ration, and Eagle-Lion Films. Their B movies filled
in the bottom half of double bills.
The most important independent producers in
the 1930s, when independent production was still a
relatively unfamiliar idea, were Hollywood titans
Samuel Goldwyn, David O. Selznick, and Walt
Disney. Each producer owned his own studio but
released pictures through his own distribution
company, one of the majors, or United Artists. Dis-
ney produced his classic animated films, such as
Pinocchio(1940), at the Walt Disney studios and
released them through his own distribution com-
pany, Buena Vista Productions. Goldwyn produced
such major pictures as William Wyler’s The Best
Years of Our Lives(1946), which he released through
RKO. In 1936, Selznick left MGM to establish
Selznick International Pictures. In 1940, three of
his films—Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind
(1939), Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca(1940), and Greg -
ory Ratoff ’s Intermezzo (1939)—together earned
some $10 million in net profits, more than all the
films of any of the majors, each of which produced
roughly fifty-two films that year. Although he
released his films through the major studios,
including MGM, Selznick’s prestige pictures and
remarkable profits established the independent
producer as a dominant force in Hollywood for the
next sixty years and beyond.
The producerguides the entire process of mak-
ing the movie from its initial planning to its release
and is chiefly responsible for the organizational and
financial aspects of the production, from arranging
the financing to deciding how the money is spent.
The studio system was dominated by producers
who, in turn, depended on directors who were
under studio contract to direct a specific number of
films in each contract period.
The work of the directoris to determine and
realize on the screen an artistic vision of the screen-
play; cast the actors and direct their performances;
work closely with the production designers in creat-
ing the look of the film, including the choice of loca-
tions; oversee the work of the cinematographer and
other key production personnel; and in most cases,
supervise all postproduction activity, including
the editing. Although some studio system directors—
Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, and Vincente Minnelli,
for example—could be involved completely from
preproduction through postproduction, most were
expected to receive a script one day and begin film-
ing shortly thereafter. They were seasoned profes-
sionals capable of working quickly and were
conversant enough with various genres to be able to
handle almost any assignment.
The career of Edmund Goulding, who directed
thirty-eight movies, exemplifies very clearly the
work of a contract director. After starting in silent
films in 1925 and directing several films at Para-
mount Pictures, Goulding made an auspicious start
as a director at MGM with Grand Hotel(1932), an
all-star blockbuster. He followed that with Blondie of
the Follies(1932), a comedy featuring Marion Davies;
the melodrama Riptide(1934), starring Norma
Shearer; and The Flame Within(1935), also a melo-
drama. From MGM Goulding moved to Warner
Bros., where, as a contract director, he made That
Certain Woman(1937), Dark Victory(1939), and The
Old Maid(1939), all starring Bette Davis; The Dawn
Patrol(1938), a World War I action film; ’Til We Meet
Again(1940), a wartime romance; and The Constant
Nymph(1943), a romantic drama.
After World War II, Goulding moved to 20th
Century Fox, where the declining quality of the
movies he was assigned truly reflects the chal-
lenges facing a contract director. Starting with The
Razor’s Edge (1946; a quasi-philosophical movie
nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture of 1946)
and Nightmare Alley(1947), a melodramatic film
noir, he went on to direct We’re Not Married!(1952),
an episodic comedy featuring Marilyn Monroe;
Teenage Rebel(1956), a drama; and for his last film,
Mardi Gras(1958), a teenage musical starring Pat
Boone. Goulding made the most of the challenges
inherent in such variety. He was also popular with
actors and noted for his screenwriting, which
accounts for some of the gaps between pictures
(most contract directors were expected to make
three or four movies per year). Goulding was also
noteworthy as an openly gay man who successfully
pursued his career at a time when most Hollywood
gays and lesbians remained in the closet.^14(^14) See William J. Mann, Behind the Screen: How Gays and Les-
bians Shaped Hollywood, 1910–1969(New York: Viking, 2001).
THE STUDIO SYSTEM 499