Hollywood

1. Pioneers

The evolution of film from penny arcade curiosity to art form, from The Great...

2. In the Beginning

Hollywood is transformed from a peaceful village with dusty streets and lemon...

3. Single Beds and Double Standards

Mounting scandals including drug addiction and murder force the studios to ap...

4. Hollywood Goes to War

Hollywood and its stars support the War effort with propaganda and patriotic ...

5. Hazard of the Game

Silent films are often remembered for slapstick gags and dangerous stunts. St...

6. Swanson and Valentino

Two of the great romantic legends of the silent screen are profiled. Rudolph ...

7. Autocrats

Autocratic directors like the martinet Cecil B. DeMille and the idiosyncratic...

8. Comedy: A Serious Business

The art of silent comedy is highlighted with a focus on the work of the four ...

9. Out West

The development of the uniquely American film genre, the Western, is shown fr...

10. The Man with the Megaphone

Early Hollywood directors were self-taught and generally became directors by ...

11. Trick of the Light

The development of cinematography from its primitive beginnings through emerg...

12. Star Treatment

The glorious, tragic, and truncated careers of American silent stars like Joh...

13. End of an Era

The rise of practical synchronized sound film technology spells the end of th...