In October 1929, Wall Street tanked—and banks were not the only ones who suffered. The fallout smashed into Hollywood, knocking studios sideways. Investors pulled out. Loans dried up. Panic set in. With audiences tightening their belts and studio books bleeding red, the movie business was at risk of failure.But it didn’t. While most industries shrank, the movies pulled a fast one. Box offices roared back. Stars shone brighter. And behind the scenes, studio heads rewrote the rules, turning crisis into a power grab.Hollywood’s Initial Struggle During the Depression By 1931, several independent studios had folded, and layoffs swept the industry. The talkie revolution (kicked off by The Jazz Singer in 1927) had already shaken its foundation. Now, as studios scrambled to retool for sound, the cost of converting theaters and equipment drained already fragile budgets. It was technological progress on a deadline.Banks, once eager to invest in film, froze up. Financing dried out fast. Some studios tried mergers; others went into receivership. Poverty Row, an area of Los Angeles packed with low-budget film outfits, saw more tumbleweeds than productions.Ticket sales nosedived in the early ‘30s. Between 1930 and 1933, attendance dropped by nearly 40%. With unemployment hitting 25%, a night at the movies suddenly felt like a luxury.To adapt, exhibitors got creative. "Penny theaters" popped up in working-class neighborhoods. Double features became the norm. Some cinemas handed out dinnerware just to get people in the door. Others raffled off groceries between reels. Desperate times, improvised gimmicks.The Rise of the Studio...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today