About
A 1980 documentary series exploring the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture.
Cast
James Mason
as Self - Narrator
Hal Roach
as Self
Louise Brooks
as Self
Allan Dwan
as Self
King Vidor
as Self
Leatrice Joy
as Self
Iron Eyes Cody
as Self
Harold Lloyd
as Self
Bessie Love
as Self
Gloria Swanson
as Self
Lillian Gish
as Self
Colleen Moore
as Self
Adela Rogers St. Johns
as Self
Viola Dana
as Self
Blanche Sweet
as Self
Charles 'Buddy' Rogers
as Self
Byron Haskin
as Self
Mary Astor
as Self
Henry King
as Self
Karl Brown
as Self
Episodes
Season 1
Pioneers
The evolution of film from penny arcade curiosity to art form, from what was considered the first plot driven film, The Great Train Robbery, through to The Birth of a Nation, films showing the power of the medium. Early Technicolor footage, along with other color technologies, are also featured.
In the Beginning
Hollywood is transformed from a peaceful village with dusty streets and lemon groves to the birthplace of the industry in California. Silent film transcends international boundaries to become a worldwide phenomenon.
Single Beds and Double Standards
Fast success in Hollywood brings a cavalier party lifestyle, which led to shocking scandals such as Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle's trial and subsequent acquittal for manslaughter. To tone down the image of Hollywood and curtail films with footage unsuitable to all audiences, Will H. Hays is appointed and introduces Hollywood's self regulated Production Code, which would be enforced well into the 1960s, while filmmakers still found creative ways to present 'adult' situations.
Hollywood Goes to War
The outbreak of World War I provides Hollywood with a successful source for plots and profits. Peacetime curtails the release of war movies, until the release of King Vidor's The Big Parade in 1925. Wings (1927) earns the first Academy Award for Best Picture. As movies transition to sound, Universal releases Lewis Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front, showing the German side of the conflict, becoming a powerful statement of war by the generation that fought it. Interviews include Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., King Vidor, Blanche Sweet and Lillian Gish.
Hazard of the Game
Silent films are often remembered for slapstick gags and dangerous stunts. Stuntmen took anonymous credit for very little pay and could not reveal their involvement. Stuntmen Yakima Canutt, Harvey Parry, Bob Rose and Paul Malvern tell hair-raising and humorous stories, and reveal the secrets behind many famous stunts.
Swanson and Valentino
Two of the great romantic legends of the silent screen are profiled. Rudolph Valentino's on-screen persona is remarkably different from his real personal life, as recounted by his brother, Albert, and Gloria Swanson recalls her meteoric rise – and fall – with remarkable candor.
The Autocrats
Two of Hollywood's greatest directors, Cecil B. DeMille and Erich von Stroheim. One worked with the Hollywood system, the other against it. DeMille's pictures, lavish in detail and cost, made his studio a fortune, while Von Stroheim's similar ways, albeit to excess in footage and expense, resulted in films that were often either excessively cut by the studios or never released, leading to his being fired on several occasions.
Comedy: A Serious Business
Hollywood learned very early how to make people laugh. Comedy was king, and battling for the throne were stars like Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon and Charlie Chaplin. In a purely visual medium, their comedy was a work of genius.
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