Till Death Due Part

Back in the early years of studio production, stars in silent films would secure acting roles for two or three pictures with every contract. As time progressed and studios became more powerful they started making the contracts for several years instead of several pictures. This demonstrated that the studio itself had gained control over the actors life and was powerful enough to force long term signings with their monopolies. Studios would then use these actors as a resource for whatever films they thought the actor could fill. The contracts were very strict and limited the actors rights, but gave them protection and stability in their career.

When an actor signed onto a studio contract, they couldn't appear in other films by different studios. This guaranteed the studio that they would always have access to certain stars for pre-written parts. Although studios would sometimes rent out their actors for pictures they didn't create. When under contract, actors were also required to maintain a certain code of conduct. It wasn't uncommon for studios to forge fake relationships to cover up violations of this section. Although these contracts may seem quite strict, they guaranteed the actor many benefits.

By operating under contract the actor was guaranteed roles in movies and pay regardless of their career's success. This gave the actor security and the ability to try different roles in films. This way if the film they were placed into flopped they would still be secured into future movies. Although these things may seem great, the weight the contracts pulled on actors was enough to kill someone. They were forced into a hole of dictation by their studio and expected to pull 14 hours, six days a week. Luckily modern day actors usually never have to face contracts like these since the major studios were sued for developing a monopoly. Which took away much of their power over the actors and what films were being released.