‘Women rule Hollywood’: ageing and freelance stardom in the studio system

Abstract

This essay considers how ageism impacted the careers of freelance A-list Hollywood female stars working in the studio system during the 1930s–1940s, when the number of women working as free agents substantially outnumbered their male counterparts. Using studio contracts and internal studio correspondences as well as industry trades and press releases, I examine the economic and industrial ramifications for these key freelance female stars as they aged. Ruth Chatterton, Irene Dunne, Miriam Hopkins and Barbara Stanwyck all took a proactive role in shaping their careers through freelance labour practice when the studios manipulated stardom for their economic gain. The creative and economic independence of these women challenges the familiar patriarchal, ageist pattern of female celebrity thought to typify Hollywood, in which female stars can expect to find less work and receive less compensation as they age. Instead, as free agents, these women worked more independently and prolonged their careers beyond what is generally imagined of female actors, thereby dynamically participating in studio system production practices. This comparative contractual analysis also considers the experience of male freelance stars so as to highlight the different historical experiences of ageing stardom in the studio system.

Keywords:

• stardom
• freelancing
• female celebrity
• Hollywood studio system
• ageing

Notes

1. The title of this article references Samuel Goldwyn's observation, made in his 1935 article sharing the same title (see Goldwyn and Ergenbright (1935) below).

2. The freelance female stars are by no means limited to these four women – this list also includes Constance Bennett, Clara Bow, Janet Gaynor, Ann Harding, Carole Lombard, among numerous others (Carman, 2012).

3. I consulted documents in the MGM, Universal Studios, Twentieth Century Fox and Irene Dunne Collections from the USC Cinematic Arts Library Archives (CALA hereafter) and the Paramount Contract Summaries (PCS hereafter) at the Herrick. At UCLA, I cite the RKO studio collection payroll cards and Twentieth Century Fox legal files (formerly on deposit there).

4. It is important to underscore the fraught and crucial place of contracts and their conditions to the workings of the studio system for above-the-line talent. While this essay focuses on the negotiations of freelance artists, the following studies examine other dimensions, including long-term contract agreements, the development of the Screen Actors Guild and legal aspects of star labour: see Balio (1995), Clark (1995) and Gaines (1991).

5. All information pertaining to Dunne's contracts is taken from the Irene Dunne Collection, CALA, USC.

6. The last percentage earnings statement is from 1948, which states that her total cut of the profits was $161.969.09; see RKO Payroll Cards, UCLA PASC.

7. All information concerning Stanwyck's contracts come from the following: the legal files at WBA, USC, the Twentieth Century Fox legal files, formerly at UCLA PASC, and the Paramount Contract Summaries (hereafter PCS) at the Margaret Herrick Library.

8. See Wallis–Hazen Agreement dated 25 November 1947 with Stanwyck and Paramount, PCS.

9. See contracts dated 16 October 1945, 12 May 1947, 25 November 1947, and 12 May 1949, PCS.

10. See 20 February 1934 memo from Joseph Breen to Will Hays, Production Code Administration MPAA Collection, Herrick Library.

11. This is also due to Warners’ standing in the industry as a new, struggling vertically integrated studio that valued narrative economy and cost-cutting strategies over artistic integrity and creative risk, especially in the early 1930s when they were in receivership.

12. All information concerning Hopkins’ contracts come from her legal file in the WBA, USC.

13. The term used by Obringer – ‘pictures of extraordinary quality’ – refers to the production hierarchy in the studio system, whereby the ‘major’ studios like Warner Bros. divided their production into ‘A’ films (big-budget, prestige productions that showcased stars and creative talent) and ‘B’ films (low-budget films made quickly and often without stars) to meet their output quota for their national theatre distribution chains.

14. All information pertaining to Colman's contracts cited from his legal file at the DOSC, Harry Ransom Center.

15. Earnings figures for Dunne are from her RKO Gross Receipt Statements, in the Irene Dunne Collection, CAL, USC. Grant's RKO earnings are from the UCLA PASC RKO Payroll cards.

16. I calculated Grant's estimated earnings based on his contractual terms and the world gross profits provided by USC Professor Rick Jewell, who had access to the RKO studio legal files before they became inaccessible after Ted Turner purchased MGM/UA Entertainment Co. in 1986 – the MGM/UA library included the RKO Radio Pictures Film library. The legal files are not currently open for research.

17. For more on the role of agents in the studio system, see Kemper (2009).

18. See Mann (2008) and Gomery (2005).

19. Memo dated 5 December 1955, box 749, Universal Collection, USC CASC.

20. Other former 1930s–1940s top female talents cited are Bette Davis, Ginger Rogers, Claudette Colbert and Joan Fontaine; all their salaries are under $75,000 per film.

21. The male stars of the 1930s–1940s did not directly experience ageism in their careers, but their older age did bring about a premature end to their careers in that they died while still significant stars (e.g. Bogart, Cooper and Colman would all be dead by the 1960s). By comparison their female counterparts lived longer.