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Post by topbilled on Jan 16, 2024 13:40:11 GMT
Wallace Beery appeared in movies for over 35 years, going back to the silent era. He was MGM’s highest paid contractee in 1932, meaning he earned more than stars like Greta Garbo and Clark Gable. His first sound film at Metro was the critically lauded THE BIG HOUSE. He then had several hits with Marie Dressler, and in 1931 he earned a Best Actor Oscar for his poignant work in THE CHAMP. There were occasional loan outs to Fox, but usually the popular actor stayed put at the Lion. From 1930 until his death in 1949, Beery appeared in 42 feature films for MGM. His pictures were popular with the public and usually made a lot of money.
Check out:
VIVA VILLA! (1934)
THE GOOD OLD SOAK (1937)
20 MULE TEAM (1940) |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 16, 2024 14:51:19 GMT
Plus, he was unhappily married to Gloria Swanson for few years.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 16, 2024 15:11:43 GMT
Plus, he was unhappily married to Gloria Swanson for few years.
I read somewhere that Beery had it in his contract during the early to mid-30s that nobody on the MGM lot could be paid more than him. So whenever Garbo and Gable received a raise, so did he. The studio had to pay him at least one dollar above what Garbo and Gable made. In those days MGM stars didn't get paid by picture, but instead received a weekly salary. So, for them (the ones who reigned at the box office), that was usually more than ten grand per week.
Since he never freelanced and stayed with MGM up till the end, one can only imagine how much he raked in from 1930 to 1949. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 16, 2024 15:30:33 GMT
Plus, he was unhappily married to Gloria Swanson for few years.
I read somewhere that Beery had it in his contract during the early to mid-30s that nobody on the MGM lot could be paid more than him. So whenever Garbo and Gable received a raise, so did he. The studio had to pay him at least one dollar above what Garbo and Gable made. In those days MGM stars didn't get paid by picture, but instead received a weekly salary. So, for them (the ones who reigned at the box office), that was usually more than ten grand per week.
Since he never freelanced and stayed with MGM up till the end, one can only imagine how much he raked in from 1930 to 1949.
Let's say it was $10,000/week. In 2023 dollars that ~$182,000/week or ~$9.5million for the year. That is a crazy amount of money, but still less than a top star today makes as they can easily make $20million or more/picture. |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 16, 2024 16:18:59 GMT
Yes, it was an unusual pairing, to be sure!
I read somewhere that Beery had it in his contract during the early to mid-30s that nobody on the MGM lot could be paid more than him. So whenever Garbo and Gable received a raise, so did he. The studio had to pay him at least one dollar above what Garbo and Gable made. In those days MGM stars didn't get paid by picture, but instead received a weekly salary. So, for them (the ones who reigned at the box office), that was usually more than ten grand per week.
Since he never freelanced and stayed with MGM up till the end, one can only imagine how much he raked in from 1930 to 1949.
Let's say it was $10,000/week. In 2023 dollars that ~$182,000/week or ~$9.5million for the year. That is a crazy amount of money, but still less than a top star today makes as they can easily make $20million or more/picture.
Some of them had special arrangements with the studios. I read Esther Williams had a deal that if she agreed to make a certain number of films at MGM, she could defer a large chunk of her weekly salary. It would go into some sort of retirement account for her to use later, as a way to avoid paying hefty taxes upfront.
If a star freelanced, they could earn more, provided they were able to remain a draw at the box office. When we screened SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944) I read \ Claudette Colbert earned $150,000 for her role. She had just left Paramount after 15 years at the studio and was now freelancing. So if she made three to four pictures a year as a freelancer while she was still a hot commodity, she was raking in about a half million dollars. She could have earned the same at Paramount on a weekly salary of ten grand, but then she wouldn't have had control over scripts and she could have faced an unpaid suspension if she turned a script down.
By the early 1950s, many of the top freelancers had new deals where they might work at a lesser amount but then get 5 to 10 percent of the profits. Joan Crawford had a profit sharing deal when she made SUDDEN FEAR at RKO. It was a big hit, and she probably earned over $300,000 on that one film. Not to mention it would have continued to pay her when it was broadcast on television in the 60s and 70s. Of course, if the film tanked, she would have not earned any money on it at all.
Starting in the 1950s, we see big name stars form their own production companies as a way to retain control and guarantee long-term payouts. Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz started Desilu. This was followed by Clint Eastwood's production company Malpaso in 1967; and Barbra Streisand formed Barwood Films in 1972. |
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