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Production ^>o^><z><z>^<z><?> 125
past four years, the problem of production costs has received special attention as the result of two factors in particular. One is the business depression which has prevailed over that period of time. The other factor is the increasing influence which has been exercised by the banking and electrical interests. As a result of these two forces, very substantial progress has been made in the direction of reducing excessive costs. During the time that the sound picture was in the experimental stage, a good deal of discussion was current concerning the comparative costs of producing sound and silent pictures. It seems to be pretty generally agreed that the cost of the sound film is not so much greater than that of the silent film as it was feared that it might be. Whereas during the first months of sound picture production, the cost was anywhere from 35% to 100% higher, it is probable that at present the cost is not more than 25% higher; and there are production executives who feel that even this can be further reduced. The reductions in cost have not been the result merely of added experience in the field of sound picture production.
Studios are now quite generally on a strict budgetary system, and each unit is expected to keep well within its budget. Million dollar pictures are no longer common, and the day of the very expensive musical production and other "stupendous attractions" seems to have passed, at least temporarily. The average cost of pictures in 1931 and 1932 probably ran well under $300,000, whereas in former years it ran over $400,000. It was commonly believed that the average cost of the feature productions of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation in 1932-1933 would be approximately $425,000; Paramount pictures would average perhaps $400,000; Fox films would not run over an average of $300,000; Radio pictures would average under $250,000; and Warner Brothers pictures, from $200,000 to $250,000. As a matter of fact, it is quite possible to produce films of a certain type at a cost of $100,000 or even less, the pictures having, moreover, real box office value. At the