"Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story" (1987) TV series

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot Keywords:

Documentary Filmmaking | Horror Filmmaking | Romance Filmmaking | Film Making | Gossip

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Edward Asner	...	Himself - Host / ... (6 episodes, 1987)
Linwood G. Dunn	...	Himself (4 episodes, 1987)
Ginger Rogers	...	Herself (4 episodes, 1987)
Pandro S. Berman	...	Himself (3 episodes, 1987)
Joseph F. Biroc	...	Himself (3 episodes, 1987)
Lucille Ball	...	Herself (2 episodes, 1987)
Katherine Brown	...	Herself (2 episodes, 1987)
William Dozier	...	Himself (2 episodes, 1987)
William Fadiman	...	Himself / ... (2 episodes, 1987)
Richard Fleischer	...	Himself (2 episodes, 1987)
Bert Granet	...	Himself (2 episodes, 1987)
Jane Greer	...	Herself (2 episodes, 1987)
Katharine Hepburn	...	Herself (2 episodes, 1987)
John Houseman	...	Himself (2 episodes, 1987)
Robert Mitchum	...	Himself (2 episodes, 1987)
John Springer	...	Himself - Publicity department (2 episodes, 1987)
James G. Stewart	...	Himself (2 episodes, 1987)

Also Known As:

The RKO Story: Tales from Hollywood (UK)

Runtime:

USA:360 min (6 parts)

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Features Top Hat (1935)

precious moments from the Golden Age of Hollywood

'The RKO Story' is almost as good as 'MGM: When The Lion Roars' and benefits from a large array of interviews with RKO stars and directors such as Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Jane Russell, and Robert Mitchum.

Each episode of six touches on a different aspect of the studio (beginnings, women in leading roles, Fred and Ginger, Orson Welles, the McCarthy trials, and the decline of the studio with Howard Hughes at the helm), mixing comments, clips, and interviews.

Well worth watching if you're interested in the history of the big studios, and this story is well told. My only quibble would be that focusing one whole episode on Citizen Kane is a bit much when the rest of the studio's output is taken into consideration: but still, it is often slated as the greatest film ever made and this episode gives it honest discussion time.