SEPT 2019: The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz

[Samantha]

Our fall read is about The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz.

Which studio do you want to learn more about?
Which studio is your favorite?

[[deleted user]]

Samantha wrote: "Our fall read is about The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz.

Which studio do you want to learn more about?
Which studio is your favorite?"

I will always love Warner Brothers above all others, but I would like to know much more about Paramount.

[Sylvia]

I feell in love with Leo the Lion of MGM as a child and still get an up surge of happy memories when I view a film that starts out with a ROAR. I worked at MGM, first in the fan mail department then in the mail delivery department the summer before I started Los Angeles City College. You don't have enough fingers or toes to count how far back that was. But it was fun.

[Samantha]

I have always loved MGM because I am very star oriented so I have probably read the most about that studio over the years. I'm interested in learning about some of the smaller studios like Republic and PRC and about the way RKO and Columbia operated.

[Jules]

I am interested in reading this book also, mainly for the same reason as Samantha, to learn more about the small studios. I have noticed there are at least 2 editions of this book. Does it matter which one I read or are they mostly the same?

[Matthew]

Samantha wrote: "Our fall read is about The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz.

Which studio do you want to learn more about?
Which studio is your favorite?"

I would definitely agree that Warner Brothers is fascinating. And Thalberg was a genius. I have read some of the book before, although some time ago so much is lost from memory, but I recall it being very interesting how such fine movies came to be with the "systems" of the various studios.

[Samantha]

I don’t think it matters which edition you read.

[Matthew]

I am about halfway through the book. Some questions I would like to pose for members:

1. Given the work that Junior was able to do, was he a great producer that was beset with bad fortune, or was he an enthusiastic kid who had more energy than good sense in running the studio?
2. Was Junior's model of prestige pictures plus lots of programmers across which to spread the overhead and costs a good model?
3. Although not totally germane to the book, it is touched upon; how much more of a career did Shearer have by virtue of her being married to Thalberg?

Matthew

[Samantha]

I definitely think Norma Shearer's career benefited from her association with Thalberg. She was a fine actress but she excelled in those pre-code romantic dramas. There was no reason for her to jump to the prestigious films she made later, no stage experience or fluke roles to suggest she would be suited for those parts, except for her strong desire to play them. The policy of the studios was usually to maintain the status quo; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. This is something that drove Joan Crawford crazy because she wanted those important parts.

I would like to set-up another group movie viewing. Does anyone have suggestions for something that would be related to our reading that is upcoming on TCM or easily available?

[Samantha]

We are wrapping up our fall read. Does anyone have any comments?

Which of the studios do you think was the most powerful? The most prolific? The most hard-scrabble?