From 1920's to the 1950's, MGM, Paramount, Fox, RKO and Warner Brother

Question

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Passage # 227, Date : 25-Jul-2019
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From 1920's to the 1950's, MGM, Paramount, Fox, RKO and Warner Brothers were fully incorporated conglomerates, controlling every aspect of the movie-making industry: production, distribution and exhibition. Employing what became known as Hollywood's 'studio system,' these 'Big Five' were mass-production operations, churning out at least one feature film per week. They hired creative talent whom they often kept under long-term contracts, made films primarily on lots they owned, and distributed their movies to theater chains they either were affiliated with or acquired.

Such vertical control gave rise to the 'star system,' in which actors and actresses were groomed for A-class features, the bulk of a studio's revenues. Studio heads decided what roles their stars would play, how they would appear, and had in-house publicity departments publicizing their 'glamorous' on- and off-screen lives. To finance their first-run market films, studios depended on B-grade movies, made quickly and inexpensively with second-tiered artists. Ticket sales from these features, which usually made up nearly half of total output, gave the studios the cash flow to keep their operations running at full capacity.

'Block booking' was the practice these 'moguls' used to sell their low-budget products to independent theater owners. The practice was conceived in 1915 by Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor in response to the public's attraction to Mary Pickford, his silent-screen contract star and 'America's first sweetheart.' Block booking was an all-or-nothing deal; for any unaffiliated movie house, feature films were packaged with four or five lower quality movies. These anti-competitive and monopolistic 'blind bidding' tactics guaranteed the studios a constant source of revenue.

In the 1948 United States vs. Paramount Pictures, Inc antitrust case that had first been brought against the 'Big Five' nearly a decade earlier, the US Supreme Court ruled that the studios violated free trade enterprise and no longer could own theaters that played only films produced by their houses. This landmark decision outlawed block booking and forced the production studios to begin selling off their theater chains. By 1954, all operational links between production studios and theaters chains were severed, marking the end of an era known as 'The Golden Age of Hollywood.'   1 
 D 
 1. According to the passage, all of the following are characteristics of 'The Golden Age of Hollywood' EXCEPT:

a. Independent movie chains had little bargaining power with regard to the individual movie titles they wanted to buy.
b. The 'Big Five' had the ability to fight legal proceedings for years.
c. The ratio of output produced to revenue generated of B-list films exceeded that of feature films.
d. Because of the 'star system,' studios decided to vertically integrate their production, distribution and exhibition divisions.
e. The 'star system' played a part in the practice of 'block booking.'

2 
 A 
 2. Within the context of the passage, Mary Pickford functions to

a. illustrate how America' fascination with movie stars was a catalyst for the studios' questionable business practices.
b. support the rationale behind the studio 'star system.'
c. demonstrate that a star's career was dependent upon 'block booking' practices.
d. show that a star's status influenced how movies were made.
e. provide evidence that the practice of 'blind bidding' was unprofitable for the studios.

3 
 B 
 3. The passage suggests which of the following about the relationship between the studios and their A-list performers?

a. The actors and actress under long-term contract did not like the control the studios had over them.
b. A studio's star mix and revenue stream were directly correlated.
c. A studio's A-list stars gave each production house its own distinctive style.
d. A studio's major stars could dictate the kind of movies they made.
e. Feature film actors, depending of their audience draw, could negotiate a percentage of their films' profits.

4 
 E 
 4. The passage is primarily concerned with

a. outlining the factors that made Hollywood a movie capital.
b. summarizing a business practice of a handful of motion picture studios.
c. criticizing the tactics used by the 'Big Five.'
d. describing an event that required federal legislation.
e. providing an overview of a particular period of time within an industry.

shubham2312 · Answer

All correct took 7 minutes including reading

1:)D
actually, it is the other way around as per the passage

2:)A
mentioned in these lines 
 Block booking' was the practice these 'moguls' used to sell their low-budget products to independent theater owners. The practice was conceived in 1915 by Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor in response to the public's attraction to Mary Pickford, his silent-screen contract star and 'America's first sweetheart.'

3:)B
mentioned in these lines 
 such vertical control gave rise to the 'star system,' in which actors and actresses were groomed for A-class features, the bulk of a studio's revenues.

4:)it was more or like between C and E
but the author has not clearly mentioned how these big 5 were doing injustice to other small producers hence i marked E

also i feel difficulty level of the passage is somewhat 600-700

Skywalker18 · Answer

All correct in 9 mins, including 3 mins 45 seconds to read.
Para 1- Big Five Hollywood 
Para 2- star system
Para 3- 'Block booking'
Para 4- SC ruled against a big-5

1. According to the passage, all of the following are characteristics of 'The Golden Age of Hollywood' EXCEPT:

a. Independent movie chains had little bargaining power with regard to the individual movie titles they wanted to buy.- incorrect, Block booking was an all-or-nothing deal; for any unaffiliated movie house, feature films were packaged with four or five lower quality movies. 
b. The 'Big Five' had the ability to fight legal proceedings for years.- incorrect, United States vs. Paramount Pictures, Inc antitrust case that had first been brought against the 'Big Five' nearly a decade earlier
c. The ratio of output produced to revenue generated of B-list films exceeded that of feature films.- incorrect, Ticket sales from these features, which usually made up nearly half of total output, gave the studios the cash flow to keep their operations running at full capacity.
d. Because of the 'star system,' studios decided to vertically integrate their production, distribution and exhibition divisions.- Correct, 
Such vertical control gave rise to the 'star system,'
e. The 'star system' played a part in the practice of 'block booking.'- incorrect, The practice was conceived in 1915 by Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor in response to the public's attraction to Mary Pickford, his silent-screen contract star and 'America's first sweetheart.' Block booking was an all-or-nothing deal

2. Within the context of the passage, Mary Pickford functions to

a. illustrate how America' fascination with movie stars was a catalyst for the studios' questionable business practices.- Correct
'Block booking' was the practice these 'moguls' used to sell their low-budget products to independent theater owners. The practice was conceived in 1915 by Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor in response to the public's attraction to Mary Pickford, his silent-screen contract star and 'America's first sweetheart.' Block booking was an all-or-nothing deal

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the relationship between the studios and their A-list performers? 
b. A studio's star mix and revenue stream were directly correlated.
in which actors and actresses were groomed for A-class features, the bulk of a studio's revenues.

4. The passage is primarily concerned with 
e. providing an overview of a particular period of time within an industry.- COrrect, the passage provides an overview of 'The Golden Age of Hollywood'

gloomybison · Answer

VeritasKarishma

Hi Karishma,

in Question 1, though ı agree with D, ı didn't quite understand option C
Passage states; "Ticket sales from these features (B-class), which usually made up nearly half of total output, gave the studios the cash flow to keep their operations running at full capacity." & "A-class features, the bulk of a studio's revenue"
Let's imagine a numerical scenario;

imagine that total Output is 1000 and B-class have 480 output (nearly half). Depending on if there are not any other class of movies we can either say the output for A-class films is 520 or -if there are other movies- 250-350-400 etc (whatever number you like).
We know that A-class movies bring the large part of revenue("the bulk of a studio's revenues") so let's say the studio makes 1mn$ in total ( 750 ths$ from A class and 250ths$ B class)

so 350/750 (ratio of A) is smaller than 480/250(ratio of B) which caters to option B

Official explanation confirms this as well; the B films have a larger numerator and smaller denominator than those of the A films.

KarishmaB · Answer

1. According to the passage, all of the following are characteristics of 'The Golden Age of Hollywood' EXCEPT:

a. Independent movie chains had little bargaining power with regard to the individual movie titles they wanted to buy.
b. The 'Big Five' had the ability to fight legal proceedings for years.
c. The ratio of output produced to revenue generated of B-list films exceeded that of feature films.
d. Because of the 'star system,' studios decided to vertically integrate their production, distribution and exhibition divisions.
e. The 'star system' played a part in the practice of 'block booking.'

Yes, and that is why option (C) is a feature of the Golden age.

c. The ratio of output produced to revenue generated of B-list films exceeded that of feature films.
The output/revenue for B list films was higher than that for A class films (feature films). That is why this is a feature of that age and is NOT the answer.

This is an except question. We are looking for an option that was NOT a feature.

d. Because of the 'star system,' studios decided to vertically integrate their production, distribution and exhibition divisions.

This was not a feature. The vertical control gave rise to the 'star system,' in which actors and actresses were groomed for A-class features, the bulk of a studio's revenues. Not the other way around.

Answer (D)

Pranavsawant · Answer

In question 4, do we know why B is wrong? I agree that these companies controlled the entire movie making industry (mentioned in first para) but does the passage not largely talk about summarizing their business practice?
Only in the last sentence do they refer to this as an era. How do I distinguish between choices like B and E?
 KarishmaB

DmitryFarber · Answer

For B to be correct, the entire passage would have to be focused on this lone task of summarizing ONE business practice of the studios. That would have to be block booking, but the term isn't even introduced until the third passage. The passage has a much larger focus: from the 20's to the 50's, studios were vertically integrated and enjoyed monopoly-like control over all levels of the industry, until they were broken up as a result of the US v. Paramount case. Block booking was one major aspect of how they exercised that control, but it isn't what the whole passage is about.

As for E, they don't need to mention the era repeatedly for this to be about that period of time. The opening tells us that all of this happened during a very specific period. We see the initial conditions, followed by a change, and then the passage tells us that the "Golden Age" had ended. But even if the dates had only been mentioned once, it would still be accurate to say that this is about a particular period within the film industry. Keep in mind that we just need the answer to be an accurate description of what the passage is telling us. If it's vague and doesn't dig into details, that can be a GOOD thing, since any details it adds have to be proven, whereas if it just said "Provide some information about the movie industry," how could we say that was wrong?

Pranavsawant · Answer

Thank you Dmitry! That cleared it out! I completely forgot about the first line and it says "a" business practice. So yeah, it makes sense

From 1920's to the 1950's, MGM, Paramount, Fox, RKO and Warner Brother

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From 1920's to the 1950's, MGM, Paramount, Fox, RKO and Warner Brother

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