In the Beginning (15 Jan. 1980)

Some of the less affluent studios escape bad weather and legal entanglements in New Jersey and make Hollywood the world film capitol.

Directors:

Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Writers:

Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Stars:

James Mason, Viola Dana, Agnes de Mille

Cast

Episode credited cast:
James Mason	...	Himself / Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Viola Dana	...	Herself
Agnes de Mille	...	Herself
Allan Dwan	...	Himself
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Himself
Lillian Gish	...	Herself
Byron Haskin	...	Himself
William Hornbeck	...	Himself
Leatrice Joy	...	Herself
Henry King	...	Himself
Anita Loos	...	Herself
Colleen Moore	...	Herself
Louis Mountbatten	...	Himself (as Lord Mountbatten)
Harvey Parry	...	Himself
Hal Roach	...	Himself

Storyline

Although the movies begin in New Jersey, legal and weather problems encourage the less affluent studios to move to sunny Southern California where they can be out of the reach of injunctions and benefit from year round warm weather. Some of the earliest pioneers like Cecil B. DeMille, Jesse L. Lasky, and D. W. Griffith lead the way that will make Hollywood the movie capitol of the world..

---

Plot Keywords:

celebrity | keystone teddy | movie magazine | movie fan | filmmaking | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | History

---

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1980 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thames Television

Technical Specs

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features When the Studio Burned (1913)

---

Soundtracks

"Dixie"
(uncredited)
Music: Unknown composer
Lyrics Daniel Decatur Emmett (1861)
Used during "Silent Heroes" scene as background music

User Reviews

Hollywood Episode 2

Hollywood: In the Beginning (1980)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Second entry in the documentary series shows us the beginning of the home of movies, which was actually Fort Lee, NJ and not Hollywood. We see the eventually trip West as directors, such as D.W. Griffith, started going to California so that they could use the many visuals styles that it offered. We see early shots of Hollywood streets in Griffith's FAITHFUL before hearing about the first feature, Cecil B. DeMille's THE SQUAW MAN. From here we learn about some of the more ambitious projects like INTOLERANCE, JOAN THE WOMAN, ROBIN HOOD and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD. That there leads to the first super-team of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Once again we're treated to some wonderful film clips but the real key to watching to this are for the wonderful interviews. In this episode we hear from Allan Dwan, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Byron Haskin, Henry King and Colleen Moore among many others. Fans of silent cinema are really going to eat this thing up thanks in large part to the terrific interviews that really give you a clear understanding and look of what it must have been like making movies back in the day. The stories are all full of life and you can't help but feel that these folks are so happy to be telling these stories as I'm sure there were decades where people didn't bothered to ask for these stories. This episode really does a good job at showing how quickly Hollywood came to be one of the largest businesses in the world and how things were changing daily. Sometimes these changes were for the better but sometimes for the worst. Just listen to Gish talking about having to film outside with nothing to block the wind.