Writing the Stars

Abstract

The embourgeoisement of the early American cinema, its drive to acquire an aura of respectability, amounted to a mimicry of theatre — its conventions in respect of genres, styles of performance, the architecture and design of cinemas and, in the best locations, the provision of liveried ushers and attendants. But there was one aspect of theatre that the cinema strove to avoid — the star system. Stage stars might appear in films, but the idea that actors in films might be stars only gained acceptance slowly, and even then was a competitive device that overwhelmed considerable resistance. The Motion Picture Patents Company ([MPPC]; The Trust), formed as a cartel out of the pooling of (especially Edison) patents, viewed film as a standard commodity to be rented to exhibitors at a standard price per foot. Basically a coalition of ‘old’-immigration interests, the MPPC was opposed by Independent producers and exhibitors, some of whom were from a new-immigrant background and did their main business with new-immigrant communities, or at least chafed at the Trust’s heavy-handed attempts to impose its quantitative monopoly. Some of the early companies within the Trust, notably Biograph and Vitagraph, recognized the importance of quality and sought to brand their films as superior products. But fearing demands for salary increases, this branding did not extend to directors, such as D. W. Griffith, or to leading actors.