Editing Irving Thalberg (section)

==== Production innovations ====
[[File:Thalberg-Shearer-Grauman-32.jpg|thumb|[[Sid Grauman]], Norma Shearer, and Thalberg, 1932]]
Thalberg's production techniques "broke new ground in filmmaking", adds Vieira. Among his contributions at MGM was his innovation of story conferences, sneak previews and scene retakes. He introduced the first horror films and coauthored the [[Production Code]], the set of moral guidelines that all film studios agreed to follow. Thalberg helped synthesize and merge the world of stage drama and literary classics with Hollywood films.<ref name=Vieira />{{rp|7}}

MGM thereby became the only movie studio to consistently show a profit during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]].<ref name=Flamini />{{rp|6}} Flamini explains that the equation for MGM's success depended on combining stars, a Broadway hit or popular classic, and high standards of production. This combination at the time was considered a "revolutionary approach" in the film industry, which until then assumed a star was all that was needed for success, regardless of the story or production quality. The other studios began following MGM's lead with that same formula.<ref name=Flamini />{{rp|6}}