History movie stars

A movie star is a well-known person starring in motion pictures. This term is especially use on famous actors or actresses.

A movie star (or celebrity) with international fame, are also called, superstars.

Before the invention of the moving pictures, the performance were mainly done on stage.

It were the play writers who got all the credits, if this play was a success.

But after the invention of the cinematograph, it were the actors who began to glow for the audience.

Because of the releasing of the movies, the audience became more attracted by the film actors –and actresses on the white screen. Because of the growing popularity of the film actors, the film studios and producers brought a change in the policy.

 

Florence Lawrence

They decided to put the names of the leading actors on the credit of the movies.

One of the first names on the credit, was of the actress: Florence Lawrence, who is referred as the ‘first movie star’. She was generally known as the ‘Biograph Girl’, because she worked for the Biograph Studio and the ‘IMP Girl’, because she was also working for the Independent Moving Pictures Company.

Besides Lawrence, there was also Mary Pickford. She was also known as one of the first movie stars. She started as a child star in ‘Little Mary’.

One of the first male movie stars were King Baggot and Douglas Fairbanks.

At the end of the 20’s, there became changes in the movie technology. What made it possible to synchronise the sound with the film. In that way there were movies with sound, what made an end of  the silent movie era.

Unfortunately it was in disadvantage of the silent movie actors. Many of them had lost their job and there came a new inflow for the new generation film stars. Like: Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Errol Flynn etc.

 

King Baggot

Around 1909, IMP started to promote their ‘picture personality’. With stars like Florence Lawrence and King Baggot. They, for instance, got their own marquee, or their personality were described in papers and fan magazines. What became a way to increase their fame. 

Around 1920, the promotional agents were spreading non fictive roomers about famous actors to the media.

It became a part of the new ‘star system’. What became a kind of a standard system for the movie studios.

With the development of the star system, the personalities of (new) actors were created and they most of all got a different name. Many of the movie stars have a different birth name, then the name they are currently known for.

The star system gave more an accent on the image of the celebrities then on their acting. For instance, for women there was expected to behave like a lady and they were not aloud to leave the house without make up or  stylish cloths. Men were only aloud to be seen in public as gentlemen.

Many relations of the celebrities, like their agents, public relations and the heads of the studios, were all working together to camouflage the scandals to prevent damages on the image of actors.

So they arranged dates between single actors and actresses for the publicity. Tabloids and gossip magazines were reported about this, so their photographers were present at the so called romantic moments.

If a celebrity was caught with drugs or drinking problems, there was paid ‘hush money’ to witnesses or people of exclusive stories to shut their mouth.

Between the 30’s and 60’s, the star system became a part of the contract between actors and the movie studios. Sometimes it were even the stars who created their own images.

But then the stars became more selective, even though they were punished by the heads of the movie studios. The strong-willing actors were censored by the movie studios, if they didn’t agreed with them. This was really a period where superiors of the studios thought: ‘If I can make you, I can also brake you’.

Many actors attempted to sue  their superiors, in exchange for more rights. But not always with success. 

But also the publicity became to realise more the benefit of the stars of being a free agent, then the complicated star system.

The instrument of the studio system, Photoplay, gave already way the gossip magazine, Confidential.

By the 60’s, there was not much left of the star system.

The studio system, where the reputations of the stars were manipulated, became to faded away. The media began to accept the boundaries of dismantling the stars and with the provoked virtue of the celebrities, their suspicion became bigger.

By the 60’s and the 70’s, there appeared a new style of acting (a natural way), what had been enshrined. Individuality transformed to a treasured personal quality.

With the competition of the TV and the changes in movie companies, the star system became to disappear. The studio system couldn’t resist the changes in the entertainment, the new culture and the labour, what had increased enormously since the 60’s. By the 70’s, the star system disappeared completely.

Notice! Sorry for my poor English, because my native language is Dutch. This information is based on sources from different history sites and books. Please correct me if there are some parts in this information what is not true.