"Under contract to Sam Goldwyn for a decade beginning in 1935, he nevertheless saw himself as independent--in part because so many studios used him, and he was not part of the star machine "If you're not the star, you don't get the blame if it's a lousy picture," he pointed out. "They always blame the star. They say, 'But that old man was great!' That's how I kept going." He was quite content to walk beside his friend Lewis Stone, who would get the attention of autograph hunters, while an amused Brennan remained undisturbed by movie fans."