United Artists, Volume 1, 1919-1950: The Company Built by the Stars

by Tino Balio

Overview

United Artists was a unique motion picture company in the history of Hollywood. Founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and director D.W. Griffith-four of the greatest names of the silent era-United Artists functioned as a distribution company for independent producers. In this lively and detailed history of United Artists from 1919 through 1951, film scholar Tino Balio chronicles the company's struggle for survival, its rise to prominence as the Tiffany of the industry, and its near extinction in the 1940s.
This edition is updated with a new introduction by Balio that places in relief UA's operations for those readers who may be unfamiliar with film industry practices and adds new perspective to the company's place within Hollywood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780299230043
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date:	03/02/2009
Edition description:	With a new introduction
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Tino Balio is emeritus professor of film studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is author of Grand Design: Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise and editor of The American Film Industry, also published by the University of Wisconsin Press.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Preface
1 Artists in Business: 1919
2 Starts and Fits: 1919-1924
3 Joe Schenck’s Reorganization: 1925-1931
4 Adjusting to the Talkies: 1928-1932
5 Depression and Monopoly: 1932-1934
6 Schenck’s Last Years: 1932-1935
7 Without a Leader: 1934-1936
8 The Goldwyn Battles: 1936-1941
9 Facing the War: 1941
10 Worsening Strains Within: 1942-1944
11 Coming Apart at the Seams: 1944-1948
12 The End and the Beginning of UA: 1949-

Appendix 1 Releases: 1919-1950
Appendix 2 Producers
Appendix 3 The Walt Disney Cartoons
Appendix 4 Income History
Appendix 5 Record of Dividend Payments
Appendix 6 Capital Stock Purchased by the Company

The UA Collection: A Descriptive Inventory
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"A book of distinct value to all who have a serious interest in the history of motion pictures."--Ben Irwin, Los Angeles Times

"Exhaustive research conveyed in bright prose. . . . A particular strength is the psychological insight gained into the personality of the principals of the boardroom."--The Hollywood Reporter

"Lucidly written . . . a most useful addition to our knowledge of the business side of the film industry."--Philip French, Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher