The Silent Era: Crash Course Film History #9

Summary

This script delves into the Silent Era of Hollywood, highlighting the rise of the studio system and the dominance of American films globally. It discusses the power dynamics of studios over stars and filmmakers, the emergence of genres like gangster and romantic comedies, and the public's fascination with celebrity scandals. Key figures like Charlie Chaplin, who co-founded United Artists for creative control, and Thomas H. Ince, who revolutionized film production, are featured. The era's end is marked by the introduction of sound, which would dramatically change the film industry.

Takeaways

• 🎬 Hollywood's Silent Era was marked by the rise of the studio system, which dominated the film industry and controlled the careers of stars and filmmakers.
• 🌟 The early film studios, such as Famous Players-Lasky, Loew’s Inc., and First National Pictures, not only dominated the market but also exerted control over creative and personal lives of their talents.
• 🌐 The choice of California as the hub for film studios was influenced by its sunny weather, diverse terrain, and distance from Thomas Edison's legal battles in New Jersey.
• 💡 Thomas H. Ince revolutionized film production by introducing specialized roles like screenwriters, directors, editors, producers, and studio heads, which streamlined the filmmaking process.
• 🎩 Charlie Chaplin, along with D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford, founded United Artists in 1919 to give filmmakers more control and profit share from their work.
• 🏆 The 1920s saw significant studio mergers, leading to the formation of recognizable names like MGM, Warner Brothers, Fox, Universal, and Columbia Pictures.
• 📈 The Silent Era's filmmakers, including Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd, leveraged the studio system to achieve great success and creative control.
• 💸 Charlie Chaplin's popularity led to him commanding high salaries and creative control, setting a precedent for actor-negotiated contracts.
• 🚫 The Hays Code, introduced in 1930, was a response to public concerns about film content, aiming to regulate what could be shown on screen and promoting 'Compensating Values'.
• 🌉 The advent of synchronous sound with 'The Jazz Singer' in 1927 marked the end of the Silent Era and posed a significant challenge to filmmakers who had to adapt to this new technology.

Q & A

What was the significance of the Silent Era in Hollywood's history?

The Silent Era was significant as it marked the rise of the Hollywood studio system, the establishment of major studios, and the dominance of American films in the global market. It also saw the emergence of genres like gangster movies and romantic comedies, and the beginning of the celebrity culture with audiences' interest in stars' private lives.

Why did film studios choose California as their base?

California was chosen for its sunny weather, diverse terrain, and distance from Thomas Edison, who was based in New Jersey and fighting for control of the American film industry during the 1910s.

Which three film studios dominated the Silent Era?

The three film studios that dominated the Silent Era were the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation (which later became Paramount Pictures), Loew’s Inc., and First National Pictures.

What was the purpose behind the founding of United Artists by Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford?

United Artists was founded to give filmmakers more control over their films and a greater share of the profits, as opposed to the studio system where studios held near complete control over creative and personal lives of their stars, writers, and directors.

How did the formation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) impact the Hollywood studio landscape?

The formation of MGM in 1924, through the merger of Loew’s, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Productions, created one of the most powerful studios, leading to further industry consolidation and shaping the corporate structure of Hollywood.

What innovations did Thomas H. Ince bring to the film production process?

Thomas H. Ince innovated by applying mass production techniques to filmmaking, breaking down the filmmaking process into separate roles such as screenwriter, director, editor, producer, and studio head, which standardized the production process and increased output.

How did Charlie Chaplin's career evolve during the Silent Era?

Charlie Chaplin's career evolved from being discovered by Mack Sennett to developing his iconic Tramp persona, directing his own films, and co-founding United Artists for greater creative control. He became one of the highest-paid individuals in the world and produced classic films that are still celebrated today.

What was the impact of the Hays Code on Hollywood filmmakers?

The Hays Code, established in 1930, imposed a set of moral guidelines on film content, leading to self-censorship in American cinema. It required filmmakers to ensure that virtue triumphed over vice in their films, which influenced the storytelling and themes of the era.

Why was the introduction of synchronous sound considered a seismic event for Hollywood?

The introduction of synchronous sound marked a significant technological shift that required filmmakers to adapt to new methods of production. It also threatened the careers of many who were successful in the Silent Era, as it changed the nature of film acting and production.

How did the Silent Era contribute to the development of genres in cinema?

The Silent Era saw the flourishing of genres like gangster movies and romantic comedies, as studios marketed films based on the power of their stars and audiences' preferences, setting patterns that continue to influence cinema today.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 The Golden Age of Silent Cinema

This paragraph introduces the allure and power dynamics of Hollywood's Golden Age of Silent Cinema. It highlights the rise of movie studios that controlled the careers of stars and directors, the silent nature of films, and the low cost of movie tickets. The paragraph also discusses the marketing strategies of studios, the emergence of popular genres, and the public's fascination with celebrity gossip. The Silent Era is presented as a foundational period for Hollywood, with its patterns and practices still influencing the industry today. The narrative then shifts to discuss the global context of filmmaking post-WWI, with a focus on the establishment of the Hollywood studio system and the formation of major studios like Paramount Pictures, Loew’s Inc., and First National Pictures. The paragraph concludes with the story of United Artists, founded by Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford, aiming to give filmmakers more control and profits.

05:01

🌟 The Impact of Silent Era Filmmakers

The second paragraph delves into the career of Charlie Chaplin, from his impoverished beginnings to his rise as a global star and filmmaker. It discusses his development of the Tramp character, his lucrative contracts with Essanay Studios and Mutual Film Corporation, and his focus on social criticism in his films. The paragraph also touches on Chaplin's co-founding of United Artists and his subsequent classic films. The narrative then broadens to include other silent-era filmmakers and actors like Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle, and Harold Lloyd, who leveraged the studio system for success. The paragraph concludes with a discussion of the moral concerns surrounding cinema, the formation of the MPPDA and the Hays Code, and the strategies filmmakers employed to navigate these restrictions, setting the stage for the transition to 'talkies' and the challenges they would pose to the Silent Era filmmakers.

Keywords

💡Silent Cinema

Silent Cinema refers to the era of film production before the advent of synchronized sound in movies. It was characterized by the absence of spoken dialogue and the use of title cards to convey the narrative. In the video, the Silent Era is depicted as a foundational period for Hollywood, where the studio system and the mass production of films were established, setting the stage for the global dominance of American cinema.

💡Golden Age

The term 'Golden Age' is often used to describe a period of exceptional creativity and prosperity in a particular field. In the context of the video, the 'Golden Age of Silent Cinema' highlights the significant advancements in filmmaking, the rise of influential studios, and the emergence of iconic stars, which collectively contributed to the cultural and economic boom of Hollywood during this time.

💡Studio System

The Studio System refers to the business and production structure that dominated Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. It involved major studios controlling all aspects of film production, from development to distribution. The video explains how studios like Paramount Pictures, MGM, and Warner Brothers wielded enormous power, shaping not only the creative output but also the personal lives of stars, directors, and writers.

💡Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin was an English actor, comedian, and filmmaker who is a central figure in the history of the Silent Era. Known for his iconic 'Tramp' character, Chaplin's work combined physical comedy with social commentary. The video discusses his rise to fame, his innovative filmmaking techniques, and his role in founding United Artists, which aimed to give artists more control over their work.

💡United Artists

United Artists was an independent film studio founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. The studio was unique for its time as it was created to give filmmakers more creative control and a larger share of profits. The video emphasizes United Artists as a significant development in the struggle for artistic freedom within the studio system.

💡Thomas H. Ince

Thomas H. Ince was a pioneering film producer who played a crucial role in streamlining the production process in Hollywood. He is credited with breaking down filmmaking roles into specialized jobs such as screenwriting, directing, editing, and producing. The video mentions Ince's innovations as a key factor in the efficiency and stability of the studio system, which allowed for the mass production of films.

💡Hays Code

The Hays Code, officially known as the Motion Picture Production Code, was a set of moral guidelines that governed the content of American films from 1930 to 1968. The video discusses the Code as a response to public concerns about the moral impact of movies. It required films to promote traditional values and censor any content that could be seen as promoting vice or immorality, significantly influencing the themes and narratives of films during this period.

💡Mack Sennett

Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American film director, producer, and actor known as the 'King of Comedy.' He was instrumental in developing slapstick comedy and discovering many comedy legends. The video mentions Sennett's role in launching the careers of stars like Charlie Chaplin, highlighting his influence on the comedic style of the Silent Era.

💡Genre

In the context of the video, 'genre' refers to a category of film characterized by specific themes, styles, or narrative conventions. The Silent Era saw the rise and flourishing of genres such as gangster movies and romantic comedies, which were marketed based on their star power. These genres helped to shape the tastes and expectations of audiences, contributing to the commercial success of the films.

💡Synchronous Sound

Synchronous sound, or sync sound, refers to the recording of sound that occurs at the same time as the action it is meant to accompany. The video suggests that the introduction of synchronous sound marked a seismic shift in the film industry, as it led to the decline of the Silent Era and the rise of 'talkies,' films with spoken dialogue. This technological advancement challenged many filmmakers of the Silent Era to adapt or risk obsolescence.

Highlights

Hollywood's Golden Age of Silent Cinema was marked by the rise and fall of stars, the mass production of films, and the global dominance of American movies.

Movie studios in the Silent Era held immense power, controlling the careers of stars and directors.

Silent films were produced for as little as 10 to 25 cents per ticket, reflecting a different economic landscape.

Studios used star power and established genres like gangster and romantic comedies to market their films.

The public's appetite for celebrity gossip was a pattern established during the Silent Era and continues today.

The Hollywood studio system centralized the entire filmmaking process, from conception to distribution.

California was chosen for its sunny weather, diverse terrain, and distance from Thomas Edison's influence.

Famous Players-Lasky, Loew’s Inc., and First National Pictures were the dominant studios of the early Silent Era.

Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford founded United Artists to gain more control over their films.

Loew’s creation of MGM in 1924 marked a significant consolidation in the film industry.

The 1920s and 1930s saw a period of studio mergers, sales, and splits, influenced by the economic climate.

Thomas H. Ince revolutionized film production by applying mass production techniques and standardizing production roles.

Inceville, built by Thomas Ince, was the first studio to feature permanent exterior sets, enhancing production efficiency.

Mack Sennett, a film mogul, was instrumental in discovering legendary talents like Charlie Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin's rise from poverty to international stardom was marked by his iconic Tramp character and directorial success.

The Silent Era studio system allowed Chaplin to command high salaries and creative control, benefiting his career significantly.

The introduction of the Hays Code in 1930 was a response to public concerns about film content and morality.

The Hays Code's Compensating Values strategy allowed for the depiction of vice as long as virtue prevailed in the end.

The advent of synchronous sound marked the end of the Silent Era and posed challenges for many filmmakers.

Transcripts

Hollywood, here we come!

The glamor!

The celebrities!

The scandals!

I’m not talking about Bennifer or Brangelina.

Craig: Are they still things? Nick: No... Craig: I'm kind of out of touch.

But I'm not out of touch with the Golden Age of Silent Cinema, when stars rose and fell, studios

perfected the mass production of films, and American movies dominated the global film market.

In some ways, it was very different from the Hollywood we know today.

Movie studios wielded enormous power.

They kept stars and directors under tight control.

The movies they made were silent.

And a ticket would set you back a whopping 10 or 25 cents.

On the other hand, a lot of the patterns set during this time still seem awfully familiar today.

Studios marketed films on the power of their stars.

Genres like gangster movies and romantic comedies took hold and flourished.

And audiences craved gossip about the private lives of celebrities.

To understand the world as it is, sometimes you have to go back to where it all began.

And for Hollywood, that’s the Silent Era.

[Opening Music Plays]

Film was going in a lot of different directions

after the First World War.

In Germany, filmmakers drew on the Expressionist movement to manipulate their film’s mise-en-scene,

creating groundbreaking horror films.

In Russia, Soviet filmmakers were using cinema to perfect the arts of propaganda through

revolutionary editing techniques.

And in the US, the Hollywood studio system was positioning itself to dominate the rest

of the world.

Within film studios, the entire filmmaking process took place – from conceiving, writing,

and shooting the films, to marketing and distribution.

The studios had chosen California for its film-friendly sunny weather, its proximity

to all kinds of terrain, and ... its distance from Thomas Edison, who spent much of the

1910s fighting for control of the American film industry from his base in New Jersey.

In the early days of the Silent Era, three film studios ruled them all: the Famous Players-Lasky

Corporation, which would eventually become Paramount Pictures – Loew’s Inc., which

began as a theater chain – and First National Pictures.

Not only did these three dominate the marketplace, they exercised near complete control over

the creative and personal lives of their stars, writers, and directors.

Filmmakers often had to choose between following the studio’s orders or abandoning their careers.

Then, four of the most powerful figures in early silent cinema came together to create

their own film studio.

In 1919, two directors – Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith -

and two stars -- Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford – founded United Artists.

Their goal was to give filmmakers more control over their films and a greater percentage

of the profits.

CHA-CHING! Is what I assume they would say.

Of course, not many filmmakers could afford to go out on their own like that, so the contract

system would continue for several more decades.

In 1924, the most powerful studio emerged when Loew’s purchased Goldwyn Pictures and

Louis B. Mayer Productions to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, better known as MGM.

Which lead to MGM studios which lead to Tower of Terror,

and have you been on Tower of Terror? That's a pretty fun time.

This is a process that would get repeated throughout the 1920s and 1930s, as studios

merged or sold or split apart.

Probably because of prohibition and they didn't have anything else to do.

By the end of the era, most American films were being made at studios whose names you

might recognize from the multiplex today: not only United Artists and MGM, but also

Warner Brothers, Fox, Universal, and Columbia Pictures.

Now while the corporate structure of these companies kept changing, the process by which

they were making films was becoming remarkably stable and efficient. Unlike me.

The major studios became very good at churning

out large-scale, commercial movies with mass appeal.

One of the leading innovators in setting up the way studios worked was a man named Thomas H. Ince.

Like D.W. Griffith, Ince came to film as a failed actor.

He directed his first film in 1910, and by 1913 he was making as many as 150 two-reelers

a year!

His biggest impact on film came by applying the lessons of mass production to the actual

making of movies.

Prior to Ince, most films were overseen by a director-cameraman – a single person who

conceived the story, worked with the actors, and operated the camera.

Ince broke those roles into separate jobs:

A screenwriter to conceive the story and write the script.

A director to make creative decisions on set and work with the actors.

An editor to assemble the footage.

A producer to supervise the project from inception to final cut.

And a studio head to oversee the entire studio.

While other filmmakers had played around with these roles, it was Ince who standardized

them into a system – a system still used today.

By 1912, he’d earned enough money to buy a ranch west of Hollywood where he built his

own studio, a place he called Inceville…

Yep!

It was here where the first permanent exterior sets were built, made to resemble far flung

locations, like a cowboy saloon, a little Swiss street, or a Japanese village.

And as Ince worked to define the roles and streamline the means of production, he was

able to triple the output of his studio.

Though he died quite young in 1924, Ince’s impact on film production was as thorough,

widespread, and lasting.

Now, Mack Sennett, another early film mogul and one-time partner of Ince, was responsible

for discovering a whole slew of film legends, whose names you might recognize.

People like the Keystone Cops, Fatty Arbuckle, Gloria Swanson, Carole Lombard, W.C.

Fields, and… the great Charlie Chaplin.

Let's talk a little bit about Charlie Chaplin.

He was born into poverty in England in 1889.

He went into acting, signed with a prestigious Vaudeville touring company, and set off for

America at age 19.

A film talent scout spotted him there, got him hired by Sennett, and the rest is history.

That we're gonna talk about because we're talking about Film History.

Smart, curious, and driven, it didn’t take long for Chaplin to develop his iconic Tramp

persona and begin directing his own films.

After finishing his first film contract, Chaplin struck an extremely lucrative deal with the

Chicago-based Essanay Studios to make 14 short films.

While at Essanay, he found ways to combine his finely tuned sense of empathy and his

recognizable Tramp character with a growing ability to make audiences laugh – through

both physical comedy and increasingly clever storylines.

In fact, he was so popular that by the time his Essanay contract was up in 1915, he negotiated

an almost unprecedented salary of $10,000 per week with another studio, the Mutual

Film Corporation.

They also paid him a signing bonus of $150,000 – the equivalent of about $3.5 million today.

CHA-CHING! Is what they would have said at the time.

The movies Chaplin made with Mutual brought him international stardom.

They marked the first time his focus on the poor verged into social criticism, a place

silent comedies rarely, if ever, went.

True to his roots – and despite being one of the highest paid people in the world – Chaplin’s

films often focused on the gentle, accidental heroism of the downtrodden.

Time and again, he made the powerful the butt of his jokes and displayed tremendous empathy

for the poor and the humble.

Then in 1919, at age 30, he co-founded United Artists in an effort to exercise greater control

over his films.

I'm 36... I better get moving.

What followed was a string of classic movies that rank not only among Chaplin’s best,

but among the best film comedies of all time: The Kid – his first feature film and a smash

hit – The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and his controversial take-down of

Adolf Hitler, The Great Dictator.

His later career would be hampered by legal problems and socialist sympathies, which would

land him on the infamous post-war blacklist, and keep him from making films.

But at his height, no one benefited more from the Silent Era studio system than Charlie

Chaplin – as a director, making a lot of films quickly and efficiently; and as an actor,

commanding enormous salaries and unheard-of creative control.

And he wasn’t the only one to turn this system to his advantage.

Actor-directors like Buster Keaton, “Fatty” Arbuckle, and Harold Lloyd achieved great

success making their own short and feature-length comedies.

Stars from Mary Pickford to Gloria Swanson parlayed their celebrity into tangible behind-the-scenes power.

Now, as film became more and more central to popular culture, some people started to

get nervous.

They worried that movies posed a real threat to public morality.

They saw films promoting materialism, cynicism, sexual license.

This would be a debate that would come up again and again in American culture

– about movies or music or video games.

Until now when we've solved all those problems.

Is the medium causing society’s problems,

or just reflecting them?

A few real-life Hollywood scandals at the time tipped the scales, bringing on the first

real self-censorship of American cinema.

The gossip press fed readers stories about stars dealing with addictions, affairs, and worse.

The most famous of these centered around Fatty Arbuckle, who was accused of the rape and

accidental death of an actress named Virginia Rappe.

Although he was ultimately acquitted after three highly-publicized trials, the scandal

itself all but ended Arbuckle’s career, and left an opening for a government crackdown

on immorality in films and the film business.

Rather than wait for Congress to get involved, the major players in the film industry banded

together to form the MPPDA – the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America.

They hired a retired Postmaster General named Will Hays, a conservative Evangelical, to

prove they were serious about cleaning up their act.

And that’s exactly what Hays did in 1930, putting together the Motion Picture Production

Code, also known as the Hays Code, a catalogue of things filmmakers could and couldn’t show on screen.

...fun.

The Code also suggested a strategy called Compensating Values.

The idea was that films could show characters engaging in vice for most of the film, as

long as virtue triumphed in the end.

No one employed this technique better than director Cecile B. DeMille.

He was a master at giving the audience all the vice and excess they could handle for

the first three quarters of the movie, before virtue came out on top.

Other filmmakers found their own ways around the Hays Code.

German director Ernst Lubitsch came to Hollywood in 1922 and made a successful series of witty

sex comedies that relied on suggestion and innuendo rather than skin.

For many of these filmmakers, however, the Hays Code was about to become the least of

their worries.

A seismic event was poised to shake up Hollywood, and not every filmmaker of the Silent Era

was going to come out the other side with their career intact.

The world was about to get its first taste of synchronous sound.

And it tasted good... maybe, I don't know.

Today, we explored the Silent Era, the first golden age of Hollywood filmmaking.

We learned about the innovations of Thomas Ince and the rise of the American film studio.

And we discussed some of the most important Silent Era filmmakers and how their scandals

– both real and imagined – led Hollywood to institute industry standards governing

the content of their films.

Next we’ll tackle the biggest shift in the history of film yet, as movies find their

voice... es...

Crash Course Film History is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios.

You can head over to their channel to check out a playlist of their latest amazing shows,

like The Art Assignment, Gross Science, and PBS Infinite Series.

This episode of Crash Course was filmed in the Doctor Cheryl C. Kinney Studio with the

help of all these Industry Standards and our amazing graphics team, is Thought Cafe.