RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born

"Enjoying exclusive access to RKO archives before they were dispersed to the winds, Rick Jewell has crafted a powerful and unprecedented company history that is rich in detail and sharp in insight. Pinpointing both industry ambitions and corporate shenanigans, Jewell offers a tale both gripping and instructive. A major contribution to Hollywood studio history in the classic era."

and#151;Dana Polan, author of Scenes of Instruction: The Beginnings of the U.S. Study of Film

and#147;Richard Jewell has written a definitive portrait of a major Hollywood studio during the heyday of the movies. Enriched by a lode of archival material, Jewelland#8217;s RKO story reconstructs the dynamics of the studio system; its stresses and strains; its logistical challenges; and its in-house rivalries. Some big names are vividly brought to life: David Sarnoff, Pandro Berman, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Orson Welles, to name a few. Jewell interweaves RKOand#8217;s corporate maneuverings and production agenda with great skill. A more compelling history of a Hollywood major is hard to imagine.and#8221;

and#151;Tino Balio, author of The Foreign Film Renaissance on American Screens, 1946and#150;1973

and#147;A painstakingly researched and lucidly written business history of RKO Studios from its founding through 1942, Richard Jewelland#8217;s RKO Studios: A Titan is Born not only traces the shifting economic fortunes of the studio that gave us King Kong, the Astaire-Rogers musicals, and Citizen Kane but also fills an important gap in our understanding of how the studio system survived and at times even thrived during the Golden Age of Hollywood.and#8221;

and#151;Charles Maland, author of Chaplin and American Culture

and#8220;Jewell not only makes great use of this primary material, but presents a clear, fair-minded narrative that puts the facts into proper context.and#8221;

and#8220;The author is clear and candid. . . . A readable, thought-provoking analysis.and#8221;

One of the and#147;Big Fiveand#8221; studios of Hollywoodand#8217;s golden age, RKO is remembered today primarily for the famous films it produced, from King Kong and Citizen Kane to the Astaire-Rogers musicals. But its own story also provides a fascinating case study of film industry management during one of the most vexing periods in American social history. RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan is Born offers a vivid history of a thirty-year roller coaster of unstable finances, management battles, and artistic gambles. Richard Jewell has used unparalleled access to studio documents generally unavailable to scholars to produce the first business history of RKO, exploring its decision-making processes and illuminating the complex interplay between art and commerce during the heyday of the studio system. Behind the blockbuster films and the glamorous stars, the story of RKO often contained more drama than any of the movies it ever produced.

Richard B. Jewell is Professor of Critical Studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He is the author of The Golden Age of Hollywood, and The RKO Story, among others.

List of Illustrations

Introduction

1. and#147;Master Showmen of the Worldand#8221;:

Prehistory and the Formation of the Company

2. and#147;Itand#8217;s RKOand#151;Letand#8217;s Goand#8221;:

The Brown-Schnitzer-LeBaron Regime (1929and#150;1931)

3. and#147;Failure on the installment plan, a ticket at a timeand#8221;:

The Aylesworth-Kahane-Selznick Regime (1932and#150;1933)

4. and#147;All this is very distressing to meand#8221;:

The Aylesworth-Kahane-Cooper Regime (1933and#150;1934)

5. and#147;He feels the company is unsettledand#8221;:

The Aylesworth-McDonough-Kahane Regime (1934and#150;1935)

6. and#147;An awfully long cornerand#8221;:

The Spitz-Briskin Regime (1936and#150;1937)

7. and#147;Plaything of industryand#8221;:

The Spitz-Berman Regime (1938)

8. and#147;The companyand#8217;s best interestand#8221;:

The Schaefer-Berman Regime (1939)

9. and#147;Quality pictures are the lifeblood of this businessand#8221;:

The Schaefer-Edington Regime (1940and#150;1941)

10. and#147;Crossing wiresand#8221;:

The Schaefer-Breen Regime (1941and#150;1942)

Appendix: and#147;The Whole Equation of Picturesand#8221;

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index