Silent Era Facts
Cost of Production: The cost of a typical "big production" in 1920 |
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| Expense | Cost in 1920 | Cost in Today's Dollars |
| Director and assistant | 3,926.30 | 41,702.21 |
| Cameraman and assistant | 3,615.85 | 38,404.85 |
| Raw stock | 395.48 | 4,200.49 |
| Developing and printing | 3,048.53 | 32,379.20 |
| Sets | 5,579.12 | 59,257.23 |
| Stills | 369.35 | 3,922.96 |
| Props | 4,263.79 | 45,286.78 |
| Rental of props | 3,111.40 | 33,046.96 |
| Rental of lamps | 1.00 | 10.62 |
| Rental of autos | 5,384.85 | 57,193.84 |
| Regular actors | 15,266.96 | 162,154.20 |
| Extra actors | 24,955.35 | 265,057.01 |
| Locations | 21,914.18 | 232,755.98 |
| Electricians | 516.60 | 5,486.94 |
| Propertymen | 1,352.50 | 14,365.24 |
| Wardrobe and drapery | 3,174.55 | 33,717.69 |
| Studio rent | 3,000.00 | 31,863.75 |
| Office expense and telegrams | 775.19 | 8,233.49 |
| Standby | 121.00 | 1,285.17 |
| Titles and inserts | 1,774.24 | 18,844.65 |
| Administrators | 1,983.68 | 21,069.16 |
| Publicity | 1,522.99 | 16,176.06 |
| General expense | 305.47 | 3,244.47 |
| Director | 13,500.00 | 143,386.88 |
| Total | $119,158.38 | $1,265,610.94 |
Source: The Twenties: Fords, Flappers & Fanatics, edited by George E. Mowry |
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More pages of facts…
Silent Era Trivia
A list of the most popular movies in 1922-27
A very brief and not so thorough history of animation in the silent era
More facts from the 1924 Film Daily Yearbook
What silent stars have their prints in Grauman's (Mann's) "Forecourt of the Stars?"
Want to talk like a Shiek or a Sheba? Learn the lingo of the teenagers of the Twenties
A list of directors' salaries in 1926
The typical cost of a big-budget production in 1920
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