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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.
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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.
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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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