Playing the Percentages
eBook - ePub

Playing the Percentages

How Film Distribution Made the Hollywood Studio System

  1. 296 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Playing the Percentages

How Film Distribution Made the Hollywood Studio System

About this book

A history of film distribution in the United States from the 1910s to the 1930s, concentrating on booking, circuiting, and packaging marketing practices.

Told not as a "golden age" narrative of films, stars, or individual studios but as an economic history of the industry's film distribution practices, Playing the Percentages is the story of how Hollywood's vertically integrated studio system came to be. Studying the history of distribution during the growth of Hollywood, Derek Long makes a case for the domination of the studio system as the result of struggles over distribution practices.

Through a combination of archival research, critical surveys of the film industry trade press, and economic analysis, Long uncovers a complex and ever-shifting system of wrangling between distributors and exhibitors. Challenging the overemphasis within scholarship on "block booking" as a monolithic distribution mode, and attending to distribution practices beyond simple circulation, Long highlights the crucial changes in film distribution brought about by live theater, the rise of features, and the transition to sound. Playing the Percentages is a comprehensive history of film distribution in the United States during the silent era that illustrates the importance of power struggles between distributors and exhibitors over booking, pricing, and playing time.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Playing the Percentages by Derek Long in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Entertainment Industry. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Illustrations
  7. Introduction
  8. 1. Precursors: The Circuits of Show Business: Vaudeville, Legitimate Theater, and the Origins of American Entertainment Distribution, 1800–1920
  9. 2. The Package, Part I: Programming the Studio System: Packaging in Film Distribution, 1896–1917
  10. 3. The Package, Part II: Reprogramming the Studio System: The Rise of Open Booking, 1916–1922
  11. 4. Space: From Franchising to Merchandising: Marketing Films Locally and Nationally, 1914–1923
  12. 5. Time: The Battle for Playdates: Temporally Controlling the Distribution Business, 1921–1925
  13. 6. Pricing: What Price Sound? Selling the Percentage Exhibition Contract, 1919–1930
  14. Epilogue
  15. Acknowledgments
  16. Glossary of Distribution Terms
  17. Notes
  18. Bibliography
  19. Index