All language subtitles for America in Color S02E06 Hollywoods Golden Age

♪

Narrator:
This is the story of america,

Seen in color
for the first time.

Hollywood,

Legendary capital of the movies,

Where the screen's magic

Gives rise to america's
most glamorous industry.

[applause]

Stars like charlie chaplin...

Clark gable...

And marilyn monroe

Captivate millions
around the world.

Marilyn monroe:
♪ happy birthday ♪

♪ mr. President ♪

Narrator: Studio bosses
control the business.

Many question its morality.

Man: The vulgar, the cheap,
and the tawdry is out.

Narrator: And it's often
a cultural battleground.

Man: The question is

Have you ever been a member
of the communist party?

Narrator:
But through war and peace...

Jimmy stewart: Well, hello.

Narrator:
Hollywood adapts and evolves...

Hattie mcdaniel: And may I say
thank you and god bless you.

[applause]

Narrator: To triumph...

As america's dream factory.

This is the story of hollywood

As you've never seen it before.

♪

John kennedy: I want us
to recapture that...

♪

♪

Narrator: America's
movie industry is born

In west orange, new jersey--

The headquarters
of inventor thomas edison.

In 1893, he sets up
america's first movie studio,

Called black maria--

The name given to black
police wagons of the time.

Inside, he makes short films,

But not for the screen.

The viewer pops a coin into
edison's peephole cabinet,

The kinetoscope.

Some survive,

Like 1894's 5-seconds-long
"the sneeze."

Soon, edison's technology
advances,

And his movies are projected
to larger audiences.

Storefronts convert
to small theatres.

With tickets costing 5 cents,

They become known
as nickelodeons.

Soon, films like
"the great train robbery"

Run as long as 12 minutes

And tell stories.

By 1907,

An estimated
two million americans a week

Head to the movies.

To exploit the surging demand,

Rival film studios spring up
along the east coast.

In response,

Edison and eight other producers

Create the motion picture
patent company.

It monopolizes the technology

For shooting
and exhibiting films

And uses enforcers

To run upstart competitors
out of business.

In 1910,
director david wark griffith

Heads west

To film on location
in california.

He stumbles upon a little
village of 5,000 people,

Surrounded by rolling hills
and citrus groves.

The main street connects it
to downtown los angeles,

Ten miles away.

Known as prospect avenue,

It will soon take the name
of this obscure little town

And become hollywood boulevard.

Griffith's film
"in old california"

Is the first to be shot
in hollywood.

Soon, more filmmakers hear about
california's varied landscape

And year-round sunshine.

And it's 3,000 miles from
edison's patent enforcers.

Lured by opportunity,

Independent producers
head west.

In 1912, east coast theatre
owner and producer carl laemmle

Forms what will become
one of hollywood's giants--

Universal.

He builds this studio
on a 230-acre farm,

Creating the world's
largest facility

For making motion pictures.

Universal employs
an army of people,

And laemmle's rapid success

Entices others
to join him in hollywood.

[laughing]

When producers
adolph zukor, jesse lasky,

Cecil b. Demille,
and samuel goldwyn move west,

They merge their companies
to form paramount.

Another pioneer,
theatre owner william fox,

Convinces the supreme court to
put an end to edison's monopoly.

The decision
frees up the industry.

By now,
it's in california to stay.

Hollywood's new studios create
a powerful business model...

In which a single company
not only controls production,

But also owns
chains of movie theatres,

Ensuring
a guaranteed audience.

By 1915,

At least 26 million people are
going to the movies each week.

To boost their share

Of the $1.3 million
in weekly revenues,

The studios
seek every advantage.

They sign actors
to exclusive contracts

And promote them
with a novel technique--

Screen credits.

The most popular attract
loyal audiences of their own.

In a 1914 film,

"kid auto races at venice,"

Charlie chaplin introduces
an iconic character--

The tramp.

And a star is born.

♪

The english actor
even directs his own films.

By 1916,

The mutual film corporation
pays him $700,000 a year.

That's nearly ten times more
than the president.

Movies are still silent,

And comedies are among
the most popular films.

They don't need
dialogue to work.

♪

One of the era's biggest
film stars is mary pickford.

A quick tea party with her niece
is all her busy schedule allows.

In 1916, she signs the first
million-dollar contract,

With adolph zukor and paramount.

One of pickford's
frequent directors

Is david wark griffith.

In 1915, he pioneers
new cinematic techniques.

♪

Set during the civil war,

"birth of a nation"
is america's first epic.

It's three hours long,

Employs 18,000 people,

And costs $100,000.

The movie grosses
an estimated $10 million.

That's a quarter
of a billion today.

The film has been controversial
since the day it came out.

It's sympathetic
to the ku klux klan

And hostile
to african americans.

[crowd yelling]

Riots break out,

And there are calls
to ban the movie.

Griffith is unapologetic

And defends the film
when it's re-released in 1930.

David wark griffith:
The klan, at that time,

Was needed.

It served a purpose.

Narrator: Despite the uproar
over the 1915 release,

Its creative brilliance
establishes griffith

As hollywood's
first great director.

[explosion]

[footsteps]

He's given unprecedented access

To the trenches in France
in world war I

To make government
propaganda films.

[gunfire]

But it's hollywood's
onscreen stars

That are most visible
in the war effort.

At a parade in washington,

Mary pickford
and charlie chaplin

Are joined by fellow actor
douglas fairbanks

To raise war bonds.

They tour the country,

And americans
gladly fork over money

When asked by hollywood royalty.

By war's end, they've raised
close to $17 million.

The stars have become
the nation's sweethearts.

[cheering]

But it's the studios
that hold most of the power.

Universal, paramount, and fox

Have now been joined
by warner brothers and columbia.

They maintain tight control
on actors, salaries,

And artistic decisions.

But seeking freedom, some rebel.

Pickford, chaplin, and fairbanks
join forces with d.W. Griffith,

And in 1919, they set up
their own company--

United artists.

It's a landmark moment
for movies as art

And not just business.

But even
their combined star power

Is no match for the big studios.

They struggle to raise money,

Production is slow,

And united artists
distributes an average

Of just five films a year
in its first five years.

For fairbanks and pickford,

The partnership
turns personal.

They fall in love.

Pickford is still married
to actor owen moore.

She fears a divorce
will ruin her career,

But she's wrong.

Americans accept
her new marriage

As the ultimate happy ending.

Fairbanks and pickford become
king and queen of hollywood,

Its first celebrity couple,

Seen here returning
from their honeymoon.

They invite cameras
into their lavish new home,

Built on a 15-acre estate
on summit drive,

In the already exclusive enclave
of beverly hills.

Their neighbor is none other
than charlie chaplin.

Dubbed "pickfair" by the press,

Their home is the scene
of legendary parties

For hollywood's glitterati.

The magnetism of hollywood
is now firmly on the rise,

But its newfound power
will soon be tested.

♪

By 1920, hollywood is producing
most of the world's movies.

[pop]

It's the fourth largest industry
in america,

Employing more than
42,000 people.

Everyone wants to be
in the pictures.

And in hopes of doing just that,

People flock to hollywood.

L.A.'s population,
already on the rise,

Doubles in the 1920s,

Making it america's
fifth largest city.

New houses spring up everywhere.

1923.

A team of men
haul giant poles up a hillside.

These will support
50-foot letters

For a sign advertising
a new housing development.

It costs $21,000--

$300,000 in today's money.

The sign is rigged
with 4,000 light bulbs

That flash in order to reveal
"hollywoodland."

Intended
as a temporary promotion,

It becomes
an enduring symbol in 1949,

When the last four letters
are removed.

L.A.'s urban skyline
is changing too,

With movie-set-inspired
hotels and apartments

Along the big boulevards.

Swanky new restaurants
and nightclubs open up.

No place embraces

The loose-living carefree
attitude of the early 1920s

Like hollywood...

♪

Which cultivates a risqué image
on and off the screen.

Labor day, 1921.

Comedian and a-list star
fatty arbuckle

Is arrested in san francisco.

He is charged
with the rape and murder

Of actress virginia rappe,

After a party in one of
san francisco's elite hotels,

The st. Francis.

It's hollywood's
first sex scandal,

And it won't be its last.

Tabloid papers
stoke public outrage,

And there are calls
for the death penalty.

Though arbuckle
is eventually acquitted,

Hollywood wants
to spruce up its image.

So studio bosses bring in
a republican politician,

Will hays,

To clean up the industry.

He becomes the first chairman

Of the motion picture producers
and distributors of america.

One of his first acts
is to blacklist arbuckle.

His days as a star are over.

In his new role,

Hays establishes
moral guidelines for movies,

Known as the production code.

But it's more
of a p.R. Exercise.

He has little power
to enforce it.

So in hollywood,
the party continues.

And films
keep pushing the bounds

Of old-fashioned morality.

Bringing love scenes to life

Becomes an essential skill
for directors,

And one star's sex appeal
is making audiences swoon.

Rudolph valentino,

Dubbed the latin lover,

And one of america's
first heartthrobs.

Newsreel crews film women

And record their heart rates

During these steamy scenes
from his "son of the sheik."

♪

♪

Fans are heartbroken

When in August 1926,

Valentino dies

Following surgery
for a perforated ulcer.

He's only 31.

In new york, the beloved actor
lies in state for three days,

As thousands of moviegoers
turn out to mourn their hero.

♪

Among the pallbearers

Are paramount studio boss
adolph zukor

And actor douglas fairbanks.

Valentino is buried
in hollywood forever cemetery.

His funeral is the biggest
the movie capital has known.

But even the death of a legend
can't dent hollywood's growth.

♪

By 1927,

57 million americans are going
to the movies every week.

That's almost
half the population.

♪

To serve the surging demand,

New movie theatres
pop up everywhere.

In l.A.,
at 6925 hollywood boulevard,

Showman sid grauman
spends $2 million

To build his iconic
chinese theatre.

In 1927, it opens
by hosting the premiere

Of cecil b. Demille's
religious epic,

"the king of kings."

The opening marks the birth
of a hollywood tradition.

Douglas fairbanks
and mary pickford

Become the first stars

To imprint their hands in cement
outside the theatre.

That same year,

They are both founding members

Of another enduring
hollywood institution,

The academy of motion picture
arts & sciences.

In 1929, the academy stages
its first awards ceremony.

It quickly becomes the world's
most glamorous movie event,

Known worldwide by the nickname
for its famous gold statues,

The oscars.

As a new decade looms,

Movies have never been
more powerful.

But the industry
is about to change forever.

♪

Times square, new york.

1927.

Crowds gather
outside the warner theatre

For a watershed moment
in movie history--

The first talking picture.

At the premiere
of "the jazz singer,"

Audiences are hysterical

When al jolson utters
the first words heard in a film.

Al jolson: Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.

You ain't heard nothing yet.

Wait a minute, I tell ya.
You ain't heard nothin'.

♪

Narrator: Sound changes the way
that hollywood makes movies.

♪

Productions move indoors
onto specially built stages

Where every sound
can be controlled.

Crew: Quiet!

Actor: Is that all?

Man: That's all right...

Narrator: Now obsolete,

Giant outdoor sets like this one
at united pictures,

Built for mary pickford
ten years earlier,

Are ripped down.

The surprise star of the talkies

Is mgm's trademark,
leo the lion,

Who's been with them
since the silent era.

Leo is played by many lions
over the years.

But one of the most famous
is jackie.

In September 1927,

Jackie goes on
a publicity tour for mgm

In his own personalized plane.

Five hours after takeoff
from san diego to new york,

The plane crashes
in the arizona desert.

While the pilot goes for help,

Jackie survives,

Living for four days
on the pilot's sandwiches.

The first question
mgm execs ask is...

"how's the lion?"

The studio doesn't mind
all the publicity

One little bit.

The mascot is renamed
"leo the lucky"

And pampered like a baby.

[growl]

In 1928, jackie becomes
the first lion to roar.

[roar]

An emblem
of the triumph of sound.

♪

Another star

Taking on the transition
to talking pictures

Is former broadway chorus girl
lucille fay lesueur.

She works hard
to lose her texas accent,

But the studio wants more.

Mgm doesn't like
the sound of her name,

So they launch
a $1,000 magazine contest

To rebrand her.

The winning name
is joan crawford.

The studio conceals
her modest upbringing

And creates a new persona.

In 1929, she marries
douglas fairbanks' son,

Douglas jr.,

And enters hollywood's royalty.

♪

♪

Mgm boss louis b. Mayer

Understands that stars
like crawford

Are box office gold,

So he controls them obsessively.

During the 1930s,

He signs up over 60 big names,

Including judy garland,

Helping mgm become
hollywood's powerhouse.

[laughing]

To ensure
a constant supply of actors,

Mgm, like other studios,

Runs a training school
for wannabe stars

And is smart enough
to publicize it

In this promotional film.

Aspiring actors and actresses
are put through their paces.

Instructor: Hands on the hips.

Get your positions.

One, two, three,
waist high, again.

Lift the knees, last time.
That's right, again.

Narrator: Actresses are expected

To live up to hollywood's image
of a perfect lady.

They are even trained
how to walk.

Instructor: Now, if you notice,

Virginia's walking
on the balls of her feet,

That her body is perfectly
relaxed and easy,

And as she comes
down the stairs,

She isn't watching them.

Narrator: And how to kiss.

Actor: Can you forgive me?

Actress:
No, I'll never forgive you.

I'll hate you as long as I live.

Woman:
Oh, wait a minute, both of you.

Now, you know the kiss--

In the first place,
the kiss is awful.

Narrator: It's another side
of the studio machine

That molds and controls
hollywood stars.

Woman: Alright, let's go,
right from the kiss.

Narrator: For those willing
to dance to the studio's tune,

A life of money, glamour,
and poolside parties awaits.

For hollywood,
there is no depression.

The stars live it up.

They are the public face
of hollywood,

And the studios make sure
that newsreels capture them

In the right places.

Joan crawford
studies the racing guide

At hollywood park,

While father-in-law
douglas fairbanks

Takes a closer look
at his favorite horse.

Studio head jack warner

Is joined by his wife
and dolores del rio,

While newcomer mickey rooney
places a bet.

In 1937, the average
american's annual salary

Is around $1,800--

A figure far outstripped
by stars like clark gable,

Who earns just over $280,000.

But it's the boss,
louis b. Mayer,

Seen here attending
the premiere of "cavalcade,"

Who takes home the largest
paycheck in america--

$1.1 million.

The money and glamour

Keep on attracting stars
and controversy.

Announcer:
Mae west has come to town.

Narrator: Mae west premieres
her film "I'm no angel"

At grauman's theatre in 1933.

Mae west: Hello, folks.

I wish you were up here at
mr. Grauman's beautiful theatre

To see the grand opening,
the premiere of my new picture,

"I'm no angel."

Of course I didn't call it
"I'm no angel" for nothing.

Narrator: She's notorious.

Her play "sex"
was a hit on broadway,

But she was prosecuted
for obscenity

And jailed for ten days.

Announcer:
Stars are arriving so rapidly,

We can scarcely
keep track of them.

Narrator: Mae west
knows how to please a crowd.

West: Don't forget,
come up and see me some time.

[laughter]

♪

[choir singing]

Narrator:
Conservative religious groups

Decry her portrayal
of sex on screen.

They want to stop
what they see as a trend

Towards glorifying
sex and violence in films.

♪

Hollywood tries
to head off the threat.

The production code
will hays introduced

After the arbuckle scandal

Has so far had little bite.

But now he brings in
joseph breen,

A prominent catholic
journalist and publicist,

To enforce the moral guidelines.

Joseph breen:
The vulgar, the cheap,

And the tawdry is out.

Narrator: The first film
breen applies the code to

Is "tarzan and his mate"

In 1934.

Jane: Wait, tarzan!

Aaahh!

Narrator: This scene
between johnny weissmuller

And a maureen o'sullivan
body double

Is cut because of its nudity.

Jane: Darling, you're very--

Narrator: It's the beginning
of an era of censorship

That will span three decades.

The industry responds

By presenting a different kind
of box office star

Who's a little more innocent.

In 1934, at the tender age of 5,

Shirley temple sings and dances
her way into americans' hearts

In "stand up and cheer."

She's rewarded
with her own special car,

Which she drives around
the fox studio lot.

President franklin d. Roosevelt
recognizes her ability

To lift spirits
dampened by the depression.

He reportedly says,

"as long as our country
has shirley temple,

We will be all right."

She becomes the first movie star

To serenade a president
on his special day.

Shirley temple:
♪ happy birthday ♪

♪ dear president... ♪

Narrator: With her curly locks
and infectious smile,

She offers hope
by way of hollywood.

[applause]

♪

In 1939,
365 films are released.

And each week,
80 million tickets are sold.

Much of that

Stems from one of the most
successful hollywood films

Of all time...

"gone with the wind."

♪

Producer david selznick

Spends two years
searching for the right stars.

[snap]

Paulette goddard: Well,
I never feigned in my life.

Narrator: Paulette goddard
was one of 32 actresses

Who auditioned for the part
of scarlett o'hara.

Goddard: Oh, ashley.

It seems such a long time since
we've had a good talk together.

I was wondering where
you were keeping yourself.

Narrator: But it's a brit,
vivian leigh,

Who lands the part
of the southern belle.

Clark gable is cast as
her leading man, rhett butler...

With leslie howard
as ashley wilkes.

This rare long-lost footage

Was shot in color
on a home movie camera

By steel industry magnate
howard hall.

His business connections
earn him a visit to the set.

While its leading man,
clark gable, relaxes...

His co-star, vivian leigh,

Is adorned
with a little more make-up.

♪

Announcer:
Gala days in dixie.

Streamlined wings of the wind
bring hollywood to atlanta

For a history-making
world premiere

Of the motion picture epic
"gone with the wind."

Narrator: Crowds go wild
for the film's leading ladies,

Vivien leigh
and olivia de havilland,

Accompanied by
producer david selznick.

But the biggest cheers
are for the king of hollywood.

Announcer:
Yes, it's the clark gables,

Just in from the coast.

Charming carole lombard
and friend husband

Get a mighty welcome.

Narrator: Georgia's governor
declares a state holiday,

And over
a million people pour in

To join in the three days
of celebrations.

300,000 line the streets to
watch the parade of the stars.

Confederate veterans

Are guests of honor
at the premiere

At loews grand theatre
on peachtree street.

Clark gable:
Ladies and gentlemen,

Tonight I am here

Just as a spectator.

I want to see
"gone with the wind"

The same as you do.

Narrator:
Like its predecessor,

"birth of a nation,"

The film arouses
racial controversy.

At the premiere, the black cast,

Including hattie mcdaniel,
who plays the slave mammy,

Are conspicuous
by their absence.

The theatre is restricted.

Whites only.

Racial segregation prevails
all across america.

At the oscars,
selznick has to beg

For nominee hattie mcdaniel
to be let inside.

But she can't be seen anywhere.

Off camera,
she's sitting at a small table

Far away
from her fellow nominees.

Man: And now
let's get right to it.

The awards for 1939.

[applause]

Narrator: "gone with the wind"

Picks up an unprecedented
eight oscars.

[applause]

Mcdaniel wins
best supporting actress...

[applause]

The first african american
to do so.

Hattie mcdaniel: This is one of
the happiest moments of my life.

My heart is too full
to tell you just how I feel.

And may I say thank you,

And god bless you.

[applause]

Narrator: But racism
continues to haunt hollywood

For decades to come...

As do lingering suspicions

About just how american
it really is.

1942.

America is at war.

Hollywood stars
like jimmy stewart

Are urging fellow americans
to join up.

Jimmy stewart: Well, hello.

Gee, looks like I'm back in
the movies again, doesn't it?

Narrator: He was one of
the first stars to enlist.

Initially turned down
by the army

For being too skinny,

Stewart fattened up

On spaghetti, steak,
and milkshakes.

In March 1941,

Still a few ounces light,

He persuades the army doctor to
let him become a bomber pilot

For the army air force.

And he calls others to join him.

Stewart: This is where
you'll serve america best.

Young men of america,
your future's in the sky.

Your wings are waiting.

Narrator:
Although too old to be drafted,

Clark gable joins as a private,

Following the death
of his wife carole lombard

In a plane crash.

Officer: May god bless you.
Gable: Thank you.

Narrator:
The war effort also draws in

Top director john ford...

Seen here
in his rare home movies

On his yacht, the araner.

Having always dreamed
of being a navy man,

In April 1941,

Ford gathers a group of
experienced filmmakers

And sets up his own
naval reserve unit.

They wear rented uniforms

And become affectionately known
as "john ford's navy."

At first, the brass
doesn't take him seriously,

But as the war heats up,

He and his men are put to work.

They make documentaries

And training films
for the government,

Following allied forces
across europe and the pacific.

[gunfire]

In 1942,

The navy sends ford
to film the u.S. Base

On the tiny island of midway.

[explosion]

When the japanese attack,

Ford gets injured by shrapnel,

But continues to film...

As a group of marines defiantly
hoist the american flag.

He wins the academy award
for best documentary film.

Back home, hollywood civilians
are also pitching in.

Mary pickford opens up
her iconic home, pickfair,

To servicemen and women.

[splash]

[splash]

Across town,
another legendary place is born.

The hollywood canteen.

Set up by bette davis
and john garfield in 1942,

It's open to all
servicemen and women

From allied countries.

Their uniform
is their admission ticket.

Everything inside is free.

Famous faces like linda darnell
are among 3,000 volunteers

Who serve food
and entertain the guests.

You can even dance
with the stars.

Marlene dietrich

Is the first german actress
to flourish in hollywood

Marlene dietrich:
♪ go see what the boys ♪

♪ in the back room will have ♪

♪ and tell 'em... ♪

Narrator: In 1939, she chooses
to become an american citizen,

Rejecting calls by the nazis
to return to germany.

[singing]

[applause]

♪

By the time the canteen
closes its doors in 1945,

It has entertained
3 million servicemen and women,

Served 9 million cups of coffee,

And doled out 3 million packs
of cigarettes.

But hollywood's patriotism
is about to be questioned.

The cold war creates a climate
of fear in the country.

J. Edgar hoover: The communist
party of the united states

Is a fifth column,
if there ever was one.

Narrator: In 1947,

Huac--the house un-american
activities committee--

Begins investigations into
communist influence in america.

The spotlight
is turned on hollywood,

Seen as a hotbed
of red subversion.

In washington, huac holds
nine days of hearings,

With testimony
from more than 40 people

Connected to hollywood.

The head
of the screen actors guild,

Ronald reagan,

Assures the committee
that hollywood is clean.

Ronald reagan:
We have done a pretty good job

In our business

Of keeping those people's
activities curtailed.

Narrator: Still, the committee
tries to force witnesses

To name names.

One group
of writers and directors

Refuses to cooperate,

In defense, they say,
of their constitutional rights.

On October 29, 1947,

Writer john howard lawson
appears.

Man: The question is,

Have you ever been a member
of the communist party?

John howard lawson:
I'm framing my answer

In the only way in which any
american citizen can frame...

Man: Then you deny...

Lawson:
...Question which invades his,

Absolutely invades his rights.

Man: Then you deny...

You refuse to answer
that question.

Is that correct?

Lawson: I have told you
that I will offer my beliefs,

My affiliations
and everything else

To the american public,

And they will know
where I stand,

As they do
from what I have written.

Man: Stand away from the stand.

Lawson: I have written for
americanism for many years...

Man: Stand away from the stand!

Lawson:
...Fight for the bill of rights,

Which you are trying to destroy.

Narrator: The defiant witnesses

Become known
as the hollywood ten

And pay a heavy price--

Blacklisted by producers

And even jailed for a year.

But some movie stars speak up.

Among them, humphrey bogart
and lauren bacall,

Who go to washington

To protest the treatment
of the hollywood ten.

♪

Another casualty
is one of hollywood's greats--

Charlie chaplin.

Born in britain,
he never became a u.S. Citizen.

A member of huac
calls for him to be deported.

Chaplin sends them
a telegram stating,

"I am not a communist.

I am a peace monger."

Huac backs off,

But the fbi continues
to investigate him.

In 1952, at the age of 63,

Chaplin goes to England
for the first time in 21 years

For the premiere of "limelight."

While the land of his birth
welcomes him,

His adoptive country looks
for ways to block his re-entry.

Insulted by the move,

It will be another 20 years

Before the man who created

One of movies'
most iconic characters

Will return to america.

It's the end of an era.

And back in hollywood,

The studios' control of
the entertainment business

Will soon face a new
and even more daunting threat.

1953.

One of hollywood's
founding fathers,

Paramount studio boss
adolph zukor,

Celebrates his 80th birthday...

And adds his handprint outside
grauman's chinese theatre.

Zukor has reigned for 50 years

At the top
of the hollywood studio system.

But the absolute power
that made it so lucrative

Has just been taken away.

In 1948,

The supreme court rules that
the companies that make movies

Can no longer
own the theatres, too.

Paramount and the others

Have to sell
their theatre chains.

With their monopoly broken,

They lose
the guaranteed audience

They've relied on.

For the first time in decades,

The studios have competition.

Announcer; this is nbc,

The national
broadcasting company.

Narrator: Television,
the new kid on the block,

Sees a golden opportunity.

As baby-boom families
move to the suburbs,

Traveling to the movie theatre

Becomes harder
and more expensive.

By the mid-'50s,
half of americans have tv sets,

And movie audiences
have shrunk in half

Since the war.

So the hollywood studios figure,

If you can't beat 'em, join em.

As television moves
from news to entertainment,

Hollywood becomes
its biggest producer.

Lucille ball: There you are.

Narrator:
Actors like lucille ball

Dip a toe in the small screen.

"I love lucy"

Becomes the most popular
television show in history,

With 40 million viewers a week.

Ball: You are, and I'm glad.

We've been at it
since early this morning.

Narrator:
Hollywood now looks

For new audiences
for its movies.

To appeal
to a growing population

Of teenagers
with spending money,

It launches
a new generation of actors,

Like marlon brando

And james dean.

Seen here on set filming
"rebel without a cause" in 1955,

Dean is the ultimate rebel,
both on and off screen.

♪

Always eager to maintain
a squeaky-clean image,

Warner brothers enlists dean

To do a public service
announcement.

Man: Now, wait a minute, jimmy.

One more question.

Do you have any special advice
for the young people who drive?

Dean: Take it easy driving.

The life you might save
might be mine.

Man: Ha ha ha! Ha!

Narrator: Weeks later,

He dies in a car crash
at the age of 24.

Hollywood
also markets its glamour

Beyond american shores.

Pin-up star and sex symbol
marilyn monroe

Becomes its most famous export.

♪

On a trip to london in 1956,

The new queen of hollywood
meets the new queen of England

At the premiere of "the battle
of the river plate."

Marilyn monroe:
♪ happy birthday to... ♪

Narrator: She has a very
different greeting

For america's royalty

At this 1962 fundraising gala
for john f. Kennedy.

Monroe: ♪ happy birthday ♪

♪ mr. President ♪

♪ happy birthday ♪

♪ to you ♪

[applause]

Narrator:
Hollywood is still creating

The most luminous stars
in the world.

♪

But the competition
for audiences never lets up,

So studios offer
new, unique experiences.

September 1952.

Premiere night for
"this is cinerama."

Stars like joan crawford,

Rock hudson,

And john wayne

Show up to see the film,

Which debuts
a new widescreen technology.

A curved screen and three
synchronized projectors

Puts audiences
at the center of the action,

Like in this
rollercoaster scene.

[screaming]

In 1953,

Marilyn monroe appears
in "how to marry a millionaire,"

The first film
shot in cinemascope

And shown on even wider
panoramic screens.

Capitalizing on the success
of this technology,

Hollywood studios
reach for production values

That tv cannot match.

Building on
previous landmark epics

Like "birth of a nation"
and "gone with the wind,"

The studios' blockbusters
are bigger and more expensive

Than ever before.

Cecille b. Demille's
biblical epic

"the ten commandments"

Is shot on location in egypt.

1,600 craftsmen build the set,

And demille uses 12,000 extras.

It costs
an unheard-of $13 million.

But it's worth the investment.

It nets almost ten times
its production costs,

Just over $122 million,

Making it paramount's
highest grossing movie

Ever released.

Its new york premiere
is a star-studded affair--

The kind of glamorous spectacle

That's the signature
of hollywood.

The dream factory's ability
to constantly reinvent itself,

From silent to talkies,

From war to peace,

Ensures its survival.

The magic that is hollywood

Will dominate american culture

For as long as it draws a crowd.