June Mathis: The Devil and Hollywood’s “Million Dollar Girl”

posted in: Hollywood history | 0

Surprisingly little is written about June Mathis these days. But in the early 1920s she was considered the most powerful female executive in Hollywood. Even film historians who focus on the industry’s female trailblazers don’t devote much space to Mathis. … Continued

When Cinema Was of Two Minds

In the beginning, the movies were of two minds —D.W. Griffith’s and Mack Sennett’s. Griffith and Sennett were both young men when they came stumbling into the Biograph Co. in 1908. Each had tasted professional failure and was more than … Continued

Filming ‘Ben-Hur’ in Mussolini’s Italy

posted in: Hollywood history | 2

It’s a sad failing of silent film history that there isn’t more documentation of events in Italy during MGM’s first location shoot of “Ben-Hur.” Judging from the little that survives in memoirs, budget sheets, studio memos, and in a smattering … Continued

Unionizing Hollywood: ‘Ben-Hur’ and the Un-silencing of Labor in 1926

posted in: Hollywood history | 1

The history of labor relations in the motion picture industry throughout the silent film era is still not widely known — and for good reason. It was the one subject that Hollywood itself sought to suppress.   This greater silence … Continued