Editing David O. Selznick (section)

==Stint at RKO==
[[David Sarnoff]], head of [[RKO Pictures|RKO]], hired Selznick as Head of Production in October 1931.<ref>Lasky, Betty (1989). ''RKO: The Biggest Little Major of Them All''. Santa Monica, Calif.: Roundtable. {{ISBN|0-915677-41-5}}, pp. 67–70.</ref> In addition to implementing rigorous cost-control measures, Selznick championed the unit production system, which gave the [[Film producer|producers]] of individual movies much greater independence than they had under the prevailing central producer system. "Under the factory system of production you rob the director of his individualism", said Selznick, "and this being a creative industry that is harmful to the quality of the product made."<ref name="Bord321">Bordwell, David, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson (1985). ''The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960''. New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-06054-8}}, p. 321.</ref> Instituting unit production, he predicted, would also result in cost savings of 30–40 percent.<ref name=Bord321/>

To make films under the new system, Selznick recruited prize behind-the-camera personnel, such as [[Film director|director]] [[George Cukor]] and producer/director [[Merian C. Cooper]], and gave producer [[Pandro S. Berman]], aged twenty-six, increasingly important projects.<ref>Lasky (1989), pp. 74–76; Jewell, Richard B. (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House/Crown. {{ISBN|0-517-54656-6}}, p. 17.</ref> Selznick discovered and signed a young actress who was quickly counted as one of the studio's big stars, [[Katharine Hepburn]]. [[John Barrymore]] was also enlisted for a few memorable performances.<ref>Lasky (1989), pp. 77–80, 93.</ref>

Selznick spent a mere fifteen months as RKO production chief, resigning over a dispute with new corporate president Merlin Aylesworth concerning creative control.<ref>Schatz, Thomas (1998 [1989]). ''The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era''. London: Faber and Faber. {{ISBN|0-571-19596-2}}, pp. 131–33; Lasky (1989), pp. 81–82.</ref> One of his last acts at RKO was to approve a [[screen test]] for a thirty-three-year-old, balding [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] song-and-dance man named [[Fred Astaire]].<ref>Schatz (1998), p. 133; Lasky (1989), p. 83.</ref> In a memo, Selznick wrote, "I feel, in spite of his enormous ears and bad chin line, that his charm is ... tremendous".<ref>Mueller, John (1986). ''Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films''. London: Hamish Hamilton. {{ISBN|0-241-11749-6}}, p. 7.</ref>

Selznick's tenure was widely considered masterful: In 1931, before he arrived, the studio had produced forty-two features for $16 million in total budgets. In 1932, under Selznick, forty-one features were made for $10.2 million, with clear improvement in quality and popularity.<ref>Schatz (1998), p. 131.</ref> He backed several major successes, including ''[[A Bill of Divorcement (1932 film)|A Bill of Divorcement]]'' (1932), with Cukor directing Hepburn's debut, and the monumental ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' (1933)—largely Merian Cooper's brainchild, brought to life by the astonishing [[special effect]]s work of [[Willis H. O'Brien]].<ref>Lasky (1989), pp. 78–79, 93–95; Jewell (1982), pp. 52, 60.</ref>