Attending to details so that the bigger picture can emerge.
The scientific application of propaganda for the shaping of public opinion didn’t begin under European despots like Stalin or Mussolini. It began with a lone American press agent named Edward Bernays, the Vienna-born nephew of Sigmund Freud. Like his famous … Continued
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
No place on Earth had more regard for the power of celebrity than Hollywood in the 1920s. As Fascist strongman Benito Mussolini wrested control of Italy, his name frequently popped up in entertainment columns alongside Chaplin and Fairbanks. Il Duce, … Continued
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
Snow White was born on this day, May 6. So let me share something personal about her. Back when I was an underachieving EngLit major at UCLA, my buddies and I found an old, crumbling Hollywood mansion for lease in … Continued
Watching the body count rise from the backlash over sexual harassment in Hollywood, one might think the days of the “casting couch” are now over. But the phenomenon didn’t start with the movies and it won’t end with Harvey Weinstein’s … Continued
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
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
Everyone understands the desire of artists to reach thrilling new peaks in art and entertainment. All of us who love motion pictures and show business in general can understand why stunt men and rodeo riders and circus performers put their … Continued
When Lew C. Wallace was writing “Ben-Hur,” he knew that a thrilling Roman chariot race would give his novel a socko finish. But no lives were at risk until 50 years later when MGM actually staged that race for its … Continued