At a time when the Hollywood studios are stronger than they have ever been during their 80-year history, film historian Thomas Schatz provides an indispensable account of Hollywood's traditional blend of business and art. The book lays to rest the persistent myth that studio executives and producers stifle artistic talent and reveals instead the genius of a system of collaboration and conflict. Working from industry documents, Schatz traces the development of house styles, the rise and fall of careers, and the making (and unmaking) of movies: from Frankenstein to Casablanca to Hitchcock's Notorious - and how it all collapsed in the face of television. The Genius of the System gives the definitive view of the workings of the Old Hollywood and the foundation of the New.
- ISBN10 0571195962
- ISBN13 9780571195961
- Publish Date 22 June 1998 (first published 11 February 1989)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 4 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Faber & Faber
- Edition Main
- Format Paperback
- Pages 528
- Language English