An intimate portrait and saga of four film pioneers--Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack who rose from immigrant poverty through personal tragedies persevering to create a major studio with a social... Read allAn intimate portrait and saga of four film pioneers--Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack who rose from immigrant poverty through personal tragedies persevering to create a major studio with a social conscience.An intimate portrait and saga of four film pioneers--Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack who rose from immigrant poverty through personal tragedies persevering to create a major studio with a social conscience.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Self - Harry Warner's granddaughter, also narrator
- (as Cass Warner Sperling)
- Self
- (voice)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Harry Warner)
- Self
- (as Sam Goldwyn Jr.)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the film clip from Casablanca a line is spoken which isn't in the film. The clip is from the end of Casablanca, at the airport, Richard Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) tells Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt), "Alright Major, you asked for it" before he shoots him. The actual movie simply has Major Strasser pulling his gun and Rick shooting him.
- GoofsCass Warner Sperling's commentary states that the 1927 film "The Jazz Singer," starring Al Jolson, grossed more than any movie made to that time and remained the all-time box-office champ until the release of "Gone With the Wind." It was actually Jolson's next film, "The Singing Fool," that set the box-office record that lasted until "Gone With the Wind."
- Quotes
Self - Harry Warner's granddaughter, also narrator: The truth is, they were a phenomenal team that built an empire on a dream and revolutionized Hollywood while making the most classic, relevant movies of their time.
- ConnectionsFeatures The Great Train Robbery (1903)
- SoundtracksMe, Myself & I
Written by David Campbell (as David Campbell)
Performed by Ernest S. Llab and Bettie Ross
By Arrangement with DRC Music
There were a lot of neat facts about the studio. I loved learning how the KKK sued Warner for their depiction in "Black Legion"! Or, how the studio was the first to refuse to sell movies in Germany and made the first anti-Nazi film from Hollywood--even when the nation was firmly in the isolationist camp. Interestingly, the film really didn't focus so much on the stars of the day--but more on the day to day behind the scenes events. I liked this, as if you want to see more about Cagney or Bette Davis, a documentary about them would make a lot more sense.
Overall, this is the sort of film that movie lovers like myself love--especially those who adore Hollywood during the classic years of the 1920s-40s. Fascinating--as it's filled with wonderful little stories and facts that film buffs will love. My only real problem with the film is that there is just too much material for a film that's just a bit over 90 minutes long. A mini-series would really due more justice to the history of this amazing studio.
Oddly, while the documentary was filled with a lot of film clips, some of them were of pretty poor quality--particularly the grainy and washed out one from "Giant". I am really not sure why this was the case.
- planktonrules
- Mar 20, 2010
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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