Hello Dear Readers,
You may recall from my earlier post that Billy Wilkerson of the Hollywood Reporter deserves the credit for the Writers organizing in 1933. By special request here is the whole story:
The depression came late for Hollywood, not until 1933. The moviegoing audience had dwindled from 110 million dollars a week in 1929 to 60 million dollars by 1933; Paramount, Fox and RKO were bankrupt or operating in receivership. Hollywood was hit hardest when Roosevelt, newly inaugurated, in an effort to stabilize the banking industry, declared a five day nation wide bank holiday on Sunday March 5, 1933. He explained that all banks would be closed though the next Thursday in order to prevent bank runs, state imposed closings and the hoarding of currency and gold. The country’s economic situation was so dire that the national business community supported Roosevelt’s actions, but it was estimated that the impact on Hollywood would be disastrous.
Universal suspended everyone on contract. Fox simply announced that salaries would not be paid and Warner Bros. tried to collect enough cash to compensate the lowest paid workers. With the the exhibitor’s assets frozen, no payments came into the studios and it was assumed that whatever cash people had they would not be spending on entertainment.
Twice before in 1927 and 1932 Louis B. Mayer of MGM had sought a voluntary pay cut from their employees and was not successful. This time Mayer asked the Academy to issue an approval to cut in all salaries in half. This created an illusion of an industry wide endorsement.
Each studio held its own mass gathering to discuss. The undercurrent of discontent started to spread and many stars said they would have to confer with their lawyers and managers. No one knew what would happen next and as if to emphasize that anything was possible a major earth quake hit Long Beach at 5:54 pm Friday night March 10, 1933.
Thousands were injured and over 100 people died, and there was massive destruction of property throughout the area.
In spite of the crumbling roofs and falling chimneys, meetings continued through the weekend, but when the stagehands, the only unionized workers in Hollywood announced they would strike if the cuts were imposed, for the first time in anyone’s memory, all studios shut down on Monday March 13, 1933.
The day was spent in intense conferences between the bosses and representatives of the Academy branches, and finally a solution of sorts was reached; Those earning fifty dollars or less a week would have no cut in salary at all, and those above fifty dollars a week would be reduced on a sliding scale up to fifty percent. It would be in effect for eight weeks, during which the time the studios promised to have their salary loss repaid if they were shown not to be justified. The stagehands alone would be unaffected by the cuts. It is worth noting here that Sam Goldwyn was the only to studio to repay his employees.
With a tenuous truce in order, the employees returned to work at MGM on Tuesday. Word swept quickly through the lots that it was wiser to go four weeks without pay than to officially accept a reduction and risk affecting their contracts. The fact that the relatively small group of stagehands was powerful enough to shut down Hollywood because they were unionized was was lost on no one.
This is where Billy Wilkerson comes back into the picture. Wilkerson’s inside man, Raoul Walsh was tipped off that Mayer planned to make the pay cuts permanent, and he passed along the findings to the publisher. Wilkerson phoned Mayer and confronted him with the information. Wilkerson, who was always championing the working class, advised Mayer to see to it that the that the Reporter was to be informed by someone to just what transpires at these meetings. Mayer replied “ the paper can go to hell”. In light of the moguls intransigence, Wilkerson felt that the only way the working people would have a happy ending was if they presented a united front.
So, Wilkerson contacted Hollywood scribe Howard J. Green and told him the writers should form a union. Which Green suggested the old Screenwriters Guild, began in 1921 largely as a social club. Within the month, he mustered ten writers, including Lester Cole, John Howard Lawson and John Bright. They met at the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel where they reconstituted the guild as a trade union. With Wilkerson’s backing the Screen Writers Guild went into battle.
Frances Marion and Anita Loos rallied one hundred plus members and on the evening of April 6, 1933 they met at the Writers Club at 6700 Sunset Boulevard and all wrote out $100 checks for membership.
Anita Loos, gifted author and screenwriter goofing here with the lovable Jean Harlow.
John Lawson was chosen as president. Frances Marion was elected unposed as vice president. Ralph Block became treasurer and a young Joe Mankiewicz their secretary. Joe’s brother, Herman Mankiewicz was one of the louder opponents of the union. When challenged that this was not about them but the $250 a week writer he said “ All the $250 a week writers I know are making $2,500 a week.” Yet in truth, half of the writers working in Hollywood would earn less that four thousand dollars that year.
Young Joe Mankiewicz
A lot was going on in March of 1933. Simultaneously, prohibition was ending. On March 22, Roosevelt signed the Cullen- Harrison act which authorized the sale of 3.2 percent beer. By the Dec 5th, 1933 the states fully ratified the twenty-first amendment which repealed prohibition.
Under pressure from the newly formed Screenwriters Guild and with the Reporter continuing to publicize the mogul’s damaging secrets, the studios were forced to rescind their salary cuts Mayer again summoned Wilkerson to his office. Mayer was under pressure from the other studio heads to squash Wilkerson. They attempted to arrange a sell-out. Mayer asked “Why don’t you sell the paper?” Wilkerson said to Mayer “There’s always a price for everything.” Mayer asked what he had in mind to which Wilkerson responded, “ I don’t have anything in mind what do you have in mind?”
Mayer went into his outer office and came back moments later with a personal check for $300,000. ( approximately 7 million in today’s money). He placed it in front of Wilkerson. “You’re telling me something I never knew before,” said Wilkerson. “ That I have a piece of valuable property.” Wilkerson flicked the check off his desk with his finger, then got up to leave. His mission accomplished.
The immediate success of the Screenwriters Guild instigated an equivalent decline in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Despite the five branches representing each area of filming expertise, there has never been any question that the Academy was the enforcing arm for the producers to prevent unionization. Within a year the Screen Writers Guild grew from its original 100 members to 750. Actors took their cue and organized themselves with the Screen Actors Guild.
In May of 1933 The Writers Guild moves to their new headquarters at 6650 Hollywood Boulevard across from Musso and Frank where they can gather, exchange witty banter and enjoy beer.
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Your partner in Hollywood crime,
Suzette Ervin
