RKO Radio Pictures

by Richard B. Jewell

  Within the studio walls worked hundreds of individuals whose jobs were to help the company make the very best movies. Many of them signed exclusive contracts with RKO and, thus, could be counted on to contribute for a number of years. They were organized by department.

  DEPARTMENTS

  Acting. A studio's most prominent employees were its contract actors. Spectators loved stars, and the studios whose films featured the most popular performers, such as MGM, were consistently successful. In RKO's early days, the acting department included Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, Constance Bennett, Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, as well as an impressive group of character actors including Edna May Oliver, Lee Tracy, Anne Shirley, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes, and Helen Broderick. For some years beginning in the mid-1930s, the studio maintained an acting workshop where young contract performers received training. Ginger Rogers's mother, Lela, was placed in charge of the budding talent. Lucille Ball studied with Lela and appeared in “Fly Away Home,” the first play produced and directed by Rogers at “RKO Radio's Little Theatre on the Lot” in January 1936. The general public was invited to attend, with tickets priced at twenty-five cents.

  Writing. The writing department brought together experts on adaptation, construction, character, dialogue, and the other skills required to produce quality screenplays in a timely fashion. It included Jane Murfin, Howard Estabrook, Dorothy Yost, Edward Kaufman, Allan Scott, Dudley Nichols, and John Twist.

  Directors. The directors department listed Luther Reed, Wesley Ruggles, George Cukor, John Cromwell, Mark Sandrich, and George Stevens among its ranks. Most of the men who directed for RKO had to guide several movies a year; they were expected to bring the principal photography of each to a budget-conscious and successful conclusion.

  Producers. The producers department was particularly important to the studio because its members often initiated projects and worked on even more of them than the directors, closely monitoring their productions from the writing stage through postproduction. Some of RKO's staff producers in the 1930s were Louis Sarecky, Pandro Berman, Kenneth Macgowan, Lou Brock, Cliff Reid, P. J. Wolfson, David Hempstead, and Robert Sisk.

  The aforementioned groups were considered the studio elite and, generally speaking, represented the highest-paid members of its staff. But other studio departments also proved crucial to the enterprise. The following departments, listed in alphabetical order so as not to suggest any hierarchy of importance, all did their part to make RKO successful. Without them, the production process would not have been efficient or competitive.

  Art Direction. The art department (art direction and set design) was responsible for designing the environments in which screen action was presented. Headed by Van Nest Polglase throughout the 1930s, it was composed of unit art directors (assigned to individual pictures), sketch artists, draftsmen, and a matte artist (who also worked with the camera effects department). RKO became famous for its sparkling art deco style in the 1930s (especially in the Astaire-Rogers pictures), thanks to the efforts of Polglase, Carroll Clark, and others. Perry Ferguson, who designed the Citizen Kane sets, was also an important unit art director.

  Camera. Crews in the camera department comprised three to five people each depending on the number of cameras being used in filming. The basic crew included a director of photography, operating cameraman, and an assistant (loader, clapper). Bill Eglington, the head of the department, assigned crews to films (in consultation with the production chief, producer, and studio manager). The department also took care of maintenance, repair and inventory of equipment, and the purchase or building of new devices such as cranes, dollies, lens mounts, and blimps. Camera employees also worked closely with the laboratory that processed the studio's exposed film and made work prints. Since RKO did not operate its own lab, most of its processing and printing was handled by Consolidated Film Industries (CFI). Among the outstanding cinematographers who shot films for RKO were Edward Cronjager, David Abel, J. Roy Hunt, Joseph August, and Nicholas Musuraca. The still department was considered part of camera. It employed still photographers to shoot set stills, publicity stills, portraits of the stars, and the like, and maintained a lab for processing and printing those stills. Ernest Bachrach headed this department for many years.

  Camera FX. Process work, miniatures, matte shots and inserts, and optical printer work (such as lap dissolves, wipes, and double exposures) fell to the camera FX department, closely allied to the camera department. Its workers usually handled the actual shooting of process backgrounds, second-unit work, and chase sequences. The primary goal was to save money, though camera FX was also responsible for the extraordinary visual effects in King Kong and other films. Vernon Walker ran the department, and throughout most of RKO's life, Linwood Dunn worked there as the optical printer specialist. Many industry professionals considered it the best department of its kind in the business.

  Casting. The casting department primarily filled secondary roles. Major casting decisions were made by the production head and producer and sometimes the director.

  Construction. The construction department employed a small army of carpenters, machinists, plasterers, joiners, laborers, and so forth. They erected the sets based on the plans from the art department. Often their activities took place at night because of the noise factor and the need to have sets ready when the company arrived to shoot each morning. Its members also tore down sets when shooting was finished and stored the ones that were deemed worth saving. They did not build major additions to the studio itself—this work was contracted out. Harold Barry was in charge.

  Costume. The costume department designed the new clothing worn by leading actors in RKO films. Edward Stevenson, head of costume from 1936 to 1950, created the clothing for many of the studio's expensive movies. He also assigned other designers to specific pictures and oversaw the tailor shop and sewing room where the garments were actually produced.

  Editing. Jim Wilkinson, the head of the editorial department throughout most of the company's lifespan, maintained a good-sized staff including full editors (called cutters), their assistants, negative cutters, stock footage librarians, and technicians to maintain the equipment. Each film had a full editor and at least one assistant assigned to it. The editing process began after the first day of shooting and was ongoing throughout principal photography. Consequently, most editors had a fairly tight rough-cut ready soon after the end of shooting, which would be shown to the producers and the person who was going to score the picture. From this point on, the process was mainly fine-tuning with the editor working closely with the producer, composer, and sound department. Most films were then taken out for preview and brought back to editorial for any lastminute changes. After these were completed, the negative would be cut and shipped to New York, where in most cases the release prints were manufactured. The process was quite efficient, enabling many films to arrive in theaters a few months after shooting began. William Hamilton was considered RKO's most skillful editor, with Ted Cheesman, George Hively, and Henry Berman also often assigned to the company's premier pictures. Several RKO editors eventually moved on to directing, such as George Nicholls, Jr., Edward Dmytryk, Robert Wise, Mark Robson, and John Sturges.

  Electrical. Overseen by William Johnson and later Earl Miller, this department maintained and repaired all of the studio's electrical equipment, except that which fell directly under the aegis of the camera, camera FX, editing, and sound departments. Its workers also took charge of the upkeep of wiring, lighting, and telephone lines at the studio. It was involved directly in production in two ways:

  1. It assigned gaffers and best boys to pictures. They were experts in the safe handling of a production's electrical needs, including high-voltage connections for portable generators when a crew was on location.

  2. After 1936 the special effects department, which included fog, rain, lightning, and snow effects and the handling of explosives, fire, and wind machines, became part of the ele
ctrical department.

  Makeup and Hair Stylists. The people who worked in this department were among the first to arrive at the studio in the morning. Their job was to make the actors look good and feel right—for the roles they were playing. Mel Berns was in charge.

  Music. Another substantial department, music was headed up in the early years by one of the greatest composers in film history, Max Steiner. He wrote scores for most of the A pictures and supervised secondary composers, conductors, music librarians, and about fifteen contract musicians. He often had to hire freelance performers to supplement the studio musicians when a score (like that for King Kong) required full orchestral treatment. Steiner also assumed responsibility for acquiring the rights to any outside music (old standards, recent popular songs) that a producer wished to use in a picture. For its big musicals, RKO imported several of the leading composers and lyricists of the day (Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and others). They worked with the music department, but more closely with the production team—especially the producer, director, and Fred Astaire.

  Production. This was the domain of the studio manager, a very important position held by Sid Rogell for many years. The department assigned production (or unit) managers, assistant directors, script supervisors, grips, drivers, and other personnel to pictures. It also prepared budgets, received and analyzed production reports (which conveyed what had been accomplished each day and whether the company was ahead or behind schedule and over or under budget). Finally, Rogell and staff assumed responsibility for the scheduling of sound stages and other studio space, which was often at a premium.

  Property. The head of this department (Darrell Silvera for most of RKO's history) assigned a prop man or head set dresser to each picture. This person's job was to make sure all props were there on time for shooting and did not “disappear” afterwards. Greens (plants, trees, shrubbery) also fell under this department. And drapery—which included interior decorators and experts on the upholstering of furniture—also reported to the head of property, though these people would generally work closely with the art department as well. Silvera's biggest challenge was control, maintenance, and inventory of the company's props. RKO had upwards of 300,000 items—furniture, rugs, fixtures, knickknacks. For each picture, new props were usually purchased and others rented (often from the other studios, which exchanged information with one another about their holdings). Individual prop men often had to be detectives to find the necessary items. The department maintained a list of tinsmiths, silversmiths, wood carvers, taxidermists, boat builders, toy makers, portrait artists, and other outside specialists who could be hired as needed for individual pictures.

  Sound. This was one of the largest departments directly involved in the production process. It included sound recorders and mixers, sound effects specialists, rerecording experts, sound effects librarians, sound effects cutters, and a sizable group of technicians for maintenance and repair of all sound and projection equipment. John Aalberg ran this department for years. He would assign sound crews to the pictures—usually a first recorder, second recorder (boom man), and assistant (for microphone placement and the like). Projectionists also fell under the sound department; they were parceled out to different projection rooms from 9 a.m. to midnight to run film for a variety of purposes—dailies, dubbing, music recording, process projection, and the showing of finished films.

  Wardrobe. This department, run by Claire Cramer, worked in collaboration with the costume department. Analogous to the prop department, it maintained an inventory of costumes from earlier films in the hope they could be used again in future pictures (with proper alterations). Eventually, wardrobe ran out of on-site space, so RKO began to store some of its clothing at Western Costume, a rental company close to the Gower Street lot.

  Most of the aforementioned departments were expected to do some research and development in addition to their other responsibilities. This was particularly true of the camera, camera FX, and sound departments, where efforts to invent new pieces of equipment that would improve the production process were ongoing. This was also true of the costume and makeup areas, which were constantly experimenting with new fabrics and new makeup compounds that would photograph better. The people who worked in these departments were creative individuals, and they were challenged to develop advancements that could keep the studio on the cutting edge. From early in its history, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences became a clearinghouse for these improvements. It began giving awards for the most important breakthroughs in 1931.

  All of the above departments participated directly in the filmmaking process. But a number of other departments existed that operated at some remove from filmmaking operations. These were, nonetheless, equally important to the company's mission. They included the following.

  Accounting. This large, bicoastal department assumed responsibility for payroll, timekeeping, insurance matters, tax matters, typing and duplication of all production budgets and the preparation of a number of reports—some daily, some weekly, some monthly, some yearly. One of the most important functions of the Hollywood accountants—from the viewpoint of the production personnel—was computation of overhead, the amount of money it was costing to run the studio. These costs would be figured as a percentage of the actual production outlays for each picture and added to the final budget. As such, overhead charges were a matter of special concern to studio heads, producers, and individuals with profit participations in their films.2 William H. Clark, C. F. Woit, G. B. Howe, and Garrett Van Wagner were some of the leading executives.

  Commitments. A small staff monitored the studio's contractual commitments to its many employees and alerted executives of any problems. They were especially careful to inform company leaders well in advance of the time when they needed to exercise an option or begin negotiations for renewal of an actor's, writer's, producer's, or director's contract. J. J. Nolan took charge of this department.

  Legal. This sizable department drew up contracts, rendered legal opinions about scripts (especially those containing potentially libelous or defamatory content), and provided the first line of defense with respect to lawsuits filed against RKO. The company also placed prestigious law firms in both Los Angeles and New York on retainer to handle more complicated lawsuits, as well as problems dealing with corporate matters and the functioning of the individual companies. Daniel T. O'Shea ran the legal department for a time in the early 1930s. He would return as RKO president near the end of the corporation's lifespan.

  Publicity. The company maintained a large publicity staff in New York and one in Los Angeles as well. Their job: to make the public aware of, and excited about, RKO films and RKO personalities. Each movie had a unit publicist who constantly sought ways to get positive notices about the production and its actors in all the available communications media. Jobs in publicity also involved developing strong relationships with the chief gossip columnists of the era (Louella Parsons, Hedda Hopper, Jimmy Fidler, Walter Winchell, Sheilah Graham) and pitching or planting stories in trade papers, newspapers, motion picture fan magazines, and other national magazines. In addition, the staff was expected to arrange public and radio appearances for stars and cook up a wide variety of exploitation ideas to promote the films. Perry Lieber supervised publicity in Hollywood for many years.

  Research. A special sort of library, this department answered questions that came primarily from the art, costume, property and writing departments. The studio did care about authenticity in its productions, so the small research staff was expected to provide information about architecture, clothing, furniture, and thousands of other details—everything from the dates of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to whether women wore veils while inside a harem (they did not). The department also worked closely with company lawyers in an effort to head off potential lawsuits. It maintained telephone directories of major cities to make certain the phone numbers of actual people weren't used, particularly when the number belonged to a crimi
nal or other dubious character in the story. If a script contained scenes that took place in the Black Cat Club in Chicago, research would find out if one actually existed and suggest a name change if it did—to avoid legal problems. The department maintained a large number of reference books and clippings files and, if necessary, conducted research at local libraries. It also maintained a list of experts on various subjects who could be hired as consultants if the need arose. Elizabeth (Bessie) McGaffey headed up this department.

  Story. There were two of these as well. The New York story department was more important than the one in Los Angeles because New York was the locus of the publishing and theatrical worlds. Most A pictures were based on material from another medium—novels, plays, nonfiction books, short stories. Thus, the employees, called readers, in the New York office were supposed to maintain good relations with publishing executives who would sometimes give them an advance peek at material. They also had to attend the openings of all the new Broadway plays. They would “cover” each new piece of material, synopsizing it and adding a short critique that either recommended or did not recommend its acquisition by the company. A good reader kept one eye on the potential of the story and the other on the studio's needs and strengths. A similar process took place at the studio, though readers in Hollywood evaluated more original scripts and treatments than published material. The story departments would circulate a “story bulletin” every Friday; producers were supposed to study it and be prepared to discuss the purchase possibilities with the head of production during a meeting the following Tuesday. By that time, however, one of the top executives might already have bought the rights to a property rather than risk losing it to a competitor. Quick response was crucial when the best material became available. The RKO story departments were run by a number of different people through the years. Among the most prominent heads were Katharine Brown, Lillie Messinger, and Collier Young.