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scarcity of their specific types. Extras are hired on a daily basis; their earnings range between $5 and $10 per day. Chorus girls, during periods in which musical and dancing films enjoy public favor, are placed under weekly contracts.
Under the star system, producers are continually searching for stories, plots, and ideas particularly adapted to the characteristics of certain personalities. In many cases, original stories are written for the stars; in others, attempts are made to revise popular stories, stage plays, etc., along similar lines. In most instances, of course, after a company has built up a star through advertising, the tendency is to give the best plays to that star. This practice makes it all the more difficult to determine how much of the success in a given instance is due to the star and how much is due to the play. Certainly there have been notable instances of plays in which no well-known star appeared, but which, nevertheless, have proved unusual box office successes. At times, because of demands of the contract for the production of a specific number of pictures each year, producers are faced with the necessity of using a poor story for a star.
Many motion picture executives contend that the industry's success is in a large measure dependent upon the star system. They believe that a majority of motion picture fans are interested primarily in personalities. Exceptionally popular stories, they agree, will carry a film, but in general the star's name is the principal attraction. Outstanding stars, they contend, can turn an obviously poor picture into a box office success. Granting that the star system is costly, its advocates believe that, in comparison with additional expenditures necessary to add color to a picture without a star, such costs are relatively small. This is especially true, they aver, of expenditures for advertising and exploitation. Furthermore, the larger gross receipts from a picture with a star name compensate for its higher cost. Finally, they believe that, without the star system, the motion picture industry would lose in public favor.
On the other hand, the star system involves many dis