THE STAR SYSTEM


In the early days of cinema most actors and actresses were simply family members of the director. Most films were short documentaries of people doing their daily chores as they were being filmed. Audiences weren't very peculiar of what or whom they were watching. During these early years it was shameful for the famous players of the stage to appear in films, largely due to the fact that the majority of audiences weren't of any sophistication. The labourers who were in need of inexpensive entertainment dominated most of the cinema attendance. But in time the pictures grew to be more professional as proper actors are and actresses came about. The peculiar thing about the early days of cinema is screen credits were never given to reveal the actor’s real names. Certain actresses were known by certain features. Mary Pickford was known as the girl with the dimples, and Norma Talmadge was the girl with the curls. This process continued until one man changed the movie industry forever.

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle was a brilliant businessman that began his movie career running an independent production company. The independents were always struggling against the larger companies of the time such as The Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. Laemmle needed a new marketing strategy in order to compete with the larger companies. The following events led to the creation of the first real star. Carl Laemmle decided to use as his experiment a young girl known to her audiences as the "Biograph Girl". Laemmle first planted an article in a St. Louis newspaper stating that the former "Biograph Girl", Florence Lawrence, had died in a streetcar accident. Soon after, he wrote another article declaring the story a false rumor. Further down the ad he described her as being alive and well, and that she would be featured in an upcoming production.     Because of this publicity stunt the star system was first born and the industry would never be the same again. Carl Laemmle later on became head of Universal Studios and the inventor of the studio tour. He would be involved in many more publicity stunts such as checking a Lion into a hotel to advertise a jungle picture. Stars and Studios Soon after all the other studios had to follow and began to exploit their stars. It soon became apparent that star appeal could draw larger crowds and stabilise production values. Certain stars could guarantee success on any picture they appeared in. Studio heads scratched their heads at this new phenomenon. Audiences were lining up to see their favourite performers, but in return all actors had to be compensated for their mass appeal. Stars such as Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin were receiving as much as 10,000 a week.

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