The Star System within the Studio System

During the consolidation effects of vertical integration, the studio's system of production was key. Embedded in the production portion of the studio was the "star system," the mild basis of what we constitute as "movie stardom" today. The Star system was when studios used and contracted certain actors to promote and brand their movies.

Because this further popularized their overall business, this usage of stars' popularity created more emphasis on the actor and less emphasis on the movie itself. Studios began to churn out films that emphasized the actor over the plot. People became fascinated moreso with the stars than the movie's story line, that studios started to churn out movies that had the star's name in bigger letters above the movie's title. The star's image became the commodity, therefore the actor's acting skills, dancing and voice held importance throughout the entirety of the film.

An example of this system is the actor Humphrey Bogart's career. Throughout his earlier films, he was branded as an actor with mainly "gangster" character roles. The role that mainly changed his direction of acting was "The Maltese Falcon," where he played a detective. He was known for his signature hat, trench coat and fast-talking suaveness because of it. He became a legend after Casalanca, where he played a cafe owner. In the last, and probably most memorable scene, he is seen wearing his usual gettup, which was mainly used to reinforce the audience's affiliation with him. Mr. Bogart needed to stand out as the star the audience's know, or the film wouldn't sell as well. And studio directors understood that.