Crawford in the Making of a Star - Essay Example

Introduction: The star system was the genius strategy that was designed by Hollywood movie making industry in the creation and promotion of film stars. During this era performers were not identified in films. Producers feared that actors would gain more prestige and power and demand more money. Therefore the bigger stakeholders of the movie industry forced filmmakers to use their equipments and follow their rules under pretext that they owned the patents of much of the motion picture equipment. The star system was then inaugurated and it put more emphasis on image rather than on acting, although discreet acting, voice, and dancing lessons were a common part of the regimen. Studios would then, select promising young actors and would create personas for them, often by inventing new names and even new backgrounds. Some of the stars that went through the star system include Cary Grant (born Archie Leach), and Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur), and Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.) Evolution of the film Industry The evolution of the motion picture industry can be divided into roughly four phases. The technological phase, in which key film making technologies were introduced, began around 1891 and ended at 1903 with the first narrative film, The Great Train Robbery. The pre-studio era, characterized by standardization of film content into specified length and set of conventions lasted from about 1903 to 1915 with the first feature film, Birth of a Nation (McGowan, 1965). During this era the director-unit system, came to dominate. The studio era of vertically integrated firms commenced around 1915 and entered decline in 1948 with the United States Supreme Court decision that forced the Hollywood studios to exit the exhibition business. It was here that the central producer system evolved and became dominant. And finally, the post studio era began in the mid 1950s and is still with us today. The industry structure and business strategies that dominate each of these phases were crafted and negotiated during the transition periods from one phase to the next. The studio system emerged as a result of distinct strategic developments that coalesced into a strong configuration. The first development was the emergence of vertical integration, Gomery, (1986). Most of studios (though not all) saw the joint ownership of production, distribution, and exhibition as creating synergies that are essential for competitive advantage. Control of exhibition allowed the studios to offset the risks of production, and control over distribution permitted coordinated release that is essential for national marketing. Second, after a period of resistance, primarily due to fear of excessive salary demands, all the studios acquiesced to the human resource strategy star based system. Working of the System structure The central producer system, with a managerial hierarchy in the form of the top producer team, deviated from the common practices of management in the conventional film industry. First, the top producer team was often deeply involved in the conceptualisation and detail of the project. Second, and more importantly, resolving of tension between functional specialisation and project leaders was not biased in favoring of one or the other. Rather, the perennial struggle between functional departments and project managers was resolved by bringing top management downward into the process. What made the central producer system so effective was the way in which process and content were balanced and closely integrated. The producer team exerted its influence in critical transitions in the development of movie projects worked in specially designated departments. Scripts that were seen as promising were selected for further development by the team. This development consisted of intense analysis and discussion of every aspect of the script. The team brought to bear its collective experience. The script was examined from the perspective of narrative logic, motivation, and appeal to audience. At the end of the process a detailed script was prepared, director assigned, and casting decided. During principal photography the producer team reduced its involvement, but maintained close monitoring of the production. Their role was primarily one of knowledgeable observers - occasionally pointing to problems or suggesting improvements. Exception to this hands-off supervision would be a major crisis that required additional allocation of resources or forceful intervention to deal with key personnel such as stars or directors. Specialists under the guidance of the director generally handled the first complete version of the film -(the rough cut) -. Upon completion the rough cut was submitted to the producer team for analysis and opinion. In effect, the producer team took possession of the film and laid out a series of recommendations of what the finished version should look like. Under the studio system it was not uncommon for a completely different director to take over the finishing process. In effect, the central producer system was based on the assumption that the director did not have the necessary perspective to ensure the full integrity of the film as an artistic and commercial product. Previewing the film with select audiences allowed the producer team a last opportunity to reshape the film, but this time with marketability as the key consideration. Enthusiastic audience response fed directly into release and marketing decisions. Ambiguous or negative audience response required rethinking both from an individual and collective reconstructive perspective. Crawford in the Making of a Star. During the peak period of the Hollywood studio system in the 1930's, no other star shone brighter than Joan Crawford. She became a powerful and domineering presence on the screen. Her talent is exposed in her earlier days at MGM when she counter-acts by the pairing with an equally powerful male star like Clark Gable, (with whom she made many pictures). The deliberate casting of no major male stars makes Crawford the sole dominating force of the picture eluding possible male domination over Mildred. If in fact, had Gable been cast in one of the male roles it would give an almost completely different reading of the film. Crawford firmly instituted herself as movie star in the early 1930's generally playing workingwomen who claw their way to the top using their sexuality. Crawford was so popular with female fans that, as Leslie Halliwell puts it, "liked to watch her suffering in mink." This suffering by Crawford's film heroines was a familiar characteristic of her films, of which a 1945 audience attending Mildred Pierce (1945) would be aware. This foreknowledge would in fact influence the reading of her character. For instance, a 1945 audience would have seen Crawford play only one unsympathetic role as Crystal in The Women (1939) and therefore be less inclined to believe that Mildred was actually guilty of the murder. Crawford's value to the studio system goes beyond the function of attracting potential audiences to attend the film. She achieves a higher commercial value as an ideal construction of femininity to female audiences. Her image is seen as a perfect commodity, appealing to the ordinary woman who aspired to be like Crawford and identified with her. For instance her adoption of the famous Adrian shoulder pads during the high point of her career created an international demand for the padded shoulder look. The star system exploits this influence on the buyer market with product tie-ins and star endorsements. The consumerism promoted by the star image is seen in Mildred Pierce in the clothes worn by Crawford and Ann Blyth. An example of this is seen during Mildred's second visit to the beach house when she is offered a bathing suit to wear by Monty, and is shown an entire rack of bathing suits like in a shop. This scene shows self-reflectivity of star promoted consumerism in the film. Although by giving Crawford a choice of outfit from many to indicate that this suit is her choice, it is telling female audience members to buy this swimsuit. Crawford's carefully constructed star text and her mercurial image, potent a great magnitude conveying a group of associations that manipulated not only through the characters she played but also through her representation in the media. She had a very strong female fan base especially amongst working-class women who identified with the characters she played and her personal struggle to the top. The strong-willed determinism seen in Crawford's previous roles, for example the definitive flapper that she played in the previous decade best described in the Hollywood revenue of 1929 "the personification of youth beauty" and her personal life made Mildred's success and determinism believable. The audience believed Mildred was capable of creating a lucrative restaurant chain because Mildred is Crawford. Crawford's presence alone brings strength and anger into the character of Mildred. In Mildred Pierce the concept of life imitating art is present in hindsight after posthumous accusations of Crawford's parental abilities made by daughter Christina Crawford in her memoir Mommie Dearest. Anna Raeburn describes the parallels between the character of Mildred and Crawford's own personality as remarkable, "There was unhappiness, suffering, ambition, determination, stubbornness to the point of psychological disturbance, disappointment and a totally false ending." The most evident parallel between Crawford and Mildred is their personal success, so it is ironic that Mildred is punished for the same success that Crawford is publicly celebrated for. This undercuts the negative message that cautions female successes outside of the home. Because Crawford did have a 'happy family' (remembering this is pre-expos) and a successful career at the same time, the message is subverted. The characterisation of Mildred is also self-referential to Crawford's star status. It is Crawford's star persona that dominates the film and influences any reading of it. The false ending Raeburn refers to is the idea that Mildred returned to her husband. It is unbelievable that such a strong woman would return to her weak ex-husband, something that Crawford did not do in real life. Crawford's love life was well documented in magazines and audiences knew that her marriages failed because she was more successful than her husbands. The self-referential characterisation of Mildred by Crawford introduces an added depth to the reading of her character, found in the ironic punishment of Mildred for her success. The anger that Crawford delivers through Mildred (and previous characters) is real; the audience feels her anger and identifies with her frustration. Jeanine Basinger explains that this self-referential quality in Crawford's characters is drawn from two sources, "her own life as her public perceived it, and the roles she had played on the screen, which audiences began to believe were who she really was." The audiences' mental correlation between Crawford's screen persona and her own life was forcibly encouraged by the studio through publicity and magazine stories. Marketing Strategy Crawford's casting in the role of Mildred not only affects the reading of the character but it also promotes consumerism. It is Crawford's name and image that sells the film to the audience. There is evidence of this in the publicity material for the film. In one poster with the caption "Oh boy! home and Mildred Pierce", there is absolutely no relationship between the poster and the film. It indicates the star of the film, Crawford and says it is a great date movie, but the photo is of sailors. This shows the power of a name to sell a film. Even though Crawford's name is not large on the poster like other posters for the film, the little connection to the film shows the great pulling power of a star name during the reign of the studio system. Having a star in a film usually meant there was a high production standard and certain degree of quality to the film. Crawford's name was also synonymous with a certain type of entertainment. Mildred Pierce was a comeback film for Crawford, which is always a box-office attraction on its own and given Crawford's capacity to re-invent herself audiences would be curious about the new Crawford. References: Chatto & Windus (1994). Crawford, Christina. Mommie Dearest. London: Granada Publishing Limited, London Crawford. J., Legends.A, Kobal. J & Raeburn, (1986) London: Pavilion Books Limited. Dyer, Richard. (1998) Stars. London: British Film Institute. Halliwell, Leslie. Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion: Seventh Edition. London: Nelson F., Adkins ed. (1953) Common Sense, in Common Sense and other Political Writings liberal arts press 1953) Pamela & Robertson (1996). Guilty Pleasures: Feminist Camp from Mae West to Madonna. Durham and London: Duke University Press. Filmography Ray. A., Robert. B. (1985) Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1980, Read More