Today's major studios are, in many ways, much the same as they were in Hollywood's golden age. Back then, the club included 20th Century Fox, which remains in the club today. The studio was on shaky ground back in the 1960's and had to sell off much of its storied backlot to raise money. Eventually, the studio's desperate straits would prove to be a blessing in disguise; it had to embrace television more fully than its peers. As a result, it not only made much needed cash, but also produced amazing, iconic television like M*A*S*H, and the Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Columbia Pictures was originally a poverty row studio, rolling out B movies. Studio founder Harry Cohn fought and scratched to get higher production values and talent, eventually raising his studio to the majors. The diversification trends of the business world wouldn't be a boon to Columbia. The studio would fall prey to the trend, ending up in the hands of Coca-Cola, who sought to diversify its businesses. The sugary drink company wanted to place its products in the studio's movies and forced it to sign deals with talent who had endorsement deals with them like Bill Cosby. The result were films like Leonard, Part 6 and Ishtar. Weakened by the ill-conceived merger, Coca-Cola sold the studio to Sony, who began a checkered run at combining technology and content. While the result has been arguably spotty, the partnership is still active.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer had always been a major studio from the very beginning. The domain of Samuel Goldwyn, Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer was an example of how a studio should be. The collapse of the studio system hobbled it, however, resulting in its sad demise at the hands of ruthless corporate invader Kirk Kerkorian. Mr. Kerkorian took over the storied company, selling its parts off in order to raise money to build lavish MGM Branded casinos in Nevada. The studio has never recovered and combined with similarly down on its luck studio United Artists, another major studio done in by its association with a company looking for quick cash. They both still live on, stripped of their film catalogs and producing lower budgeted films.
Of the major studios, perhaps the one with the least upheaval was Paramount Pictures. It did have its occasional ups and downs, but it has never really been in a period where its future has been in doubt. It is currently the most profitable part of the Viacom media empire.
The only major studio from Hollywood's golden era to completely go under was RKO. Taken over by the eccentric Howard Hughes in 1948, the studio entered a rapid decline. In 1955, the studio was sold to General Tire and Rubber Company, who sought to revive it while diversifying itself. They failed and RKO effectively went out of business in 1960.
We've gone into the shaky history of Universal Pictures before. Needless to say, despite its past, it has always retained its place in the majors.
Warner Brothers has also had a shaky history, finding itself part of Seven-Arts, a parking lot company and eventually had an ill-advised merger with a dialup Internet company. The company is now one of the biggest of the media giants.
So who have we missed? Those were all of the major studios in Hollywood's golden age. One of today's biggest studios was not on Poverty Row, but it wasn't considered a major studio in the 1930's and 40's. Walt Disney Productions was considered to be a minor player with gimmicky, animated films. While its feature animated films and Burbank studio campus brought it more prestige, it wasn't until the opening of DISNEYLAND Park that the company became big and profitable enough to be considered one of the majors, a status it currently fully enjoys.
