2016/01/01 by Tracy Tracy · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Arts and Humanities · #Cinema and Media Studies #Art History and Market Analysis #Theater, Performance, and Music History #Studio #Hollywood #Demise #Film industry #Memoir #Movie theater #Consolidation (business) #American film #Sociology #Political science #Visual arts #History #Art history #Art #Business #Law #Finance
paper · doi:10.2979/filmhistory.28.1.03
openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
Gene Gauntier’s career as an actor, screenwriter, and producer offers an important case study within American film’s transitional era, as the creative opportunities and collaborative character of stock-company productions gradually gave way to the centralized spaces and practices of studio-era Hollywood. Gauntier progressed within less than a decade from inexperienced stage actress to leading lady and screenwriter at Kalem and then became an independent producer and studio owner. Her status and significance within the American film industry was then rapidly eclipsed by the consolidation of production and distribution structures and a more narrowly defined and highly gendered discourse of stardom. Making detailed use of her evolving construction in the contemporary trade press and her memoirs, this article traces Gauntier’s rise and demise within the shifting industrial discourses and practices of this period and brings to light information concerning her exit from the industry and her life afterward.