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

Filming ‘Ben-Hur’ in Mussolini’s Italy

posted in: Hollywood history | 0

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

Re-inventing Antioch

posted in: Hollywood history | 0

In 1925, Joseph M. Newman walked wide-eyed onto the most important movie set in Hollywood  history. The 16-year-old newcomer from Utah had been hired as an office boy by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. But on that Saturday morning of October 17 he reported … Continued

The World’s ‘First Male Sex Symbol’

posted in: Early moving pictures | 3

The world’s “first male sex symbol,” Baltimore’s Francis X. Bushman, got more than his allotted 15 minutes of fame. In fact, his image is still commanding respect today. Cast in bronze and chiseled in marble, he is likely to continue … Continued