That was definately Mayer’s goal, and you can see it in his studio’s product. Even though I don’t think much of him personally, after hearing a certain anecdote directly from silent actress Esther Ralston. And yes, I think all the studio heads (other than Jack Warner at WB, who was a big Dem and FDR supporter) were Republicans, from what I’ve read.
My occasional annoyance with MGM product involves not its worldview, but its stylistics in its attempts at verisimilitude. The most ritzy of studios, they would be apt to build an entire ‘neighborhood’ on a soundstage. A lot of directors loved that complete control, for lighting, audio, and such. And MGM had the money to build such things. Yet, other studios, less flush with cash, would be more apt to go “on-location” and film outdoors in a real setting. Or at least, some place like the Columbia Ranch, as in the case of the “Blondie” movies. MGM’s peculiar house-style of artiface is something I often find a bit stifling or suffocating, compared to the product of other studios.
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