Broadway in Hollywood: film producer David O. Selznick and his theatrical ties in the 1940s

• Authors: Milan Hain
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article examines the theatrical activities and connections of famed Hollywood film producer David O. Selznick. Based on a study of archival materials and articles in the contemporary U.S. press, the author reconstructs Selznick's relationship to the theatre and argues that it was characterised by ambiguity. On the one hand, the producer used the theatre as a source of acting talent and a training ground for honing the skills of his contract actors; on the other hand, the theatre represented a burden in terms of time and financial resources, and its positive impact on Selznick's business and creative activities was limited, given its relatively modest audience appeal, especially compared to the mass appeal of mainstream Hollywood cinema.

Keywords

EN

classical Hollywood; Broadway; studio system; star studies; stardom; acting; David O. Selznick; prestige

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts
• Journal: Theatralia: Revue současného myšlení o divadelní kultuře (Theatralia: The revue of contemporary thought on theatre culture)
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 157-174
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Milan Hain

• Theatralia, redakce, Masarykova univerzita, Filozofická fakulta, Katedra divadelních studií, Arna Nováka 1, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic