 2002 KCAL studios. (Paramount Studios) So it is now a part of the largest media group in America.

This is also situated in Hollywood and this started in the year 1920 with Hampton Studio. Their stars were William Desmond and HE Warner. Then this was bought by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. During that period the films produced were "Robin Hood" and "The Thief of Baghdad." Then United Artists was formed in the year 1928 with Charlie Chaplin, DW Griffith, Pickford and Fairbanks. Then the studio became Samuel Goldwyn Studios. This made some famous movies like "Wuthering heights" and "The Little Foxes." Many famous stars have worked here - Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, Myrna Loy, Natalie Wood, Marlon Brando, Susan Hayward, Greer Garson, Jack Lemmon, Danny Kaye, Eddie Cantor and Laurence Olivier. (The Lot: Formerly Warner Hollywood Studios)

Warner Brothers was founded in the year 1923 by four actual brothers: Jack, Sam, Harry and Albert Warner. Warner Bros Studios produced the world's first talkie with Al Jolson, "The Jazz Singer" in the year 1927, "The Adventures Robin Hood" in the year 1938, "Casablanca" in the year 1942, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in the year 1942, "Cool Hand Luke" in the year 1967, "Deliverance" in the year 1972, "The Exorcist' in the year 1973, "Chariots of Fire" in the year 1981, "Body Heat" in the year 1981, the current level of "Batman" films. The studio brought out several top level gangster films like "Little Caesar" along with Edward G. Robinson in the year 1930, "The Public Enemy" along with James Cagney, in the year 1921, "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" in the year 1932, as well as Humphrey Bogart in a classic film as "The Maltese Falcon" in the year 1941, "The Big Sleep" in the year 1946, the unforgettable "Casablanca" in the year 1941, "The Story of Louis Pasteur" in the year 1936, "The Life of Emile Zola" in the year 1937, "The Treasure of Sierra Madre" in the year 1948, Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in the year 1951, James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" in the year 1955, Judy Garland in "A Star is Born" in the year 1954, Paul Newman in "Hud" in the year 1963, Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" In the year 1966, Warren Beatty in "Bonnie & Clyde" in the year 1967, Clint Eastwood in "Dirty Harry" in the year 1971, and Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in "All the President's Men" in the year 1976. (Warner Brothers Studio)

Other important recent Warner Bros releases are "The Last Samurai," "Mystic River', "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," "Rush Hour 2," "Blade II," "The Time Machine," "A Walk To Remember," "A.I," "Cats & Dogs," "The Perfect Storm," "The Matrix," "The Green Mile," "Eyes Wide Shut," "Any Given Sunday," "Deep Blue Sea," "Three Kings," 'The Wild West," "Lost & Found," "Analyze This," "Message in a Bottle," "The Bridges of Madison County," 'Outbreak', "Practical Magic," "The Avengers," "Lethal Weapon 4," "A Perfect Murder" "Quest for Camelot," "City of Angels," "L.A. Confidential," "U.S. Marshals," "The Postman,' "Dangerous Beauty," "Batman And Robin," "Contact," "Conspiracy Theory," "Devil's Advocate,' "The Postman," "Mars Attacks," "Space Jam," "A Time To Kill," "Tin Cup," "Eraser,' "Twister," "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls," 'Heat," "Free Willy II," "The Client," "Natural Born Killers," "The Fugitive,' "Dennis the Menace," "The Pelican Brief," and "Unforgiven" - with big names like Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sandra Bullock, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Kim Basinger, Keanu Reeves, George Clooney, Meg Ryan, Michael Douglas, Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Jodie Foster, Tommy Lee Jones, Al Pacino, Wesley Snipes, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, Steven Seagal, Warren Beatty, Robert Duvall, Sharon Stone, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts.

The early stars at Warner Bros have been Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, John Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Dick Powell, George Raft, Loretta Young, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Crawford, Burt Lancaster, Paul Muni, Carole Lombard, Gary Cooper, Dennis Morgan, Peter Lorre, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda and Doris Day. President Ronald Reagan made his screen debut with Warner, in 1937's 'Love in the Air' and he married another Warner's star, which was actress Jane Wyman. (Warner Brothers Studio) Coppola has revised his film, 'The Outsiders' and is being released on DVD on September 20 by Warner Home Video. (Dargis, 2005) Thus good films are continuously yielding returns to the studio.

Another major studio is that of the 20th Century Fox. This studio was founded in the year 1913 by William Fox and he was producing newsreels even before they went in to the production of movies. The name was changed to 20th Century Fox in the year 1935. From that time onwards, the studio has produced several movies like that of "The Grapes of Wrath" in the year 1940, "Rebecca" in the year 1940, "Song of Bernadette" in the year 1943, "Laura" in the year 1944, "State Fair" in the year 1945, the original "Miracle on 34th Street" in the year 1947, and its 1997 remake, "Gentleman's Agreement" in the year 1947, "The Robe" in the year 1953, "Cleopatra" in the year 1963, "The Sound of Music" in the year 1965, "Hello Dolly' in the year 1969, "Patton" in the year 1970, the original "M*A*S*H' in the year 1970, "The French Connection" in the year 1971, "The Poseidon Adventure" in the year 1972, "Romancing the Stone" in the year 1984, "Cocoon' in the year 1985, "Die Hard" in the year 1988, 'Predator" in the year 1987 and "Home Alone" in the year 1990. And the famous artists working here have been like that of Shirley Temple who made most of her classic musicals here. Other than that there were Elizabeth Taylor, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Richard Burton, Natalie Wood, Betty Gable, Alice Faye, Gene Hackman, Julie Andrews, Charlton Heston, Tyrone Power, Jean Harlow, Sonja Henie, Gregory Peck, Don Ameche, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Will Rogers, Susan Hayward, Carmen Miranda, Milton Berle, Caesar Romero, Roddy McDowall, Jeanne Crain, Bruce Willis, and Barbra Streisand. The studio is now owned by the Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which also hold the ownership of the Fox Television Network. (20th Century Fox)

In the year 1937, understanding the need to expand even much further, Disney used profits which were available from 'Snow White' to buy 51 acres in Burbank, wherein he was able to built a state-of-the-art animation studio, which was next to the Warner Bros Studios. This was a great success and Walt Disney still holds the Guinness World Record for the most Academy Awards won by any individual; he has collected 31 Oscars. Starting with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in the year 1937, the studio produced many animated movies including "Pinocchio" in the year 1940, "Fantasia" in the year 1940, "Dumbo" in the year 1941, "Bambi" in the year 1942, "Song of the South' in the year 1946, "Cinderella" in the year 1950, "Alice in Wonderland" in the year 1951, "Peter Pan" in the year 1953, "Lady & the Tramp" in the year 1955, 'Sleeping Beauty" in the year 1959, "101 Dalmatians" in the year 1961, "Mary Poppins" in the year 1964, "Jungle Book" in the year 1967, and "The Rescuers" in the year 1977. In addition, there are live films like "Treasure Island," 'Old Yeller,' "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," 'Swiss Family Robinson," "The Love Bug,' "The Absent-Minded Professor," and "That Darned Cat." The studio is now currently considered as the second largest provider of prime time TV programming, and is only second next to Warner Bros. In the year 1995, the Walt Disney Company bought ABC, which is the television network which first televised The Wonderful World of Disney. (Walt Disney Studios)

Thus, nobody has taken over this studio. One of the main reasons for the transfer of Hollywood shows to Broadway is the influence of Disney. During the 1990's, Disney proved that animated films which were that of stage versions could attract families, tourists, locals, and everybody else. This resulted in high box office collections. 'The Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Lion King' have collected $3.3 billion throughout the world. The combined estimated box office of the films is only $1.16 billion. This figure does not include T-shirts, CD's and souvenir books. (McKinley, 2005) This only shows that creativity is still very important in the movie industry.

Universal Studios Hollywood is the largest film and television studio in the world, but is never given much respect. It was founded by Carl Laemmle, an immigrant from Germany in 1912. This is famous for monster movies like Frankenstein in the year 1931, Dracula in the year 1931 and Wolf Man in the year 1941. Apart from these, it has produced "The Bank Dick' in the year 1940, "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break" in the year 1941, "The Egg & I" in the year 1947, "Ma & Pa Kettle" and "The Birds" in the year 1963, "To Kill a Mockingbird" in the year 1962, "Sweet Charity" in the year 1969, "Airport" series in the years 1970 and 1977 and "The Sting" in the year 1973. Universal was owned by MCA Inc., which was purchased in the year 1995 by the Seagram Company. Again in June of the year 2000, the Seagram Company was being purchased by France's Vivendi for an amount of $33.7 billion. (Universal Studios Hollywood)

Raleigh is not the most prestigious, but it is considered as one of the oldest studios in Hollywood, dating back to the year 1915. The studio is situated across the Paramount studios. What is now known as Raleigh was first known as Clune Studios back during the 1920's. Later, it was known as California Studio, and later again as Producers Studios Inc. (Raleigh Studios) Hollywood Center Studios is a minor Hollywood studio, not affiliated with any particular motion picture company. This 17 acre Hollywood studio was built in the year 1921. During the period of the 1930's, it was known as General Service Studios, and it produced several popular b-movies and independent films. "Sunset-Gower Studios" does not have a permanent film production company. Finally there was Columbia and that has been bought over by Sony and shifted to MGM Studio. This studio is now busy renting out facilities to different people. (Sunset Gower Studios)

Ren-Mar studio does not produce films under its own banner; but it is a rental studio, leasing out their entire lot and sound stages to other studios, independent film-makers, TV shows, and commercials as well as to video games. Ren-Mar was originally the home of Metro Studios, before that company became a part of the giant Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer -- MGM. Then it was called as 'Motion Pictures Studios' during the 1940's. (Ren-Mar Studios) Charlie Chaplin Studio was built by Charlie Chaplin, and still exists. This was the site for shooting his classic silent films - The Gold rush in the year 1925, City Lights in the year 1931, Modern Times in the year 1936 and The Great Dictator in the year 1939. The use of this studio stopped after United Artists was formed. It is now used for recordings of A& M. Records. (Charlie Chaplin Studios) With Hollywood suffering from a shortage of the amount of studio/sound stage space, Roy E. Disney who was Walt's nephew has built the new Manhattan Beach Studios which is near the Pacific in the sunny South Bay region of the Los Angeles basin and this is 20 miles away from the downtown Hollywood. This cannot be compared with that of the old studios, even though it is still in Hollywood. (Hollywood Center Studios) DreamWorks was planning to build a state-of-the-art studio in that area and the land was being purchased in the year 1998 and later the plans were dropped. (DreamWorks SKG)

Along with that of the studios, the position of others has also changed. The strength of studio chiefs then was much enormous as it is now, and it is being reported that Harry Cohn of Columbia wanted a mobster to kill or blind Sammy Davis Junior. This was because Sammy Davis was dating with Kim Novak. (How the Mob broke movie pickets) The role of women has been all but forgotten. It was Alice Guy Blache, a lady who prepared the first ever film La Fee Aux Choux in the year 1896 as an advertisement for Louis Lumiere's newest invention. (What caused the prevalence and power of women to decline during Hollywood's Golden Age?) Americans think of films as part of their lives and when tragedy strikes they turn to films based on ghosts. In the year 2001, there was 'The Others' made for $10 million and had more than $90 million, and shown no signs of stopping. The Nicole Kidman seat-gripper should be no surprise. Film experts say when tragedy strikes; Americans turn themselves to escapist, spiritualist fare. (Ford, 2001)

The influence of many cultures can be felt in Hollywood and one of the influences is German. Exiled artists from Austria and Germany poured into Hollywood after the year 1933. Even in the 21st century, the influence of these artists could be still witnessed in the American film metropolis. (A German Hollywood Tour) The question that is often asked is how did the studios manage to sell their films? This was done through block booking. Block booking intended that the studio would sell its films in packages on an all-or-nothing basis and this required theaters to buy numerous mediocre pictures for every desirable one. This is how the bad movies were sold to theaters. (The Root of All Evil in the Motion Picture Industry)

At the same time, Hollywood was considered to be a communist den, and this image is being carried on even today. When the anti-communist movement was going strong, there was a month of combative testimony before the Congressional hearings, and ten "unfriendly" witnesses who were inclusive of two directors, seven writers, and one producer who were alleged to have communist associations evoked their Fifth Amendment rights in order to avoid incriminating against themselves and also against their colleagues. (The Independent Producers Face the Hollywood Blacklist) At the same time, when the situation changes as it have happened since the events of September 11, 2001 the influence of Hollywood is required. They can turn out films like Casablanca, The best years of our lives, Since you went away, A place in the Sun or Red river. These make clear the main issues to the people and that is with regard to the contribution of Hollywood. (Thomson, 2001)

To conclude, Hollywood is a part of America and its spirits. There are also celebrations of political victories in the country and Hollywood is used in thank you sign offs. The write up in a poster was "W. Still the President. Thank You Hollywood! Buy this poster today and remind the liberals who won the election." Thus though most of the studios today are no longer doing the job they were set up to do, Hollywood still remains a part of our lives.

Annotated Bibliography

"RKO studios" Retrieved from http://ga.essortment.com/moviehistoryrk_rlkg.htm Accessed 12 September, 2005

The subject was written by Noel Wolfgram Evans in 2002. The matter was searched out from www.yahoo.com with the search on for "RKO" studios. The search string is just "RKO" and of the many sites that are shown, this was picked up and the reason for picking this up was the amount written on the subject. The matter here is the story of development of RKO Studios. The full history of the studio in different periods is outlined. Unfortunately, the matter that is given here is good enough for a full article on RKO studios and only a small portion could be taken in this article.

"Paramount Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/ParamountStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This was found out from yahoo again with the search for "Paramount." The reasons for selecting this particular site was that a lot of information seemed to be given in this site, and on a short peek into the site, one could see that a lot of information was there. The entire write up in this site is about the history of the development of the studio and the names of important movies that it made as also the major personalities and stars who were involved with the studio. There are also some details about how one can get a tour of the studio, if one likes. The article is good from an information point-of-view.

"RKO" Retrieved from http://www.portaljuice.com/rko.html Accessed 12 September, 2005

This article is from Wikipedia, which is a live encyclopedia and is constantly updated. Again the original search is for "RKO" on yahoo and the site is picked up based on the amount written about RKO. The information here is also about the history of RKO studios. The concentration is more on the functioning as a company, the changes of ownership of the company, and the competitive situation at different times. While the matter is interesting in itself, a lot of it does not have much to do with American Movies, which is the main objective of this article. After all the movie studios are a special type of company and the aim of this writing was to keep it limited to within that perspective.

"Culver Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/CulverStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This article is again brought out from a search on yahoo for "Culver Studios" and it talks about the history of Culver studios. The reason for choosing this was that the source of information was www.seeing-stars.com. This had been seen to be a good site for information on studios from the experience on Paramount. The information given in this article is that this was a studio and not a full fledged film production unit. What this statement means that this studio was used by other film production units for getting their films made. This interesting observation puts a light on American Hollywood studios which distinguish then from film studios in all other parts of the world. In most of the other places also, the film making units are different from the studios which exist for providing facilities for making of films, as is Culver Studios.

"The Historic MGM Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/MGM.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This article is again from a search on Yahoo for "MGM" and the reasons for choice are that a lot of material is provided in the site on MGM. This is one of the greatest studios in America, but strictly speaking, not in Hollywood but on Culver Street. The reason for including this is that many of the other studios are also strictly speaking not in Hollywood area of the town, but in other areas. The article clearly states the unique nature of MGM, its political connections of those days, and the forces that it brought together. This was also a studio that spread its functioning very well. The details of successful films are given as also the roles played by different stars in making those movies the household names that they became.

"Walt Disney Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/DisneyStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is again information from shooting stars and one has moved to the new page of "Disney Studios" from the old page of "MGM." This is not the result of any search, but of shifting from one page of the site to another page. The article brings out the emotion that is involved with Walt Disney and his creations. Let us remember that movies by him practically set up a different type of movies and those were extremely popular all over the world. The story of the studio is given in full there but the viewpoint that is taken is of a person who is interested in heroes of movies and movies in general.

"Warner Brothers Studio" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/WarnerBrosStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

As in the previous case, this again is a move from the previous page (DisneyStudios.shtml) to the new page (WarnerBrosStudios.shtml) which is permitted on the site itself. This is also not the result of a search process, but utilization of the facilities of the site. Clearly this is the simplest method for a person who has some minimal awareness of American Movies. The history of the start of the studio is given, and though it is quite interesting, it does not have much to do with movies. Again the viewpoint taken during the analysis is similar to that of the earlier article and there is general appreciation of the films they have prepared, the names of stars who have participated in their movies and so on. There is not much critical analysis. There are a lot of individuals who are interested in the glamour of movies, and this page will still interest them.

"Universal Studios Hollywood" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/UniversalStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is a move as in the earlier cases, from one page (WarnerBrosStudios.shtml) to another (UniversalStudios.shtml) and the procedure is the same. This also is not the result of a search but a shift on the site and this utilizes the facilities available within the site itself. The nature of giving information is the same, though there is no doubt that the information is correct and it is unlikely that this could have been collected from any other source. This studio was different from the other studios. There are differences that this studio had with other studios and it operated more like culver Studio, meaning that it operated as a place for producing films and not as a producer of films. This hurt the studio in the sense that many artists left the studio after getting a start her. The interesting part is that it still operates like a studio and a theme park whereas many of the others have changed professions.

'20th Century Fox" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/FoxStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same source of seeing-stars and the procedure here is a shift from the page of UniversalStudios.shtml to FoxStudios.shtml. This is not a search procedure, but a shift from one page within the site to another utilizing the facilities of the site itself. There is also information here about the stars of yesteryears, movies made and big successes right from the reasons of the start of the organization and shifts which brought the studio to its present location. Various anecdotes about Hollywood and this studio is also enclosed in the site to make it interesting.

"The Lot: Formerly Warner Hollywood Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/WarnerHollywoodStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same site and the procedure here is a shift from the page FoxStudios.shtml to WarrenHollywoodStudios.shtml. Again, this is not a search but a shift from one page to another within the same site. While the name of Warner Brothers is well-known, this is another studio that also used to be there in the old days, is now a sister studio for Warner Brothers and information about this studio is also given in this source. This studio is not again a studio for making full films, but only has provisions for making films. It is interesting to note that studios with similar capabilities fared differently later.

"Raleigh Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/RaleighStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same basic source and the procedure here is the same of shifting from WarrenHollywoodStudios.shtml to RaleighStudios.shtml. Again this is not a search, but a shift from one page to another. This is one of the old time studios and details about this studio are also noted down in this site. The interesting part in the accounts of this studio is the rapid changes of ownership and names that the studios in the olden days had to go through due to the fluctuations of business. Today a good name is a reputation and one does not change the name though there are changes of ownership.

"Sunset Gower Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/SunsetGower.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same basic source and the procedure here is the same as in earlier cases. There is no search but a shift from the page of RaleighStudios.shtml to SunsetGower.shtml page. This is another studio of the olden times and has also gone through many owners. The studio does not have many activities now, but has to be listed as it should be in this directory of studios that is being referred to for the purposes of this study.

"Hollywood Center Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/HollywoodCenterStudios.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same basic source and the procedure here is the same as in earlier cases. This again is the shift from the page of SunsetGower.shtml to HollywoodCenterStudios.shtml. This again is not a case of search, but shift from a page to another page. This is also one of the studios that were functioning in the earlier years and is also noted down in this directory of studios. It is interesting to note that of the many studios of the old times, only some succeeded while others did not. Well probably that is the story of life every where.

"Ren-Mar Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/RenMar.shtml Accessed 12 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same basic source and the procedure here is the same as in earlier cases. This again is the shift from the page of HollywoodCenterStudios.shtml to the page of RenMar.shtml. This again is not a case of search, but shift from a page to another page. This is also another studio which was functioning in the golden era of the studios and has been noted down in this directory of studios. This again had never been involved in the production of films, but was a rental studio as has been mentioned for some others.

"Manhattan Beach Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/ManhattanBeachStudios.shtml Accessed 14 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same basic source and the procedure here is the same as in earlier cases. This again is the shift from the page of RenMar.shtml to the page of ManhattanBeachStudios.shtml. This again is not a case of search, but shift from a page to another page. This information is a new studio, and has been built to provide space for the new films that are being made. This shows clearly that facilities available in the old studios are still in demand, though a lot of them are being used more for television than films. It has a very good connection with the old studios as it has been developed by Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney.

"Charlie Chaplin Studios" Retrieved from http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/ChaplinStudios.shtml Accessed 14 September, 2005

This is information collected from the same basic source and the procedure here is the same as in earlier cases. This again is the shift from the page of ManhattanBeachStudios.shtml to ChaplinStudios.shtml. This is again not a case of search, but a shift from one page to another. In those days, starting a studio was much easier, and one of the old time stars, Charlie Chaplin built up a studio for his own films, and this is noted down in detail in this site which is not easily found in other sources. The matter is interesting to note though it does not have much values so far as film production today is concerned though some amount of production for TV is still going on in this studio.