Presumably [Dunne's purpose in The Studio] was to give his readers an objective look at the phenomenon we know as Hollywood. How can anything about Hollywood be objective? This book comes pretty close, and in that lies its chief merit.

Dunne begins by telling us something we should already know: that the mass media have formed many of our responses to life situations….

Many of the norms provided us by movies and television have proved inadequate and inaccurate, and Dunne, through objective reporting and excellent characterization, shows us why. The Studio reveals a closed society. When I read some of the short-sighted opinions of these men, I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time….

The author does a spectacular job of characterization of studio personnel, from Darryl and Richard Zanuck downward. There is no gossip (in a book about Hollywood!), and the impression is that these...