It must have been a pretty place, Los Angeles and Hollywood, about 1910. Other industries were dampened by laws. Hollywood itself was a fruit orchard, bought by the Wilcox family and named after an estate back East. Mr. Wilcox, an entrepreneur, chopped down the trees, divvied the land up into parcels, and sold them at a profit to prim Midwesterners. This is what's known as "land development", which suggests that a butcher should really be called a cow developer. There was a balmy climate, abundant sunshine, no smog, no congestion, varied natural environments, wide spaces, and stunning landscapes. There were snowy mountains, rushing rivers, open ranges, sea ports, forests, valleys filled with wildflowers, and deserts.
Before the advantages of Southern California were discovered, films were mainly shot in the New York metropolitan area, with a focus on Fort Lee, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River. The movies were shot on roof tops to take advantage of the sunlight. There was so much corruption and rivalry between the established studios and the independents, that the latter were more or less forced out of town. Cecile B. DeMille arrived in Hollywood in 1912 when the first studio was built. There was no electric lighting but movies didn't need to be shot on rooftops. Sets with no roofs could be slapped together outdoors. The newcomers from the East were déclassé. They were Jews and roughnecks who didn't go to church, who drank immoderately, and who rode horses over privately owned lawns, leaving ragged hoofprints and horse turds in their wake. Ads for rooms to rent were often accompanied by a notice -- "No Movies", the first time the word was used.
After World War I, with the European film industry in bad shape, Hollywood's product, even more resplendent, became the international standard, influencing hair styles and the like. Stars became rich and famous. The King of Siam stayed at "Pickfair," the name of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks' modest cottage in Hollywood.
This episode, like the others, illustrates its point with excerpts from the films. Ah, to be a movie star. Better yet, a Mogul.