Towards a Comparative Economic History of Cinema, 1930–1970 (Frontiers in Economic History)

This book examines the economic circumstances in which films were produced, distributed, exhibited, and consumed during the spoken era of film production until 1970. The periodisation covers the years between the onset of sound and the demise of the phased distribution of films. Films are generally appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. But they are also commodities. This work of economic history presents a new approach, considering consumption behaviour as significant as supply-side decision-making. Audiences’ tastes are considered central, with box-office an indicator of what they liked. The POPSTAT Index of Film Popularity is used as a proxy where box office knowledge is missing. Comparative analysis is conducted through the tool RelPOP. The book comprises original case studies covering film consumption in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States during the 1930s; Australia and occupied Belgium during the Second World War; and Italy, the United States, Poland and Czechoslovakia during the Post-war. An overriding theme is how the classical American business model, which emerged during the 1910s linking production to distribution and exhibition, adapted to local circumstances, including the two countries behind the Iron Curtain during the years of ‘High Stalinism’. Preface 6 Contents 9 Editor and Contributors 11 Introduction: ‘Millions of People Every Day’—Cinema as Part of the Quotidian of Life 13 1 Film as a Commodity 15 2 Hollywood 17 3 Industrial Organisation 19 4 Measures of Popularity 22 5 Audience Behaviour 23 6 Chapters in the Book 24 7 Conclusion 27 References 28 Managing Risk in the Film Business—Key Concepts and Methods 31 1 Trade Journals as Sources of Data 32 2 Vertical Product Differentiation 33 3 Consumer Risk: Theory and Evidence 34 4 Producer Risk in Hollywood 39 5 The Reach of Hollywood 41 6 International Orientation Index 45 7 POPSTAT 46 8 Comparative Analysis—RelPOP 51 9 Conclusion 54 References 54 How Did the Department of Justice Get It so Wrong? Philadelphia 1935–1936: The Stanley Warner Chain, Competitive Practices and Consumer Welfare 57 1 Philadelphia Dataset 60 2 Competitive Analysis 67 3 Quality Competition 68 4 Discussion and Conclusion 73 References 74 Comparative Film Popularity in Three English Cities—Bolton, Brighton, and Portsmouth: An Exercise in POPSTAT Methodology 77 1 City and Cinema Characteristics 79 2 Cinema, Billing, and Monthly Weights 80 3 Regent Cinema 84 4 Comparative Analysis 90 5 Quality British Films 93 6 Conclusion 95 Appendix 96 References 97 Popular Films in Stockholm During the 1930s: A Presentation and Discussion of the Pioneering Work of Leif Furhammar 99 1 Context 101 2 The Stockholm Market 102 3 Method for Establishing Film Popularity Statistics 106 4 Findings 114 4.1 General 114 4.2 Successful Films 115 4.3 Audience Tastes 119 5 Discussion 127 6 Conclusion 128 Appendix: Annual Top 20 Films 133 References 153 Dutch Films in the Mid-1930s Dutch Market: A Characteristics Approach to Film Popularity 155 1 The Dataset and Measuring the Popularity of Films 157 2 Cultural Nearness 161 3 Method of Film Analysis 167 4 Appropriating Earlier Successes 168 5 Famous Names and the Popularity of the Films 169 6 The Role of Genre 171 7 Transcending Genre: Song and Dance 171 8 Recurring Actors and Recurring Types of Characters 172 9 Recurring Themes: Marriage 177 10 Conclusion 179 Appendix 1: Towns and Cities Appearing in the Dataset 181 Appendix 2 181 References 193 Unravelling Australia’s ‘Infamous “Contract” System’: Evidence from Adelaide, 1942–1943 196 1 General Context 198 2 The Diversity of the First-Run 199 3 Distribution into the Suburbs 206 4 D. Clifford Theatres 214 5 The Circulation of 27 Films 218 6 Discussion and Conclusion 223 Appendix 1: Suburban Cinemas Used in the Study 223 References 226 Film Exhibition, Distribution and Popularity in German-Occupied Belgium (1940–1944): Brussels, Antwerp and Liege 228 1 Film Exhibition and Language Before and During the German Occupation 229 2 Research Questions and Context 231 3 Method 234 4 The Size of the Market 236 5 Film Popularity 240 6 Findings 241 7 Discussion 252 8 Conclusion 253 References 256 Five Italian Cities: Comparative Analysis of Cinema Types, Film Circulation and Relative Popularity in the Mid-1950s 259 1 General Context 260 2 The Velocity of Film Circulation 265 3 Cinema Classification 266 4 Four Case Studies 270 5 Film Popularity 272 6 Conclusion 278 Appendix to the Chapter: Top 20 Films in the Five Cities, Released Between September 1953 and December 1954 278 References 289 Cinemagoers Should ‘...learn from progressive movies, again and again’. Cinemagoing in Czechoslovakia, 1949–1952 290 1 General Context of Film Distribution in Post-War Czechoslovakia 292 2 Film Statistics 295 3 POPSTAT 299 4 Discussion 310 5 Conclusion 312 References 313 ‘It Seems to Me that the Most Popular Films in the West Are Very Harmful to Us’: Film Popularity in Poland During the years of ‘High Stalinisation’ 316 1 Formal Structures 319 2 Industry Statistics 321 3 Politics, Propaganda and Programming 326 4 Cracow, 1951–1953 329 5 Nowa Huta 335 6 Discussion—Some Examples 341 7 Conclusion 343 References 345 Americanisation in Reverse? Hollywood Films, International Influences, and US Audiences, 1946–1965 348 1 Context/Literature 350 2 Data and Sources 353 3 Widescreen Technology and Film Popularity 354 4 International Orientation and Film Popularity 356 5 International Orientation of Widescreen Films 358 6 Predicting Hits? 359 7 Conclusion 362 References 364