Grand Design: Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise, 1930-1939

History of the American Cinema #5

by Tino Balio

The advent of color, big musicals, the studio system, and the beginning of institutionalized censorship made the thirties the defining decade for Hollywood. The year 1939, celebrated as "Hollywood's greatest year," saw the release of such memorable films as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Stagecoach . It was a time when the studios exercised nearly absolute control over their product as well as over such stars as Bette Davis, Clark Gable, and Humphrey Bogart. In this fifth volume of the award-winning series History of the American Cinema , Tino Balio examines every aspect of the filmmaking and film exhibition system as it matured during the Depression era.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, History

483 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[James Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic installment in this series about the history of American cinema. I found the chapters on the business models of the studios, particularly when it came to their star actors, to be the most intriguing. It’s not something you normally read about in the usual histories of Hollywood, so it was delightfully to see it presented here.

[Louis]

I read this because I love classic Hollywood film and I wanted to get an insight into the studio system in the 30's and 40's. This is definitely that. It's a great overview of the major and minor studios at that time and the films they produced.

[Judy]

This is a bit dry for me - very comprehensive, but not really what I was looking to read just now. I may go back to it in the future.