MGM label research

History:

• After gradually being built through purchasing higher quality workers, MGM surpassed Universal Studios as the largest studio in Hollywood, a distinction it would maintain for over 30 years. 

• Fox tried to merge with MGM but the deal fell through.

Golden Age:

• Made films with glamour and sophisticated elements.
• Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, William Haines, Norma Shearer, and Joan Crawford were stars created by the label.
• one of the first studios to experiment with filming in Technicolor.
• The Wizard of Oz and Northwest Passage are two big films that were made in the early years.
•  MGM made films that were sophisticated and polished to cater to an urban audience.
• MGM never lost money during the Great Depression
• MGM stars dominated the box office in the '30s
• MGM created the Hollywood star system
• MGM released very successful musicals with players such as Judy Garland  Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Frank Sinatra

After a huge fade for a number of decades, MGM became big again with the James Bond franchise. It also distributed pictures internationally through 20th century fox, rather than the older method through UIP which was accused of being illegal.

 

MGM has now been taken over and does not produce any films of its own right, though it is still in business.