The Letter

The main difference from the Classic Film era and today is the existence of the studio system then vs. now, particularly since (at that time) they owned their own theaters, such that audiences identified with the studio brand names in much the same way that we identified with the "big three" TV channels in recent years. I don't know about you, but I don't really notice (or care) what studio makes which films today, except Pixar and maybe Disney (though this is difficult given the many brands within their family).

Of course, the most obvious result of the studio system and what made their films so identifiable, then vs. now, was due to the fact that most of the major actors/actresses were signed to long term contracts with a particular studio. Therefore, one can easily identify a film as being a Warner Bros. product because Bette Davis is starring in it. However, there were exceptions, and some great films resulted, when these actors/actresses were loaned out (even traded like chattel) by the studio moguls.

Realizing that the studio system's voting policies corrupted some of the results, particularly in the early years, MGM dominated Warner Bros. when it came to Academy Award Best Picture winners (8 to 2) through 1959. FYI, I didn't count Gone With the Wind (1939) in MGM's total. However, and after reviewing two books which I recently acquired (The MGM Story & The Warner Bros. Story), I have to say that it's difficult to decide which studio produced the best movies in the 30's, 40's and 50's. Here's why: