The Dark Side of Hollywood, Part 2: The Studio System and the Women It Swallowed

By Lori Sartain

As Hollywood entered its so-called “Golden Age,” a new power structure emerged—one that promised glamour and riches but ran on strict control, coercion, and secrets. The studio system, dominant from the 1920s to the 1950s, did more than manufacture stars; it created a machinery of manipulation that often left women chewed up and discarded behind the scenes.

Starlets on Contract—And on a Leash

Under long-term, binding studio contracts, actresses became commodities. Studios dictated every aspect of their lives—what they wore, who they dated, and even how much they weighed. Icons like Judy Garland were placed on amphetamines to stay thin and barbiturates to sleep. Garland, who began working for MGM as a teenager, was routinely body-shamed and medicated, her emotional collapse treated as just another publicity crisis to manage.

Studios also arranged public romances and marriages to maintain the illusion of propriety or heterosexuality. Personal agency was traded for stardom.

Casting Couch Culture: An Open Secret

The phrase “casting couch” wasn’t coined in hindsight—it was widely known even during Hollywood's golden years. Powerful moguls like Louis B. Mayer (MGM) and Harry Cohn (Columbia Pictures) had reputations for exploiting young women desperate for a break. Actresses who resisted risked blacklisting; those who complied were often discarded after the headlines faded.

Marilyn Monroe, perhaps the most famous example, spoke candidly before her death about the sexual abuse she endured early in her career, noting:

“I slept with producers. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But I didn’t like it.”

Forced Abortions and Image Control

Studios didn’t just own careers—they owned bodies. When pregnancies threatened the marketability of rising stars, studios arranged for secret abortions, sometimes without the woman's full consent. Loretta Young became pregnant by Clark Gable during filming. The studio forced her into hiding and concocted a fake adoption story to protect both actors’ images.

This kind of reproductive control was a recurring pattern, designed not out of concern for the women involved, but for the profitability of a pristine public image.

Whispers of Assault, Silenced by Power

Even when women tried to speak out, the power of the studio publicity machines—and their cozy relationships with law enforcement and the press—ensured silence. Rumors swirled about rape and abuse, particularly among underage performers, but few dared to challenge the moguls who held their careers in their hands.

The story of Patricia Douglas, who was assaulted at an MGM convention in 1937, was one of the few cases to make it to court. MGM used its considerable power to bury the story, intimidate Douglas, and destroy her life. The public barely noticed.

Behind the Glamour, a System of Abuse

What audiences saw on screen—sparkling gowns, sweeping romances, flawless faces—hid a brutal truth. The studio system was not built to empower women. It was designed to profit from them, control them, and discard them when they were no longer useful.

This was not incidental—it was systemic. The very structure of early Hollywood normalized abuse, silenced victims, and enshrined a culture of fear masked by sequins and smiles.