BSA106-Blog Research-Golden Age Hollywood

The major studios were:

• Metro Goldwyn Mayer
• Paramount Pictures
• Warner Bros.
• RKO Radio Picture
• 20th Century Fox

The Minor Studios were:

• Universal
• Colombia
• United Artists

The Studio System was a big part of the success of Classic Hollywood, it enabled the biggest studios to have total control of the movies they made and how they would be distributed. This powerful structure of the studio system is known as vertical integration. Studios controlled the supply chain, production to exhibition. 

The Hays Code, the MPPDA hired Will Hays to put in place a self-regulatory code of practice. It was a set of subjects the films couldn't depict, alongside topics of films had to treat with extreme caution. Most notable subjects were sex and crimes against the Law.


Studios were infamous for 'owning; their stars through contracts. An image was built for the star the didn't necessarily have anything to with how they were in real life. Stars often felt 'owned' by studios and were frustrated that they couldn't choose what they stared in.